A major upgrade to its sound system has enabled the Istrian People’s Theatre (INK), Pula, Croatia, to begin hosting international music ensembles as well as dramatic productions.

The venue’s origins lie with the smaller Teatro Nuovo (New Theatre), built in 1854 when Pula was part of the Austrian Empire, replaced in 1879 by a grander building that has survived both the passage of time and various governments. In 2004, the theatre was officially renamed the Istrian People’s Theatre, City Theatre Pula, and is now generally branded as INK (Istarsko Narodno Kazalište).

The auditorium has a capacity of 699, spread across the main seating area, boxes on the first and second floors, and third floor balcony.

After many years of coping with a very tired audio system, the theatre turned to the L-Acoustics distributor for Croatia, Dicroic. ‘We were looking for something with fantastic sound quality that would also blend in with the spectacular historic architecture,’ explains Miodrag Flego, sound manager at the venue, and largely responsible for specifying the new L-Acoustics PA. ‘We decided that Syva had the best of both worlds.’

Consequently, it recently replaced all of its sound reinforcement and monitoring systems with L-Acoustics Syva and X Series technologies, as well as LA4X amplification.

Syva is a co-linear system that features six MF and three HF drivers loaded by Dosc waveguides, for wide coverage with extended throw. The solution at INK uses four Syva, four Syva Low and two Syva Sub for the main stage reinforcement, as well as four 5XT coaxial enclosures as left and right fills for the row of theatre boxes. All enclosures are custom coloured from the RAL matching standard to blend with the proscenium and balcony railings.

In the near future the theatre will also have L-Acoustics ARCS Wide, ARCS Focus, and X12 for its stage monitoring system, as well as ARCS Wide, ARCS Focus and SB18 for its additional small stage.

‘We had a lot of help from L-Acoustics engineers in specifying the new systems,’ says Flego. ‘We would not have been able to achieve such a great result without their input, or the design assistance of L-Acoustics Soundvision software. It was Soundvision that highlighted the need for the extra first level fills, which have made a big difference to the coverage for the boxes at the extreme left and right ends.’

As well as a busy dramatic programme, INK hosts high-profile jazz acts since installing the new system, including Charlie Hunter & Lucy Woodward, the Mingus Big Band, and Jason Moran & The Bandwagon. ‘All the musicians were delighted with the sound,’ notes Flego. ‘They all asked about the PA, unprompted, because they were so impressed. That tells me we’ve got it right.’

INK’s history is one of constant reinvention and cultural commentary through over 160 years of social and political change. Thankfully, the theatre continues to look forward to a bright future of presenting the best that international and local creative and dramatic arts have to offer.

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