Building on its extensive Stage Tec Nexus routing network, Danuta Baduszkowa Musical Theatre in Gdynia, Poland, has added a Crescendo platinum mixing desk, which was installed by Konsbud Audio.
Able to accommodate an audience of more than 1,500, the theatre has been modernised in several phases in recent years, with this latest phase installing the 32-fader Crescendo console in the sound control room, accompanied by an upgrade to the Nexus network with four powerful RMDQ DSP boards. The search for a new audio console began prior to staging a new play – Notre Dame de Paris. This production was a major technological challenge requiring a highly advanced console.
Before deciding in favour of the Stage Tec console several other audio consoles were tested. The requirement was for a flexible network to route audio signals and connect the facility’s three stages and its recording studio. Members of the sound department in Gdynia had visited German theatres to appraise the Nexus network, and were impressed by its many conversion features for all standard formats, the XMic+ microphone splitting function and the high dynamic range of up to 158dB as well as the redundancy options.
Stage Tec installed an extensive Nexus network with 18 Base Devices and two Nexus Star routers in Gdynia as a result. The theatre distributed the Base Devices throughout the venue and on the stages. In order to be able to respond flexibly and quickly to artistic requirements several of the Nexus Base Devices are mobile. They can provide additional audio inputs and outputs locally, for example when big musicals with a high microphone count require extra inputs.
The Crescendo platinum desk was installed during the final stage of the modernisation.
‘After testing numerous options we decided to use Stage Tec’s Crescendo platinum with 32 faders,’ says Mariusz Fortuniak, Manager of the Musical Theatre. ‘There were several reasons for this decision – in our theatre we use a Nexus network from Stage Tec, so it was helpful to source the console from the same manufacturer. This means that we can use all the options offered by the Nexus network in every single Base Device.
‘That’s very convenient, especially in live situations. Another important reason is that now we can use the full dynamic range of the AD/DA converters. Gone are the days when we had to put up with the limitations so typical in converting to other audio formats. The outcome is, of course, much-improved quality of the final signal. Apart from that, the console is extremely flexible, and the dedicated software enables us to assign any function we require to a large number of user keys.
‘Another reason for choosing Crescendo platinum was the production of Notre Dame de Paris. The musical required a very complex monitoring system, so we needed a console with the maximum possible number of outputs. The console had to integrate with several wireless in-ear audio systems, multiple stage monitor lines (including one set-up for an experimental choir) and dozens of direct signal lines for the orchestra musicians’ personal monitoring systems. The essential parameters were the lowest possible latency for the singers and musicians in-ear audio systems, wide dynamic range of the processed signals and the highest possible audio signal quality.
‘The Crescendo, together with its RMDQ cards, has met all our requirements’
Since opening its doors in 1958, the Danuta Baduszkowa Musical Theatre has hosted more than 300 premières, including Les Miserables, Jesus Christ Superstar, Chicago, Shrek and Notre Dame de Paris.
