In a state better known for skiing, scenery and the Broncos, Colorado was once home to 46 opera houses, built to provide the mining communities with cultural enrichment. A few still remain, and the 2,500-seat Ellie Caulkins Opera House (locally known as the "Ellie") is a perfectly restored example, sitting inside the Performing Arts Complex in downtown Denver, playing host to touring roadshows and local productions.
Although the fixtures and the conduits to the dimmer room were in place, the equipment 'transplant' provided some unique challenges. "In the old system, the load cables entered through the top of the dimmers and were not long enough to work with the vertical Sensor configuration," explains Project Manager Dan Obenhaus. Faced with the dilemma of lowering the bridge or raising the river, the design team came up with the ingenious answer in the form of vertically mounted passive-patch boxes.
With over 700 dimmers, two Eos Ti® consoles and an RPU , there is enough horsepower to take care of the needs of the Colorado Opera and Ballet companies and the roadshows that pass through. Facility Production Manager Mark Gabriel Debell adds: "At some point, we might look at LED striplights, but for now, the ETC Source Fours are working just fine."
Cost overruns and unforeseen technical glitches can quickly turn any big installation job into a nightmare, and the team at Barbizon hates surprises. "We plan down to the last detail, and write a timeline showing when every bit of gear will arrive," says Obenhaus. It all went to create a very happy end-user. "Barbizon took a big leap of faith on this project, and it went crazy-smooth. We now have an ETC system that works and is more interface friendly," says Production Manager Gabriel Debell.
Barbizon Light of the Rockies was opened in 1995, and - with a significant portion of revenue coming from installations - is the company's specialist in that area. Loudenburg explains: "It was a one-man office when I moved out here from Boston, and I had a strong interest and background in the installation side of things." Later, he was joined by kindred spirit Obenhaus, who started his career at Norcostco in Minneapolis after college. "You can't name a middle school in the Upper Midwest where I have not done some kind of technical work," he jokes
(This story is a repost from the ETC news story http://www.etcconnect.com/About/News/The-Ellie-Caulkins-Opera-House-gets-a--transplant-.aspx)