The Bodyguard relies on ETC

Since November 2015, the Cologne Musical Dome has been home to the international hit musical The Bodyguard. More than 250,000 visitors to the cathedral city have already seen this stage version of the blockbuster movie starring Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner.

This adaptation of The Bodyguard is an extravagant one. A combination of pyrotechnics, LED screens, fog screen projection and an exclusively LED lighting rig - including 33 ETC Source Four LED Series 2 Lustr - creates a dazzling spectacle.

The production's lighting solution comprises an assortment of equipment, including ETC Source Four LED Series 2 fixtures, an Eos Ti console and Net3 Gateways . Feedback, from Stolberg near Aachen, is responsible for the rental and installation, with products supplied by Siegen-based TRENDCO Vertriebs-GmbH.

The choice of kit used on the show was the joint responsibility of Feedback's Bernd Schmitz and the show's British lighting design team. "Originally, the plan was to use traditional Source Four 750 watt incandescent fixtures with colour scrollers," says Schmitz. However, he quickly convinced the design team to trust in LED alternatives. Chris Treude, head of technology for the Musical Dome, says: "ETC products are simple-to-use and reliable. We're also very satisfied with Bernd's decision to use the Source Four LED Series 2.The fixtures are great and produce a very nice light. Besides the usual maintenance, we do not need to do anything to them." Schmitz adds: "The fixtures have been running daily in the show, and they've been completely reliable."

To control the elaborate show, Treude uses an ETC Eos Ti control desk and a total of 13 universes. This production is the first time Treude, as lead lighting technician, has used an Eos console. "Once I had absorbed the basic principles, I was very happy with the console," he says. "I think the Magic Sheets are a great and useful feature. I also really like the overall layout and feel of the desk."

This interpretation of The Bodyguard originated in London's West End, and Treude and his team took over the programming of the show from the British lighting team of Stuart Cross and Mark Henderson. As a result, a further advantage of the Eos Ti became apparent. Says Treude: "The whole show is programmed to the smallest detail. The main show cue list triggers not only the lighting, but also everything else, including the video list, the fog and pyrotechnic effects. Therefore, we can create an absolutely precise reproduction, night after night. This also means a different operator can step in at short notice and control the show."

Photo credit: Nilz Boehme