The history of the Polish Theater in Wroclaw, the largest city in western Poland, has been eventful. Built in 1909 but suffering severe damage during World War II and then extensive devastation by fire in the mid 1990s, the venue has nonetheless continued to be a mainstay of the country’s artistic community. Now Renkus-Heinz is helping it to move into a new era courtesy of an ST Series loudspeaker system.
Live music, theater and other live performances continue to populate the Polish Theater’s busy calendar in 2017. To ensure that the audio in the theater’s largest space remains ‘fit for purpose’ for its diverse engagements, the venue operators recently enlisted the services of The M.Ostrowski Company – a prominent player in the Polish electro-acoustics and AV sector since 1990.
M. Ostrowski Technical Director Lukasz Tobola recalls that the project involved “not just audio but also lighting and staging infrastructure. The venue operators were determined that the new installation continue the Polish Theater’s long tradition for excellence.”
This certainly applied to the specification of the new loudspeaker system – a compact but powerful configuration centered around Renkus-Heinz ST Series loudspeakers. “We have double Renkus-Heinz self-powered ST4R94 active loudspeakers for the left and right proscenium arch clusters; a double active ST4R44 for the central cluster; and STR4L and STR5L units,” Tobola reports. “The ST4L loudspeakers on the rear walls are for effects on the orchestral level, first balcony and second balcony.”
The integrated amplification and robust digital processing of the ST4R speakers make them an ideal selection for the space-sensitive, multi-purpose requirements of the Polish Theatre.
“The advanced transducer design and sophisticated multichannel networking also helped to confirm their suitability for the project,” says Tobola, who notes that Renkus-Heinz was specified after an extensive tender process.
Nearly 50 compact speakers from the PN Series – ranging from stage monitors and active cabinets to passive speakers – were also specified for the upgrade.
Now completed, the project has met with tremendous acclaim from both theater patrons and staff. “They have a very busy program of events, covering lots of different styles, and the Renkus-Heinz system has proven to be entirely capable of handling all of them. It has provided precisely the combination of robust performance and quality output that was required for this venue,” says Tobola, who adds that M. Ostrowski has lately been involved in a number of other projects also featuring Renkus-Heinz expertise.