SUFFOLK, U.K. — Robert Ornbo, one of the world’s most prolific and celebrated lighting designers, with over 300 productions to his credit, died Nov. 19 at the age of 77. The cause was Fibrosing Alveolitis, a condition Ornbo had been battling since he was diagnosed with it in 2001. Ornbo’s lighting designs extended across the spectrum of live entertainment, from theatrical productions including drama, musicals and opera and ballet to spectacles and ceremonial events at the Buckingham Palace, military facilities, and for newly-launched ocean liners.
Working as an assistant to Richard Pilbrow in the early 1960s, he soon became a lighting designer in his own right, serving as managing director of Theatre Projects Lighting, with projects staged across London’s West End, the National Theatre, the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, the Royal Opera and the Royal Ballet.
Beyond England, Ornbo lit the opening season for the Sydney Opera House and other productions staged throughout Europe and as far away as Moscow, the Middle East, Johannesburg and elsewhere in Australia.
Ornbo is survived by his wife, Rose, and two sons, George and Sam. Donations in his memory can be made to a research effort focusing on Ornbo’s illness. The contact is:
Dr. John Shneerson (Re: Fibrosing Alveolitis), Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Papworth Everard, Cambridge, CB23 3RE, England.
