"Our goal for many years has been to install a Meyer Sound system, and we simply love it," says Wlodek Kowalczyk, the venue's principal sound engineer. "The Mina system delivers sparkling definition, and a dynamic range that covers all the subtleties of sound in musical theatre. It responds to what I wish to achieve, without compromises."
The main FOH system comprises 28 Mina loudspeakers, which include twin left and right hangs of 11 each and a centre cluster of six. Four 1100-LFC low-frequency control elements are deployed as dual end-fired arrays. Completing the Meyer Sound system are eight UPM-1P loudspeakers for front-fill, two UPA-1P loudspeakers for corner-fill, and a Galileo loudspeaker management system with two Galileo 616 processors for system drive and alignment.
Polsound has also provided 24 channels of Shure ULX-D digital wireless microphones and a Shure PSM 900 in-ear monitoring system.
"The new Mina system fits the venue perfectly," says Pawel Danikiewicz, commercial director for Polsound. "It's surprisingly powerful, yet smaller than what was installed before. MINA sounds like a big hi-fi system."
Originally built in 1935 as a 'Catholic House' in the classic style reminiscent of Italian opera halls, the Musical Theatre ROMA auditorium was one of the few buildings in Warsaw to survive World War II. It was home to the Polish National Opera from the post-war era through 1963. Past productions at the venue include Cats, Grease, Miss Saigon, The Phantom of the Opera, and Les Misérables.
Since introduced in 2010, the Mina loudspeaker has won rapid acceptance in Poland. In addition to Musical Theatre ROMA, Polsound has recently installed other Mina systems at Malopolski Ogrod Sztuki [Garden of Art in Malopolska] in Cracow, CK Zamek [Poznan Castle] in Poznan, and Teatr Studio in Warsaw.
(Jim Evans)
