| Robert Hill Lighting Designer |
| Let There Be Light |
| SFO 2005-2006 Season Le Nozze Di Figaro |
| San Francisco Opera
Lighting Designer Robert Hill has specified a mixture of Wybron equipment for use in the productions at the San Francisco Opera. |
| COLORAMS PROVIDE
LONG-TERM RELIABILITY
FlASHBACK TO 1996 In fall 1996, the San Francisco Opera had a problem. Its color scrollers wouldn�t work consistently, and the fall season opening was just days away. �Through a decision made by a committee, we had purchased another vendor�s scrollers,� explains Robert Hill, the opera�s lighting supervisor. �We ended up returning those units and buying Colorams. Wybron delivered them with scrolls installed, we hung them and they worked immediately.� The San Francisco Opera purchased its Coloram IIs through Holzmueller Productions. �We had pitched Wybron, and even though the opera compa- ny chose to go with a different brand, we stuck with Wybron because we knew they made bet- ter units,� recalls Jim Schelstrate, sales direc- tor for Holzmueller. �So when the opera decided to switch to Wybron, they came to us. We got the call the Tuesday before Labor Day weekend [1996], and the opera company received the fixtures loaded and ready to go that Saturday.� More than five years later, the Coloram IIs are going strong. The company added to its original purchase in 1997, and it now has about 70 units. �They�ve been extraordinarily reliable,� Hill adds. �We haven�t had any problems at all.� �I didn�t want to sell a product I couldn�t stand by,� Schelstrate says. �We delivered the scrollers when the opera company needed them, and they�ve been working well ever since." |
| Gerard Howland�s production, in which Swenson appeared when it was new a few years ago, is a one-gimmick concept, that of a "worm�s eye view" of the courtyard with stone walls in sharp perspective ringing a rectangle of sky. After creating a striking initial image, it soon becomes trite. Fortunately director Sandra Bernhard and lighting designer Robert Hill conspired to keep the focus away from the set and were, on the whole, successful. - Review Lucia di Lammermoor 1999 |
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| Ruth Ann Swenson, Marcello Giordani SFOpera's Lucia di Lammermoor, 1994 |
| As Lighting Supervisor at the San Francisco Opera, Robert Hill has designed lighting for numerous San Francisco Opera and Opera Center productions including Lucia di Lammermoor, Hansel and Gretel, Albert Herring, Cosi fan tutti and La Callisto. Other opera companies Mr. Hill has designed for include The Houston Grand Opera, Portland Opera, Opera Omaha and Opera de Lyon. Theatrical credits include design for the National and Russian Tours of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, directed by Edward Albee. He has also served as a lighting consultant for Sanrio Ltd. in Japan, and MCA/Universal in the United States. |
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| Anyone can Google and get this information that I have placed here in one place for convenience. |
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| Close up: Robert Hill, Lighting Director at San Francisco Opera
Head of the lighting department, Robert Hill and his team are responsible for the dazzling colors and special lighting effects on the stage of the War Memorial Opera House. Q: How would you describe your role at San Francisco Opera? A: I manage all aspects of lighting production for the Opera and supervise special effects. I also work with the Technical Department on future planning for upcoming seasons and productions. Q: How long have you been at at San Francisco Opera? A: I've worked at San Francisco Opera for 14 years now. It's been a pleasure to work here, collaborating with wide varieties of artists on many exciting productions. Q: What makes your job so special? A: Being able to help realize the vision of a large, prestigious opera company, such as San Francisco Opera, is a rare opportunity. Q: Where did you train? A: I studied design at the University of Illinois and New York University. I've also worked as a freelance designer in theater and international theme parks. Q: What is most exciting about your job? A: It is hard to choose, but I greatly appreciate it when productions come together as a whole. Q: Why do you like working here? A: It's a challenge, and different every day. |
| SFO 2006-2007 Season Il Barbiere di Siviglia |
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