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Това е от най- престижното списание за техника
Madonna's Dark Side: Going Under With the Downed World tour, by Catherine McHugh
Much has been made of MadonnaТs decision to eschew the hit songs that first made her a household name on Drowned World, her first tour in nearly a decade. During the nearly two hours she spends onstage, Mo (or Madge if you prefer, two of the latest appellations for the ageless pop icon) performs songs that are mainly culled from her past two releases, Music and Ray of Light. Obviously not interested in revisiting her past, the now 43-year-old mother of two traded in the material world for a drowned world, which is often quite dark Ц but unmistakably of her own making.
Broken up into four distinct mini-operas, each with its own set pieces and costumes (the eye-popping wardrobe was created by Jean Paul Gaultier, as well as Donatella Versace, Dean and Dan Caten of D2, and Dolce & Gabbana), the show embraces style after style, adopting the affectations of multiple musical movements in a pattern that mirrors MadonnaТs career moves. If the term УhighlightsФ really works for a show like this, here are a few: She arrives via a Уspaceship,Ф perches in a 24Т-tall aluminum tree before flying through the air on cables a la Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, rides a mechanical bull (surrounded by plastic-wrapped bales of hay), pops out of a spinning, 3,800lb Уpoof chairФ set piece with upholstered, three-walled dance ramps that peel open on hinges and serve as dance space, and Ц perhaps most notably Ц accompanies herself on guitar for several songs.
It all seems rather fitting, given her expertise at sensing emerging trends and riding each wave for exactly the right amount of time before jumping to the next. By refusing to commit to any one style, she manages to outpace staleness, while somehow stamping the entire show Ц and its often puzzling vignettes Ц with her own musings on women and power.
Having admired Ricky MartinТs 1999-2000 LivinТ La Vida Loca world tour, Madonna recruited its director, Jamie King, as well as much of the production crew (creative technical consultant Joyce Flemming and production manager Mark Spring) and design team, including lighting designer Peter Morse, production designer Bruce Rodgers, and video director Carol Dodds.
Among the designers, MorseТs relationship with Madonna spans back the furthest, to her 1990 world tour. УAs great as Blonde Ambition was, and as proud as everyone was to have been associated with it Ц it certainly was my proudest moment as an LD Ц this just blows it away,Ф he says. УMaybe because itТs not as straight ahead. ItТs very different, very edgy, and very challenging. In fact, the key to this whole design is what is not lit. ItТs like the old analogy: ItТs not really the bars that make a jail cell, itТs the space between them.Ф
Before he was given the job of filling in the spaces on the tourТs stage, Rodgers was asked to design the look of MadonnaТs opening performance at the 2001 Grammy Awards. УI did a sketch that Jamie King presented to her, and everything got built and delivered to the rehearsal stage in Culver Studios,Ф he says. УThe first time I met her was there, and I was a little intimidated from the start. She was very serious and very professional, but also kind, saying she liked my work.Ф
After that, Rodgers began to sketch out concepts for the tourТs design via input from King and MadonnaТs manager, Caresse Henry. The outline was as follows: Act I, УMadonna wants to arrive in a spaceshipФ; Act II, УKabuki Theatre/Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon-style with a treeФ; Act III, УWhite trash with a mechanical bullФ; Act IV, УLatin/GypsyФ; and the encore, УMusic.Ф
УWe went through at least three weeks of concept ideas, and discussed how to reveal Madonna, how fast or slowly the lifts would work to pop up dancers, where they needed to be, etc.,Ф Rodgers explains. УThe first lift she comes up on we call Cousin It. We meant for people to see it Ц we wanted them to be aware that there were mechanics involved. It was very in your face.
УThe problem with the spaceship arrival was that theyТd already sold 270-degrees around the arena,Ф he adds. УSo I had to make sure there was enough space for it to land over on stage left without imping on the Spanish staircase pop-up over on stage right, and still have everybody feel like they paid for the same show. ItТs an abstract spaceship that is really in the shape of a halo and its faчade is made up of a checkerboard pattern of Barco DLITE 7mm LED panels. It moves on special rigging motors and it has effects built into it like lighting and LED; its skin in the back is silver-painted chainlink, just to give it a little more texture.Ф
Part 2
Operatic Spirituality
Since Rodgers didnТt know Madonna and wasnТt all that familiar with her music, he filled is CD player with her music while sketching the concepts. УIt became obvious to me in the sketching phase that this was going to be a very dark show,Ф he says. УHer music is very spiritual, but in a really dark way. While a lot of people on the design team had done similar theatrical concert events, none of us had really done anything on this type of operatic level.Ф
Once the concept was sketched out, Madonna and King signed off on the design based on their feeling that Rodgers had the correct vibe going. УThey never asked about the theory of the design or reasons for the look,Ф he says. УIt just felt right to them, which is important. One of the hardest parts in the beginning was getting everybody who was involved in making the production to stop saying, СThatТs impossible.Т Jamie and Madonna were constantly supporting the design, saying, СGo for it.Т Also, IТm used to trying to get the most out of the least amount of money. But because of the time frame, the costs were running up, and it made me Ц and everyone else Ц panic a little. Yet she knew where every nickel was going because she had frequent budget meetings with Jamie. She wanted to know so she could pick and choose what she wanted to have. It was like building a house with Madonna.
УBut I also had deeper reasons for the design,Ф Rodgers continues. УThe scale, the connections, the color, the balance, the opaque and translucent surfaces, the garage doors, the LED placement, and the asymmetry within the symmetrical set were driven by the emotions I felt as I listened to her music. Technically, the set is a machine designed with the other creative people involved in mind. For instance, the LED in the set is prominent because Dago Gonzalez, who I knew from Ricky Martin, was the video artist hired for MadonnaТs tour. Also, knowing that Jamie was directing and heading up the choreography, I designed several lifts and entrances and levels that he could direct the dancers around. The set design is literally a backdrop for Madonna. It absolutely doesnТt compete with her Ц like anything really could Ц but it complements what sheТs trying to do.Ф
Once production rehearsals were underway, Madonna consulted with Rodgers on specific adjustments she wanted to see. УShe really needed to take ownership of the design so she could feel that the set was truly hers.Ф One change she asked for was with the large metal tree that appears during the kabuki theatre/butoh section of the show. УShe wanted it to be a tree with fans built into it so it could blow her hair, so I put Mark Fichou, my metal sculptor friend, to work. I did some silhouette renderings of it first to get the kind of haunted feel she was looking for. When we brought it in, she wanted us to make it a little more scary and sharp. She said, СGo bolt butcher knives to the limbs.Т Since this is a touring piece, we didnТt do that, but we took it back and added a lot of shards to it and painted it bright chrome. Hydro (AKA head carpenter Robert Mullen) had to grind it down and make it less sharp so it didnТt hurt anyone.Ф
Then, Rodgers brought in Matt Aston to paint the entire set. УHis work has this distressed quality in all of his artwork, which is what we wanted,Ф Rodgers says. УBut heТs also a very well known painter here in LA, so the walls are like giant Matt Astons.Ф
While planning the setТs construction, Rodgers met with engineer John McGraw, who had the rolling stage built by Brian Sullivan at B&R Scenery and handled everything from the stage structure down Ц everything that the audience never sees Ц including the УtoasterФ lifts, which literally pop dancers onto the stage. All Access, meanwhile, built everything from the stage up, in one monthТs time.
Branam Enterprises developed several flying special effects for the show: one for flying Madge herself, another to fly two dancers in a separate choreographed routine, and four descending rigs for other dancers.
12 US #1's! The queen of modern art...Madonna
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