The Hangzhou Grand Theatre (HZGT) was awarded approximately 7.5m Yuan (about £790,000) to upgrade its stage lighting system, 11 years after the theatre opened with an ETC lighting system. ETC's Chinese dealer, Hangzhou YiDaShi Lighting Equipment Co. Ltd. (YiDaShi), supplied the theatre with ETC's latest innovations, including Source Four LED Series 2 Lustr luminaires, Eos Ti and Gio lighting control consoles, and a Sensor power control system.
The 55,000sq.m HZGT is made up of five venues: the 1,600 seat Opera House; a 600 seat Concert Hall; a 400 seat Multifunction Hall, an open air stage; and a 700 seat Cultural Square. As an international performing arts venue that stages world-class productions, HGZT wanted to upgrade its traditional lighting rigs to a state-of-the-art colour-mixing LED lighting system.
"The application of LED technology is now a global trend in modern theatre," says Zhong GuoMiao, a senior engineer and director of HZGT's Stage department. They researched many LED fixtures from a variety of manufacturers worldwide, and found that ETC's LED luminaires are the perfect fit for the venue's specifications.
They chose 90 Source Four LED Series 2 Lustr luminaires for HZGT's lighting system, including 26° and 36° spotlights and Source Four LED CYC lights. "ETC's broad-spectrum colour options and good colour-control are what we were looking for. In particular, they can blend seamlessly with the gel colours of conventional lights," explains Zhong. "It is the only LED source whose design and technology come from a theatrical mindset."
All of HZGT's 14 Sensor dimming racks have been upgraded to the new generation of CEM3, which has improved connectivity. Additionally, the theatre has been equipped with 60 more relay modules, which optimise the ratio of dimming and relay from 12:1 to 4:1, to allow for broader use of intelligent fixtures.
The lighting control system in the Opera House has also been replaced with an ETC Eos Ti, backed by the compact yet powerful Gio. Multiple ETC Net3 Gateways have also been purchased for full ACN-networked functionality. And an ETC Unison architectural control system with a variety of control stations and interfaces regulates the houselights and worklights in the facility.
"Domestically, we were the first theatre to install a complete ETC system. It has served our facility for more than a decade, which is why we completely trust its quality and want to choose it again," says Zhong. "I believe it will continue to offer us more possibilities for stage management. And we're pleased with the technical support from YiDaShi."
After nearly six months of renovation, the reopening of HZGT was 25 December 2015, beginning with a series of programmes featuring traditional Chinese and classic Western music.
(Jim Evans)
