L'International des Feux Loto-Québec 2006
Montréal International Fireworks Competition Report
Italy Italy, The World June 25th, 2006
Pirotecnica Soldi, designed by Sergio Soldi, FireOne firing, ScriptMaker choreography software, 39 32-cue firing modules
Montréal, June 22, 2006 ' Italian pyrotechnics company Pirotecnica Soldi will present its show entitled 'Italy, the World' this Sunday, June 25, at 10 p.m. at La Ronde as part of L'International des Feux Loto-Québec presented by TELUS. This will be the 10th time the Pirotecnica Soldi team, which won a Bronze Jupiter in 1995, has participated in the annual Montréal fireworks competition. The firm first came to Montréal in 1988 and its most recent visit was in 2002.
The fireworks display by the family-owned company will focus on Italy's connection with the rest of the world. Colours will range from white, to harmonize with soothing musical selections, to Ferrari red, highlighting the Grand Prix of Canada race weekend. The music will take spectators through a wide array of emotions. The show will include music by international artists, as well as Italian musicians including Pavarotti, and performers with Italian roots, such as Madonna. Different chapters in history will be represented by the original music from the films Gladiator and La Vita e bella.
In developing their presentations, the Florence-based company's pyrotechnicians initially imagine the fireworks show based on the music chosen. They then go to their workshops to create the exclusive pieces that will best represent their creative choices. The pieces are then produced according to traditional methods and virtually all of them are used in the approximately 150 to 200 shows presented each year by the company all over Italy, and in particular in Tuscany. The company, founded in 1869, has developed some specialty pieces over the years, including Roman candles, big Italian shells and jerbs. Pirotecnica Soldi's pyrotechnicians explain that they see their fireworks as musical photographs in fleeting colours.
Like Québec, Florence celebrates San Giovanni (Saint-Jean), the patron saint of that magnificent Italian city, on June 24. The public holiday is marked by fireworks over the river. The tradition will continue on this side of the Atlantic this Sunday at 10 p.m. when the company's fireworks light up La Ronde's Lac des Dauphins.
For their tenth participation in the Montreal International Pyromusical Competition, the Italian team were blessed with perfect summer weather. Light winds and warm temperatures put the audience into perfect spirits for the second display of the season. Having had some bad luck in the past, there was anticipation that everything would come together this time. All of the products used in the display were fabricated by the Italian team specially for the competition. Renowned in Italy for the traditional artisanship, the audience were looking forward to seeing Italian fireworks at their finest.
Part 1 to the music from the film Gladiator Now We Are Free by Feat Izzy The display began with a line of red bengals across ramp there which were then augmented by red nautical bengals. Then crossed red meteor comet candles with small yellow bombettes above. Next candles of meteor comets with shells of the same above. This theme continued with a move from red meteors to orange. These were followed by shells of red crossettes with the same in candles below. Next, shells of yellow glitter comets with crossed white candles below and then barrages of orange photoflash salutes augmented by star shells above, the segment coming to a close with a barrage of glitter comet studata shells to cheers from the audience.
Part 2 to the music from the film La Vita è Bella by Noah A line of glittering fountains lit up on ramp four and then a line of white stobbe pots across the front of ramp three. Above these, shells of strobes and then crossed strobing willow comet candles. The strobe shells continued above
Part 3 to the music I Hate You Then I Love You by Céline Dion and Luciano Pavarotti. Glitter comets firing to the right opened up on ramp 3. Then the same thing firing left as the Pavarotti started to sing. Above these, shells of glitter comets and starfish and then note synchronzied blue mines moving left and right with pastel bombettes above. Fronts of mines and more note synchronized mines and barrages of star shells. These were followed by huge shells of silver comets with blue pistils and then sky mines of pastel coloured stars. These were followed by multiple fronts of different coloured mines and more sky mines, bringing the segment to a close.
Part 4 to the music Advertising Space by Robbie Williams. Barrages of shells of strobes were followed by Z-cakes of starts with glitter comets in the middle of ramp 3. Then pairs of the sames cakes at the left and right of ramp 3, the final comets bursting as crossettes. These were followed by barrages of shells of crossette comets. Then a huge 180 degree fan of silver comets from the middle of ramp 3 and shells of silver comets with glitter pistils above, the comets turning to salutes. This theme continued with another huge 180 silver fan and more shells of the salute terminated comets as the music moved seamlessly to
Part 5 to the music Army of Lovers by Lee Ryan. This began with candles of salute terminated comets. These were followed by candles of fast tourbillons with farfalle shells above. The farfalles continued, bringing the segment to a close.
Part 6 to the music Welcome to Wherever by Bon Jovi. Multiple gold fountains in the shape of back-to-back L's lit up across ramp there. These then changed to silver and were followed by mines of strobes and crossed comet candles. This theme continued as glitter cored farfalled shells burst above, bringing the segment to a close.
