Hi-tech flames heat up The Ring
Adelaide engineers are making sure that the 's long-awaited performance of Wagner's Ring Cycle will go up in flames. The same team that developed the Olympic flames for both Sydney and Athens has also developed the hi-tech fire effects for , Wagner's epic series of four operas exploring the ideas of love, passion and power. Performances of The Ring are rare and thousands of international and interstate Ring fans are expected to flock to Adelaide later this month with the cycle beginning in the on November 16. For the Adelaide team, it will be the culmination of years of researching, testing and developing flame technologies that complement the grand scale and feel of the production. Two major flame effects will be in operation during The Ring: a "Ring of Fire" and a "Line of Fire". The Ring of Fire consists of 12 burners arranged in a circle around a rising platform, while the Line of Fire extends more than 18m across the back of the stage. The design and development work was performed at by staff and postgraduate students from the . The final product was manufactured by . "Developing the technologies for The Ring was different in many ways to developing those for the and ," said Associate Professor Gus Nathan. "For the Olympics, we had to have flames which worked well in the open air, particularly the flames for the cauldron, which was obviously well away from people and needed to be highly visible. "For The Ring, we had to design effects for an enclosed, indoor venue and which had to be visually spectacular, but also allowed the performers in the operas to be safe and comfortable. "Safety was the major concern for us - we didn't want to create flames that looked impressive but were too large or hot for their surroundings or the singers who would be performing in close proximity." Senior lecturer in the School of Mechanical Engineering, Dr Richard Kelso, said the effects for the State Opera reinforce how well the university combines with industry to make enduring and significant contributions for people around the world. "This has been another successful collaboration with our industry partner FCT-Combustion," Dr Kelso said. "For the Olympics, we took Adelaide to the rest of the world and showed what we can do - and now with The Ring, the world will be coming to Adelaide to experience it first hand! "It has been fantastic for us to be involved in major sporting and arts events like these, because they have an impact on a lot of people around the world - and that means our work does too." Story by Ben Osborne
Cultural Conversation Associate Professor Nathan and Dr Kelso will be among the guest speakers at the free Cultural Conversation being held on Wednesday, November 10 from 1pm to 2pm in the Ira Raymond Room at the 成人大片's . Along with the set designer for the State Opera's Ring Cycle, Michael Scott-Mitchell, they will speak on "From the Olympic torch to Wagner: a transformation of a simple flame to a spectacular special effect". Entry is free, and all are welcome. A Wagner memorabilia exhibition will also be on display.
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