A-Series built into theater rebirth in the Ukraine.
After a catastrophic fire devastated the Cherkasy Music and Drama Theater, this historic venue at the heart of one of Ukraine’s major cities, has finally reopened. It’s taken six long years, but in that time the venue has undergone a period of meaningful restoration and renewal, to save the theatrical future of the region.
“Our theater is not just a building,” explains Director, Petro Lastivka. “First of all, it is the product of the people who create, and work within it. Together we had to return, better, stronger and brighter than we were before.”
When the question arose about the choice of audio equipment, Lastivka focused his attention on finding a supplier that understood the depth of their endeavor.
By chance, Lastivka’s unshakeable belief in equal listening for all has been the mission statement of the d&b community since the early 1980s - an ethos affectionately known as ‘democracy for listeners’.
Championing this mission is leading Ukrainian audio supplier, Lightek. As the d&b representative across the country, it was one of two vendors that made it to the project’s shortlist. For Lastivka, d&b’s international reputation for theater installations, coupled with Lightek’s in-house expertise, proved a compelling combination. “It was the more coherent and attractive package,” he says. “Plus, they guaranteed high quality engineering, training and service.”
During the reconstruction period, Lightek proposed a number of possible options. Then, in 2019 the A-Series was released – a solution that harnesses the benefits of both point source and line array technology. “The A-Series had shown itself to be excellent,” says Lightek’s leading sound engineer, Alexey Malainyi.
With the team in no doubt about the choice of equipment, three compact A-Series clusters comprising three AL90s each, were installed with highly efficient V-Series subwoofers to cover the low end. The result is a system that evenly floods the parterre and balconies with consistent, high quality sound.
“And of course, all this is rocked by the d&b amplifiers,” adds Malainyi. “With powerful DSPs united in a common network, the equipment can be controlled and monitored from a tablet. Using R1, the state of the system is right there onscreen, enabling us to check the integrity of all speakers and their condition at any one minute. It’s been a pleasure to rebuild this apparatus, not to mention hear it.”
On all counts, the theater and all who shape its cultural and creative life, have set the stage for a future fuelled by regrowth and rejuvenation.
