The venue has recently taken delivery of 38 brand new Robe LED moving lights, comprising 22 x DL4X Spots and 16 x DL4S Profiles for its large hall which seats 400 people. The new rig is replacing and upgrading several older fixtures, some units dating back over 30 years to the old Soviet era! In the process, they are now saving around 50% in electricity costs.

The lights were delivered via Robe’s Latvian distributor, Diogens Audio.

Diogens Audio’s owner and MD Ilgonis Punculs explained that the theatre received European Union structural funds – a program to promote increased energy efficiency in public buildings - to modernize and replace a proportion of the old lighting inventory with support from the Latvian State Real Estate company.

One of the stipulations was that the new lights must be LED sources and sustainable.

The DL4 series has been designed especially for theatre productions and installations and was selected here for its low noise and the multiple features offered by both types of luminaire. The accurate framing shutters and theatrical grade dimming were a key to the choice of DL4S Profile, allowing for the precision and detail needed to light theatre shows generally.

The theatre’s staging director Guntars Grāvelsiņš together with the technical and lighting departments all agree that Robe was the right path to take.

Everyone was pleased to see the old Soviet lights go, although it was a credit to their truly industrial build that they were still functioning after so many years of hard service!

In addition to the Big Hall, Valmieras Theatre has a 100-capacity Small Hall, and both produce their own shows as well as receiving a diversity of visiting productions - from drama to music concerts, providing up to 10 different productions a month.

When not in use for public performances, the halls are utilized as rehearsal spaces so there are daily activities needing good quality lighting.

Everyone is delighted with the results and impact of the new Robe fixtures, reports Ilgonis. The theatre has a cleaner, greener and more economical lighting rig that is ultimately more flexible and dynamic, and the designers are loving it!

It has “hugely increased” the venue’s capacity to stage the world-class shows for which they are renowned, he concludes proudly.

Photo Credit: Gatis Priednieks – Melnacis