Four of Robert Juliat Oz LED Followspots have recently replaced conventional followspots at the New National Theatre, Tokyo as part of an upgrade of the inventory for this arts venue.
Robert Juliat Oz in The Pit at New National Theatre, Tokyo © RJ Industry Japan
New National Theatre, Tokyo is Japan’s foremost national theatre dedicated to the contemporary performing arts of ballet, opera, dance and drama. The NNTT comprises 3 performance venues, Opera Palace, Playhouse, The Pit, and hosts over 300 performances a year to around 200,000 spectators.
Four of Robert Juliat’s Oz 7°-14° LED Top Control followspots were supplied by Sogo Butai, RJ distributor, initially chosen to be use in the small Pit Theatre, but also with the intention of relocating them to the Playhouse and Opera Palace as needed. This demonstrates the versatility of this zoom fixture whose 600W cool white LED engine generates an output equal to 1200W discharge fixtures.
Opera Palace at New National Theatre, Tokyo © Photo provided by New National Theatre, Tokyo
“Oz is extremely suitable for the open space within the smaller Pit Theatre, because of its silent operation,” says Takehito Suzuki, from NNTT’s technical lighting department.
“In venues where many theatrical shows and contemporary dance performances are presented, like those of the New National Theatre, we found Oz is the best followspot for lighting the performers at every distance.”
Suzuki also stresses that Oz was chosen because, above all others, its quality met the high standards of the New National Theatre, Tokyo; its Top Control option was a prime example of this, enabling the operators to control both the dimming and iris smoothly and easily from the top of the fixture.
ThePit (small theatre) at New National Theatre, Tokyo © Photo provided by New National Theatre, Tokyo
“Amongst many LED followspots, what makes this fixture remarkable is the Top Control,” Suzuki says. “I’m impressed by the minimum size of the iris shutter as well; the accuracy of the iris cassette is really incredible – it is great to see how RJ can make a spot so tiny that it seems like a hole pierced by a needle. We can see the RJ quality in these kinds of details.”
NNTT’s followspot operators agree and have enjoyed using the new arrivals, commenting: “Oz is highly operational with the double function of smooth dimming and iris control with the top controls. The body is well designed with a good balance of functionality, which makes it an extremely operator-friendly fixture.”
NNTT is familiar with Robert Juliat, having invested in Robert Juliat profiles when it first opened its doors in 1997. “Since the beginning we have used Robert Juliat Athos 914SNX and 910SNX profiles,” says Suzuki. “At the time these fixtures with discharge lamps were fully appreciated by every lighting designer who used them. ”
Playhouse at New National Theatre, Tokyo © Photo provided by New National Theatre, Tokyo
“The majority of New National Theatre profiles are still halogen-based, although most manufacturers are stopping production of these models, and we need to find new fixtures with alternative sources before these become outmoded. So we are now interested in LED sources which are powerful enough to match halogen fixtures, and Robert Juliat is already ahead of the game with LED models that perform as well as discharge fixtures.”
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