Czech fireworker: Fortune has many faces. This year we are bringing back music from Carmina Burana
1/6/2018
Brno - O Fortuna - that is the name of the first show of Ignis Brunensis 2018, directed and presented by Czech fireworks team Flash Barrandov SFX. The show, accompanied by music from Carmina Burana, will pay tribute to the firework the fireworkers presented on the festival 20 years ago. The audience will see it on 2nd of June above the dam in Brno.
Which part of your show you'd like to highlight?
Our audience can look forward to the part between 00:00 and 17:22 minutes. In other words, I'd love to highlight our whole show, O Fortuna.
What can the audience of the IGNIS BRUNENSIS expect? Are there any surprises or special effects in your show?
Fortune has many faces and is really unpredictable. Our show is technically really challenging so we will be eagerly anticipating to which side the Wheel of Fortune on pontoon spins. Will it be the right side? The majority of the firework material we are using comes from the Spanish company Ricardo Caballer, so luckily we are well prepared.
How did you choose the music for your show? What did you think about including Antonín Dvořák's composition which is meant to celebrate the 100th anniversary of formation of Czechoslovakia? Was it difficult to incorporate it into your theme?
Twenty years ago, we made an IGNIS BRUNENSIS show with a small part of theme music from the opera Carmina Burana. We fired it on Kraví hora and our concept back then was rather humble. So we decided to honour the memory by a full-feature remake. Dvořák's overture Carnival is undoubtedly one of Czech musical bestsellers. The composition is beautiful and the melody is really vivid. Carnival also influenced and cheered our nation during bad times. To us, the overture feels really close, but we are really curious to see the rendition of our guests from Poland, Romania and France.
In which festivals or places have you participated before coming to Ignis Brunensis in Brno?
Besides multiple Majáles festivals (with the last show traditionally taking place here in Brno) we've participated in multimedia show accompanying breath-taking concert Martpo & TroubleGang "Dead man Walking" in the O2 arena. We also enjoyed our participation in this year's biggest European fireworks show in Oensingen in Switzerland.
Where are you heading next after performing in Brno?
We are looking forward to a number of summer open-air festivals and then preparing for our next big show. We will change the scenery - from pontoon and boats of the dam in Brno to boats deep in Indian Ocean.
Medallion of the fireworker:
Name and surname: Jaroslav Štolba.
Function/position in the team: Co-owner of the company, designer and also technical director of the Starobrno Ignis Brunensis festival.
Three words that describe me: Emotions, emotions, emotions.
My job-related dream: Still the same. To make a living from things we love.
Medallion of the fireworks team:
The name of the team: Flash Barrandov SFX.
Year the team originated in: 1992 as Flash Barrandov SFX. But as the successors of the tradition of special effects in Barrandov studios, the team formed in the 1930s.
Number of shows per year: Almost twenty bigger shows.
The greatest success in the recent period: Successful pyromusicals in Munich, Cannes, Hanover, Monaco and Oensingen. We also made the grade in the movie industry: our supervision on special effects in the Carnival Row project.
Which part of your show you'd like to highlight?
Our audience can look forward to the part between 00:00 and 17:22 minutes. In other words, I'd love to highlight our whole show, O Fortuna.
What can the audience of the IGNIS BRUNENSIS expect? Are there any surprises or special effects in your show?
Fortune has many faces and is really unpredictable. Our show is technically really challenging so we will be eagerly anticipating to which side the Wheel of Fortune on pontoon spins. Will it be the right side? The majority of the firework material we are using comes from the Spanish company Ricardo Caballer, so luckily we are well prepared.
How did you choose the music for your show? What did you think about including Antonín Dvořák's composition which is meant to celebrate the 100th anniversary of formation of Czechoslovakia? Was it difficult to incorporate it into your theme?
Twenty years ago, we made an IGNIS BRUNENSIS show with a small part of theme music from the opera Carmina Burana. We fired it on Kraví hora and our concept back then was rather humble. So we decided to honour the memory by a full-feature remake. Dvořák's overture Carnival is undoubtedly one of Czech musical bestsellers. The composition is beautiful and the melody is really vivid. Carnival also influenced and cheered our nation during bad times. To us, the overture feels really close, but we are really curious to see the rendition of our guests from Poland, Romania and France.
In which festivals or places have you participated before coming to Ignis Brunensis in Brno?
Besides multiple Majáles festivals (with the last show traditionally taking place here in Brno) we've participated in multimedia show accompanying breath-taking concert Martpo & TroubleGang "Dead man Walking" in the O2 arena. We also enjoyed our participation in this year's biggest European fireworks show in Oensingen in Switzerland.
Where are you heading next after performing in Brno?
We are looking forward to a number of summer open-air festivals and then preparing for our next big show. We will change the scenery - from pontoon and boats of the dam in Brno to boats deep in Indian Ocean.
Medallion of the fireworker:
Name and surname: Jaroslav Štolba.
Function/position in the team: Co-owner of the company, designer and also technical director of the Starobrno Ignis Brunensis festival.
Three words that describe me: Emotions, emotions, emotions.
My job-related dream: Still the same. To make a living from things we love.
Medallion of the fireworks team:
The name of the team: Flash Barrandov SFX.
Year the team originated in: 1992 as Flash Barrandov SFX. But as the successors of the tradition of special effects in Barrandov studios, the team formed in the 1930s.
Number of shows per year: Almost twenty bigger shows.
The greatest success in the recent period: Successful pyromusicals in Munich, Cannes, Hanover, Monaco and Oensingen. We also made the grade in the movie industry: our supervision on special effects in the Carnival Row project.
Dominika Bayerová
The author is a former student of journalism on FSS in Brno,
find more on www.munimedia.cz
Photogallery: Robert Vystrčil
