The interview began with exactly the words used in the title of the article. “Everything is crazy and funny.” When he learned he would be tasked with designing and assembling Lagoa’s Christmas tree, in a much shorter time frame than usual, decorator Orleans de Sá, 48, laughed. He thought it was a joke. After five years without performing, the Rio Tree, as it is officially known, lit up the city again last week. The project – practically a scenographic odyssey combining the Brazilian flag with Van Gogh’s Starry Night – was completed in a month and a half, record time.
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It was a sunny day. The set designer was on his way to the academy when he received a call from Lisbon inviting him to create an artistic design of the 60-meter floating structure, equivalent to a 35-story building.
— First Roberta, from Backstage, said “you know, Orléans? The Lagoa tree will come back”. So cool, I said “damn, that’s cool”, to which she responds: “We meant the project is up to you”. The moment my glasses fell off, I almost had a car accident. But it was like that, in this fear, thank God, jokes Orléans.
The weather is already a matter of “shark after fish” under normal conditions. He explained that, usually, projects start developing in mid-March of the same year, to have time to conduct research, start production at the factory, assemble the tree and carry out all the lighting and structural tests. A week after this phone call, he presented the first version of the project.
— I read everything you could imagine about Christmas, I analyzed in detail all the trees of 22 years, I thought about Christmas in Paris, in New York, everywhere. There was a time when I said “stop, that’s enough, let me think”. And then during this break I had the idea of bringing a more classic side with references to Brazil, to terrestrial and aquatic biomes — he says.
The presentation was a success: everyone loved it, except that they thought it was “too much Brazil”. For the nervous Orleans, they requested a new version. He then created another project: totally classic, without as many national references. Everyone loves it again, with only one downside:
— They were complaining that there was no Brazil. I just thought “my God, what do you want”. And they wanted a Brazilian flag. I was very nervous. To me it made no sense, this possibility did not exist. It’s Christmas! I have cursed everything you can imagine. But then, at a certain point, I said to myself: “go look at the flag, go with the hatred, after it passes, you will understand” — he said.
There were therefore days of anxiety and creation, two very strong allies (explains Freud). Despite his anger, he says with humor that he learned a lot about the constellations on the flag, he learned that the star Spica (Alpha of Virgo), which is at the top of the banner with the motto “Order and Progress”, represents the State of Pará. However, it took time for another project to take shape. One Saturday evening, immersed in references, he gave up. He decided to rest and sleep. But then another day brings another light:
— I had the idea of researching museums outside the country. I went to the Van Gogh Museum in the Netherlands twice and the first work that came to my mind was “Starry Night”. While reading this book, I discovered that he was in a psychiatric hospital while he was painting. I identified myself straight away, I also felt like I was in a madhouse. He panicked, I panicked. I thought: “I’m going to make a wonderful starry night on this tree, lighting constellation by constellation, to make it clear that this is the Brazilian flag,” he said.
In two days, the architecture team created a 3D prototype.
— I didn’t know if they would like it. I loved it. And I wanted to present something that a man would look at and say “wow, how beautiful!” If he understands the concept, that’s wonderful. If you just appreciate beauty, that’s wonderful too. What I wanted was the Christmas spirit there, says the set designer.
The structure features 27 stars, representing the states of Brazil, which illuminate in a choreography of lights, from the base to the top, as the green flag lights up as the highlight of the visual spectacle.
— When the green of the flag lights up, it goes down the tree like a thread of hope, illuminating each state and creating this starry night that represents all of Brazil — explains Orléans. — Then comes yellow, which spreads layer by layer until it envelops the entire structure, as if sewing the country with light.
The technology used this year makes it possible to reduce energy consumption, 20 to 30% of the energy used in previous editions. The tree is also lit by renewable diesel from Petrobras, reducing emissions by up to 87%: a combination of high scenography, visual impact due to the amount of detail and environmental commitment.
When the project was presented, they applauded loudly. But it was already September. While the bureaucracy was determined to allow work to begin, time was running out. The sponsor didn’t give the final “approval” until a little over a month later, almost at the end of October. Orléans tried to find a balance between not panicking under the pressure of deadlines and moving the process forward at the factory, preparing the ironwork elements.
Five days after final acceptance, the factory, located in Benfica, in the northern area of Rio, became a hangar for a samba school. About 120 people worked in a 2,000 square meter warehouse, filled with equipment, decorations, tools, and people came and went to design 30 kilometers of flexible LED and neon pipes, which would achieve 45 different lighting moments. They even made a carpentry prototype. But who said it was time to use it?
— We did, in a month and a half, what everyone does in six months. We finished on the perfect date. I thank God very much, because it was a quarter of the time, — reports the artist.
Once ready, another problem was transporting the entire structure to the southern area. There were around 30 trips in a 10 meter long truck, assembly under the sun and almost 18 hours of work per day.
— I was ridiculously happy on opening day. I’ve seen a lot of emotional people. We worked hard for this. I just wanted to create a really beautiful tree that people would love, but I heard it was the most beautiful tree ever. Then we separate and end the evening with three bottles of champagne on our heads – Orléans goes above and beyond.
At 48 years old, he has worked for 30 years in major events, such as Rock in Rio, since the third edition of the festival, dressing rooms at the Marquês de Sapucaí and most of the most prestigious business spaces on the Avenida, apart from the editions of the traditional “Rio Samba and Carnaval”.
The full moon on opening night made the scene even more special.
— I do all types of events, but the Christmas tree has always been the responsibility of a single scenographer. This was the first year it came out for me. Signing the largest work of scenography in the city is an important step, but creating positive emotions in people and bringing families together around the tree is my biggest reward. They said it was a Christmas present for Rio de Janeiro, but it was for me, he said.
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