Excellence in Galvanizing
Wedge Group Galvanizing has hit all the right notes after playing its part in the construction of a new facility set to host an open air celebration of opera music.
The company's Worksop Galvanizing plant has galvanized more than 150 tonnes of structural steel used to create a demountable pavilion for the Garsington Opera Festival, an annual month-long musical extravaganza staged from this year in the grounds of the Getty family’s Wormsley Estate in Buckinghamshire.
The steel was used by Nottingham-based engineering firm Sheetfabs Nottm Ltd, working for the main project contractor Unusual Rigging of Northampton, to produce the framework and secondary architectural steelwork to the 600-seat, £2 million auditorium, which houses both the orchestra and audience, and will be disassembled after each festival and stored away until the following year’s performance.
“Snell Associates, the pavilion designer, has based the structure on the traditional Japanese Kabuki theatres, and I’m sure it will create a really intimate atmosphere between performers and the audience for years to come,” Paul Robinson, Commercial Manager of Worksop Galvanizing, commented. “We worked particularly closely with the team at Sheetfabs on this project, with our technical team involved at an early stage to ensure the design of the steelwork would meet galvanizing requirements.”
“Galvanizing the steelwork will offer a long-lasting and invaluable protection against rust and corrosion,” David Mason, Project Director of Sheetfabs, said. “The team at Worksop Galvanizing provided us with a first-class and reliable service, making sure our work on the pavilion was completed on schedule for build requirement, enabling completion well in advance of rehearsals and the opening performance.”
First held back in 1979, the festival has previously been staged at Garsington Manor in Oxfordshire, but this summer’s event – running from 2nd June until 5th July – and subsequent concerts will now be held at the Getty’s country estate in High Wycombe. This year’s festival kicks off with a performance of Mozart’s The Magic Flute, and will also include Rossini’s comic opera Il Turco Italia, and the UK premiere of Vivaldi’s La Verita In Cimento.