The Latvian National Theater

Audio AE, Latvia’s biggest pro-audio sales and installation company recently supplied an INNOVASON Sy48 Digital Live Mixing Console to the newly reconstructed National Theatre in the capital, Riga. A beautiful building with a fascinating history, the National Theatre building dates back to 1902 and it was on the stage of the National Theatre that the country’s independence was proclaimed in 1918. In 1940, when Latvia was occupied by the Soviet Union, the name of the theatre was changed to the Drama Theatre only regaining its original name on November 17, 1988, one day before the 70th anniversary of the proclamation of the independent Latvian state.

 The National Theatre has two stages: a main stage seating 780 and a smaller Actor’s Hall Stage which seats up to 100 people. Although it hosts a diverse program of performances, being the national theatre of Latvia, it aims to promote and develop original Latvian playwrights as much as possible.

Before reconstruction, the sound engineers of the National Theatre were working with a SOUNDCRAFT 324 mixing console that no longer had the resources to deal with the larger more complex productions. As a result they started looking for a replacement mid-priced mixing desk and after trying many analogue and digital boards, settled on the INNOVASON Sy48. “We tested many consoles, but when we tried the INNOVASON Sy48 it was clear that this was the console we needed” commented Mr Maris Guitans, Chief Engineer for the National Theatre.