The French lighting manufacturer's involvement was double-fold, firstly by sponsoring the festival with the loan of Robert Juliat lighting equipment, and secondly because CEO, François Juliat, was invited to present a prestigious Sibiu Walk of Fame award at the Gala event televised on National Romanian Television.
The Sibiu International Theatre Festival is one of the largest festivals in the world. For 10 days, the city of Sibiu is transformed with 381 events presented in 66 venues by artists from over 70 countries who perform to approximately 62,000 spectators every day.
Founded 21 years ago by an initiative group led by Constantin Chiriac, at that time an actor from Sibiu's Radu Stanca Theatre, the Festival's aim was to restore the lost glory of the city. Today the festival represents the most complex annual festival in the world with offerings from professional and amateur performers presenting experimental and heritage performances in theatre, dance, music, opera and operetta, film and street performance. Performances take place in venues as diverse as fortresses, historic sites, public squares, cathedrals and churches. The 21st anniversary's theme of 'Uniqueness in Diversity' truly reflects the international and multicultural nature of the Festival.
"Sibiu is one of the most important cultural centres of Romania and, along with the city of Luxembourg, was designated a European Capital of Culture for the year 2007," explains Robert Juliat's sales director, Claus Spreyer. "The quality and diversity of the Festival is something to admire and we were very proud to support it by supplying lighting equipment for use in some of the venues."
The Robert Juliat sponsorship took the form of the loan of Robert Juliat fixtures from the 700SX series of 2000W tungsten profile lanterns. A complement of RJ 710SX2, RJ 713SX2 and RJ 714SX2 2000W tungsten zoom profile lanterns were delivered for use in venues across the town. The powerful output and high quality beam combined with the versatility of the zoom lenses made the RJ700SX fixtures the ideal choice for the varied uses the Festival would demand.
Inside Sibiu's famous 'unconquerable' medieval fortress is a pedestrian promenade that runs between Romania's first and oldest theatre, built in 1788, and the site of The New Theatre which is to be built as a Radu Stanca National Theatre Sibiu initiative for the urban regeneration of the community. This walkway is the site of the Sibiu Walk of Fame. Inspired by Hollywood Walk of Fame, the Sibiu Walk of Fame is similarly inset with stars bearing the names of the many cultural and artistic personalities who helped develop the city.
Robert Juliat CEO, François Juliat, was invited by President of the Festival, Constantin Chiriac, to present one of these stars to the celebrated German theatre and opera director, Peter Stein. Stein is one of seven figures to receive such recognition for their cultural legacy to the city in this 21st year of the Festival.
Constantin Chiriac, who is a key figure in the development of Romanian theatres as well as the Sibiu International Theatre Festival, chose to invite François Juliat to make this presentation as he greatly admires Robert Juliat's products and philosophy. "Constantin has always been a great advocate of Robert Juliat lighting fixtures and we have seen our lighting fixtures installed in many theatres across Romania as a result of his influence," concludes Claus Spreyer.
(Jim Evans)
