Gavan Swift (Technical Production, 1994) has lit up stages all across the world during his career. Now, he’s making history as the first Australian lighting designer to work on an opera at The Met, bringing his expertise to the breathtaking production of Moby-Dick. In this interview, Gavan discusses the excitement of revisiting this production after almost a decade, the creative and technical challenges of lighting such a grand opera, and his advice for Australian theatre practitioners aiming for the global stage.
Congratulations on becoming the first Australian lighting designer to work on an opera at the New York Metropolitan Opera. What most excites you about being a part of this upcoming production of Moby-Dick?
The most exciting part is revisiting one of my favourite productions after 8 or 9 years and approaching it with fresh eyes and new ideas.
The Met Opera is renowned for its scale and technical complexity. What has your experience been working with the venue so far?
Moby Dick is certainly a grand opera and it sits very nicely on The Met’s stage. The overwhelming feeling so far, working in this venue, is the enormity of everything they do. The repertory nature of the company means timelines are tight and there’s a vast number of people and moving parts to coordinate.
Moby-Dick is a visually striking opera. What have been your key inspirations and artistic vision for the lighting design?
The number one driver of my vision for the opera is how I can best contribute to telling the story. There is a heavy reliance on projection in the production and I work very closely with the projection designer to make sure our work compliments each other as we bring the story to the stage.
How do the size and resources of this production compare to other projects you’ve worked on?
Well, the Met is one of the biggest opera companies in the world with enormous resources, human or otherwise, to mount their grand productions. Lighting-wise, the repertory lighting plot is saturated with moving lights. In fact, there are very few conventional lights requiring focussing at all. That alone sets the Met apart from almost all other theatre companies I’ve worked for.
Opera requires a balance of storytelling, music, and visuals. How does your approach to lighting differ when designing for opera compared to musical theatre or other live performances?
I think the skills required to light opera and musicals are very similar. Both have narratives driven by the music and lyrics. Both are generally staged under tight time constraints for the size of the productions. The main difference could be the style of the music being played and how that affects the show. A bright and sparkly jukebox musical requires a very different lighting design compared to something a bit more threatening and tragic like Salome.
Has the process of designing and staging Moby-Dick been collaborative, and can you share some examples of the collaborative process?
Yes, it’s very collaborative. As mentioned previously, the projection-heavy nature of this production requires the projection designer and I work in close collaboration otherwise it could result in a bit of a mess. Luckily, Elaine McCarthy (projection designer) and I have been friends and colleagues for a long time now on multiple shows and we work well together.
Many young Australian theatre practitioners dream of working on a global stage. What advice would you give to these emerging creatives hoping to break into international markets?
This is so difficult to answer. There is no singular, definitive way to break into international markets. I still primarily live and work in Australia. I have been fortunate to be part of productions that have taken me to companies like The Met in New York and various international locations such as Tokyo, Singapore, Monte Carlo, London and more. My advice would be to take a chance on shows you may not normally take on. Sometimes the shows you think will never have a future may just surprise you.
