Weather adhered closely to the forecasted conditions, providing an ideal atmospheric setup for the highly anticipated Italian display, with mostly clear skies, accompanied by a few scattered clusters of cumulus clouds. Isolated convective showers and thunderstorms developed during the afternoon period because of an upper level disturbance, raising humidity levels to high standards later in the afternoon once the sun appeared and evaporated the wet surface following the rains. Humidity, however, returned to borderline low-moderate levels for the evening, and the winds were light and out from the NNW, pushing the smoke gently to the left of the audience of La Ronde, although those on the bridge just adjacent to the firing site were affected, and viewing conditions for those at the Old Port may have also been influenced to some extent.
Along with the mostly ideal weather came a terrific fireworks display put on by team Italy (Pirotecnia Morsani SRL). It is difficult to accurately express as to how stunning this performance was in its entirety - the display had been so captivating that for spectators who viewed it around me appeared to have lost themselves in it at multiple points, or it seemed as if they had drifted into another time and place as they became enmeshed throughout various segments. Really, the Italian display was truly a masterpiece that merits much attention, for it commanded feelings of honor, prestige, excitement, fear, recognition, and inspiration, all of which came to realization as the show unfolded.
The performance offered a myriad of excellent effects and color choices, all well suited to match not only key signatures in the various soundtrack employed but also in the context of an emotional atmosphere. I found that many of the effects appeared at the most appropriate moments to represent the subtleties and intricacies of each musical selection, and this connection demonstrated the emotions effectively. The product quality was apparent, particularly most noticeable with the delicate symmetrical appearances of the variety of shells and low-mid level effects, as well as how vivid and rich the colors had emerged. The interplay between all levels of sky, in addition to the mixtures between the effects and colors themselves, was totally mesmerizing, especially with the combination of the shell of shells and multi breaks, frequently augmented by massive, chest-thumping 12”shells. The shell of shells, red photoflashes, farfalles and salutes, were all abundant in this display, as most would have expected from Italy! Those lightning-like flashes at low level, at one point, took many spectators by surprise, even for those on Notre-Dame, despite us being stationed at some distance from the firing site - I don’t believe I’ve encountered such bright flashes in a show previously!
I was particularly fond of the overall design of this display, as it was very complex. The Italians made excellent use of the site from the left to right and right to left, and it almost always seemed that high and low levels were working hand in hand with each other - the support was simply phenomenal. It was really a delightful feeling to finally see some exquisite nautical effects, namely the large nautical shells. I also thought that the nautical flares and fountains were nicely implemented when present. The firing angles were diverse and made for, at times, some interesting attempts at synchronization. This display featured the widest left-right extent, so far, but the symmetry was scarcely ever lost, in spite of this - in the past, I’ve seen very wide displays sometimes challenged in maintaining symmetry from various firing angles, but Italy did a fabulous job keeping things in proportion, so kudos to them for this. Synchronization itself was very creative, especially through the sequences of nautical shells, comets, strobes and mines.
The design of the display was also well enforced by the theme. After reading through the information that Paul gathered from his interview, I had a strong feeling that the theme would be very well organized and represented, but the manner in which Pirotecnia Morsani approached the thematic framework added so much more substance and depth to the overall conceptual design. Much like England’s “Day & Night” in 2007, Italy took on a very similar attempt at portraying their “Angels and Demons” theme, except with a somewhat more convincing tone. At the end, I found that the display had more than faithfully delivered the emotional distinctions and transitions that I had previously been envisioning. The first half of the show interestingly represented the “angels” component in a quaint, peaceful and delicate manner, each segment flowing nicely from one to the other. Most of the next half was focused on evil, and some of the soundtrack used provided that nefarious feeling at certain points, bringing out the dark, vindictive and vile nature of demons. Following the latter section, I felt those feelings of justice, courage, determination, and, most of all, hope, being effectively conveyed towards the final few minutes through both the soundtrack, “Now We Are Free” and the final track used for the conclusion, illustrating the battle between good and evil, and good being victorious over evil at the very end.
It is quite a challenge to formulate major criticisms for this display, but the only few minor aspects that I could point out is that perhaps there was a little repetition in terms of use of certain effects, as well as with respect to the firing pattern at one or two points (one instance being during the Vangelis segment). The narration at the beginning was a little too elongated for my tastes, which generated a slight feeling of an anti-climax (as Fred also noted), but the rest of the narration heard in between the display was reasonable in length and did not interfere with the fluidity of the show. Finally, there was also one brief moment of silence not long after the beginning, but I am not sure if that was intentional. Again, these are minor points and do absolutely very little to offset the true pyromusical art that this display brought forward. The transitions, even though a little abrupt, at times, flowed beautifully from one segment to the other, and the each of the songs were arranged effectively and, of course, were all relevant and enjoyable. The overall product quality was fantastic, and the richness in colors, as well as the diversity of effects, really complemented the musical selections in many ways. Choreography was magnificent - at many points, it literally felt like the fireworks were dancing with some of the sequences! The finale, although not quite to the same level of intensity as Italy 2004, was easily one of the best that I’ve come across since 2004, especially considering that, as some of you have pointed out already, much of the second half of the display was so active. The finale flowed well with the music, and the way the sky had filled with volley after volley of massive shells and deafening salutes, along with large nautical shells at ground level, really made the world feel like it was coming to a close! Thank you, Italy, for this wonderful conclusion to an overall powerful, exciting and convincing display. Definitely a display that is a contender for a Jupiter this year.
Needless to say that this display did provide some nostalgia for myself, as a few of the music choices were also used from a few displays in 2003, the year that many of us first joined joined this forum. Vangelis’s “Conquest of Paradise” was used during Argentina’s performance in 2003, and “Adiemus” was heard during Italy 2003. We also heard the soundtrack that Portugal used for their finale in 2008. There were also a few familiar songs in between that I’ve heard in the past - this made the whole display all so much more enjoyable.
Italy is most certainly my number one choice at this point, and while I do agree that it will be difficult to surpass, there are some potentially strong performances that are still due to present! I find it appropriate, though, that the first Wednesday display since 2008 should be so successful.
Trav.
Page 1 of 2: 2 Next »