The theatre officially began in 1989, commencing with Children's World, a group who developed a unique sound for that era, thanks to complex arrangements and skilled vocal technique. With financial and administrative assistance from several foundations, the theatre was able to stage its first musical, which premiered in January 1990.
Alongside its stage productions, over the years the theatre also developed its own recording label, putting out many albums of young, up-and-coming performers -some of which enjoyed both critical acclaim and mainstream success.
Formerly housed in an outdated facility, with the assistance of the Government of Moscow, construction of a new, state of the art facility in the city centre began in 2005. This was recently completed, and now features a recording studio, video editing facilities, a prop shop, ballet and dance studios, and other amenities - including the QSC WideLine 8 rig in the surround sound auditorium.
BBRS' Andre Lomov comments: "After studying the parameters, it was agreed that the QSC system would be the best fit for the job, since the auditorium is wide, not particularly long, and has deeply-raked seating; it was the ideal solution for this unique space."
BBRS and LiveSound jointly conceived a front-of-house reinforcement system comprising hangs of six WL-3082 and WL212-sw per side to produce a total curve angle of 54° and 140° horizontal dispersion. Further bass extension is provided by two SL212-sw enclosures, which are recessed under the stage.
Amplification is provided by a combination of PL340, PL236 and PL218, with the system optimised by three SC28 dedicated, 2-input, 8-output digital system controllers containing pre-programmed settings for the WideLine 8.
Depending on the event, the surround sound system, comprising eight of QSC's stylish AD-S828H enclosures, can be switched in via the DSP 322ua processor, operating under the QSControl.net platform, with a QSC CX902 amplifier providing the power.
In addition, BBRS and LiveSound designed and installed the state of the art digital recording studio, main stage lighting, mobile lighting for touring musicals and CCTV systems.
The Mayor of Moscow, Yury Luzhkov, was among the guests at the official VIP opening this winter, along with other members of government, members of the press, actors, artists and other notable public figures.
In summary, Andre Lomov said: "We are delighted to have been associated with the upgrade of this culturally-significant theatre, and to be able to demonstrate that QSC has all the necessary complementary components to allow us to construct the perfect digital network solution. The impressive dispersion pattern of WideLine has already been commented on."
(Jim Evans)