Part 7 to the music Only Time by Enya A line of gold glitter fountains lit up in the centre; then 180 degree fans of gold comets. These continued and were followed by gold Niagara Falls shells and then larger shells of kamuros were added in. The kamuros and Niagara Falls shells continued and increased in size and number, filling the sky and trailing to the lake. The segment camed to a close with the sky filled with gold kamuros trailing to the lake to cheers from the audience.
Part 8 to the music Save the Last Dance For Me by Michael Bublé This segment began with silver star crossette shells and then fans of silver meteor comets below. These continued with different brighly colour tips and then were augmented by shells of orange photoflash above as comets angled left and right and in sequenced fans fired below. Then shells of blue stars above, the segment coming to a close with a volley of salute bombettes.
Part 9 to the music Street of Love by The Rolling Stones. Sequences of meteor comets firing left and right on the notes were followed by gold glitter fountains in big X shapes lighting up group by group from the left to the right in perfect synchronization. Then in alternating X-es of silver and gold fountains followed by bright silver comet shells above. A line of silver fountains then lit up across ramp 3 as more silver comet shells fired above. Clusters of silver comets fired from the left and right crossed in the middle as heart shells fired above and then a return to silver comet shells. The silver fountains continued as larger and larger silver comet shells fired above, filling the sky and bringing the segment to a close as silver comet shells trailed to gold.
Part 10 to the music I Belong to You by Eros Ramazzotti and Anastacia. Meteor comets fired below as falling leaf shells fired above in red and green. Beneath these, blue stars were fired across the surface of the lake from left and right and the stars bounced as they hit the water. Then shells of yellow falling leaves as comets were now fired across the lake, also bouncing on the water. This continued and was followed by shells of gold glitter and shells of blue stars and gold glitter. Flights of silver girandolas then rose majestically into the air, then another flight and yet another, to cheers from the audience, bringing the segment to a close.
Part 11 to the music Just Feel Better by Carlos Santana and Steven Taylor. Shells of very distinct silver twinkling crackle opened this segment and were then augmented by crackling willow comet candles below. Then shells of the same carackling willow comets followed by large shells of red and blue stars with titanium burst pistils. This theme continued and was followed by shells of meteor and glitter coments. Then a front of blue mines with barrages of blue studatas above followed by the same theme but in yellow glitter mines with gold glitter studatas above and then a return to blue studatas and then gold glitter studatas. These were followed by volleys of larger meteor comet shells in yellow, then the same in pale green. A front of colour changing mines with large shells of blue tipped comets and shells of comets with blue pistils became the new theme as more fronts of mines interspersed the large comet and pistil shells, bringing the segment to a transition to the following one with a barrage of nautical comet shells.
Part 12 to the music Tubthumping by Chumbawamba. The nautical comet shells continued and were then followed by barrage after barrage of gold glitter studatas. These were followed by sky-mine shells with fronts of big mines below and a wow-inducing barrage of silver glitter nautical shells as glitter comet bombettes burst above. The barrages of nautical shells continued and were then followed by large shells with titanium-laced bursts followed by a return to the gold glitter studatas (following the theme of the music very well). This theme continued until a return to the sky-mine theme followed the same theme in the music as blue mine fronts fired below. These were augmented by large blue nautical shells, fronts of blue mines and gold glitter bombettes above. A return to the titanium-laced burst shells of blue stars and then back to the gold studata theme (with around three of them flower-potting). This theme continued until the end of the segment, to cheers from the audience.
Part 13 to the music Dragostea Din Tei by Haiducii. Fans of gold glitter comets which turned to gold strobes were followed by fans of bright meteor comets. Then sky-mines of blue stars with shells of willow comets above. This theme continued and was followed by shells of blue stars and gold strobes. Next, crossed fans of glitter comets with candles of tourbillons and some titanium salutes. These were followed by barrages of shells of whizzers. Suddenly the sky went dark as something had obviously gone wrong. The dark sky continued until the end of the segment.
Part 14 to the music Hung up by Madonna As the dark sky continued, there was a sense of disappoinment in the audience, wondering if the finale would fire at all. Suddenly, a few comet candles lit up behind ramp 4 and then the dark sky returned. As the music continued, the atmosphere was electric with everyone wondering what had gone wrong. Suddenly, the display burst back into life as the final 30 seconds dazzled the senses and deafened the ears with massive volleys of salutes, silver comet shells, studatas, the apotheosis coming to a close with a final barrage of studata lambi shells, to cheers from the audience. The sense of anticlimax was palpable though.
Much could be said about the problem in the penultimate segment and the finale, but it wouldn't serve any purpose. All that should be said is that there were no technical problems with the infrastructure at La Ronde. I do know what happened but it is not appropriate to share that knowledge in a public forum. That out of the way, the display itself was excellent. The choice of music and pyrotechnical pieces worked well together and Soldi's products were of dazzling quality. We had spinning devices in all sorts of speeds and colours, gorgeous farfalle shells and many other excellent products. Synchronization was excellent and it was a very enjoyable display, save for the anti-climax at the end. Team Soldi seems to be cursed with bad luck in Montreal.
Thanks to the public relations people of La Ronde for the official
press release material, shown in white.
