Over three quarters of a mile of Milos M290 QuickTruss® was used to construct the support structure for a massive projection screen at a special gala evening. The event, celebrating 40 years since Spanish tenor Placido Domingo's debut in the north Italian town, took place at Fondazione Arena di Verona in Verona, Italy. The magnificent Roman amphitheatre dates back to 30 AD.
The fan-shaped screen was located behind the stage and covered the back seating tiers, reaching the full height of the amphitheatre's top row. The task of designing, supplying and installing the projection screen into this very unique performance space was trusted to rigging and trussing rental company Decima Italia from Padova. One of the many challenges they faced was ensuring that the installation had minimal impact on the historical architecture. The screen also had to be positioned perfectly, so the dramatic images designed for the show by Enzio Antonelli projected precisely onto the surface.
The screen support was constructed in 22 trapezoidal segments of QuickTruss M290 Trio, which provided the strength and versatility required for the project. Once assembled, the screen stretched 230 feet in length along the top edge of the venue, with each vertical support approximately 65 feet high. Crucial to the installation and to withstand wind speeds of 50 miles per hour were floor anchors and fixing points along the bottom, top and vertical truss runs to which the truss was ratcheted and secured in place by tensioned belts.
The 22 support segments were all slightly different in dimension and angles - incorporating 88 Milos junctions, some custom made for the project to ensure that the precise angles could be achieved. The supports were fitted with 160 adjustable steel supporting bases to help create an even top surface while dealing with the irregular natural surfaces of the amphitheatre. These were all preassembled and rigged into place using a telehandler and stage hands. Once in position, the trussing supports were fitted with white PVC projection fabric with a 25% perforated surface. A series of aluminum tubes were inserted along perimeter pockets in each piece of fabric and the surface was tensioned with over 500 self-locking belts.
The Decima Italia crew of 40 completed the installation in 6 hours.
The Placido Domingo 40th anniversary gala performance was part of the 87th Verona Opera Festival. He first sang at the arena in 1969 with Turandot and Don Carlo.
For additional information visit www.milosgroup.com or email [email protected].