The last time the 62-year-old theatre underwent renovation was in 1953 - after weathering a challenging early history. The original architectural design for the massive neoclassical complex was chosen at a competition in Paris in 1930. Construction began the following year, but was halted during WWII. During the war, the partially completed building was used to house famous works of art from Moscow and St. Petersburg museums that had been evacuated, in order to preserve them. Construction was finally completed in 1945 with wartime labour, and the complex's opening performance was Mikhail Glinka's Ivan Susanin, staged on 12 May 1945 in celebration of VE Day. Throughout the succeeding Soviet era, the theatre remained a primary venue for the Siberian region and was the first theatre in the country outside Moscow to be named an academic institution for theatre arts. But the facility's stage technology did not keep pace.
The current technological renovation is therefore historic, addressing NSATOB's three performance venues, which were in dire need of restoration, and upgraded stage lighting luminaires. NSATOB's 1,174-seat Main Hall is now fitted with 16 ETC Source Four 10° spotlights hanging from the balconies. The theatre also has 24 ETC Source Four 19°, 10 Source Four 26° and 12 Source Four 36° luminaires.
Aleksandr Lisitsa, NSATOB's lighting director, says: "ETC Source Four luminaires deserve the love and respect of lighting technicians, because they have great features and are versatile when it comes to beam angles. They're also easy to use."
When selecting equipment, NSATOB's technicians also wanted to use moving lights but were worried about the noise they would make. To solve this problem, they chose 26 ETC Source Four Revolution automated fixtures with QuietDrive motor control for low-noise performance. With the capabilities that NSATOB's lighting system now has, the theatre can support a larger range of productions, including international touring shows. DOKA Media Ltd., one of ETC's distributors in Russia, handled the installation for NSATOB.
As part of the reconstruction, the number of seats in the main hall was reduced from 2100 to 1174 to provide more audience comfort and better sightlines. The concert hall, on the other hand, was expanded from 370 to 686 seats and can now be reconfigured into different layouts to fit many functions. A new black box theatre with 130 seats can be used as a recording studio.
NSATOB began its 62nd official season in September, with the premier of Mozart's Marriage of Figaro. Other shows this season include Don Quixote, Carmen, Giselle, and Eugene Onegin.
(Chris Henry)
