Located inside Moscow's historic Kremlin, the State Kremlin Palace is a venue for concerts, ballet, and opera performances. Built in 1961, it was originally conceived as a venue for governmental gatherings. Today, the space is home to the Kremlin Ballet and often used for concerts, and while the Bolshoi Theatre is under renovation it serves as the temporary home for the Bolshoi Ballet. The vast auditorium can seat up to 6,000, making it the largest concert hall in Russia. Main Light understands the demands of such a busy venue and was honored when the Kremlin Palace chose the Main Light http://www.mainlight.com Soft-LED® panels to highlight productions in its historic auditorium.
Jakob Sagiv, of Silk, Main Light Industries, Inc.’s distributor based in Utrecht, Netherlands handled the sale and installation of 14 Main Light Soft-LED medium resolution panels. Each of the panels measures 16' 1" high (4.90 m) x 33' 5" wide (10.09 m) and weighs in at .21 lbs per sq ft (.008 kg per sq/m.). “The Kremlin Palace is the only building which was added to the Kremlin complex during the 20th century,” says Sagiv. “It was used as the main stage for Communist conferences during the Soviet times and is still used for all the indoor concerts. The stage is vast and the sightlines are very good so it is suitable for music and ballet.”
Giovanni Ciranni, Soft-LED manager with Main Light Industries, traveled to Moscow to aid in the installation and to provide training on the use of the Soft-LED panels. “Moscow was a great place to visit and everyone at the State Palace was very eager to add the panels to their inventory,” comments Ciranni. The only real challenge for Ciranni, Sagiv, and the crew from Silk was actually getting the panels into the theatre. “The hardest part was to get the equipment into the Kremlin complex past all the security,” explains Sagiv, “We had to wait nearly five hours until the police dog and its handler arrived to inspect the delivery before we could get into the building and onstage.” All the security of the Kremlin reminded Ciranni of the historic nature of the venue, “It was great to get the opportunity to work in a space that has seen so much history, not just the State Palace but the entire complex. It is cool to think that Main Light will now be part of that going forward.”
In fact, history was the focus of the very first uses of the Soft-LED panels at the Kremlin State Palace. They were designed into the 75th Anniversary celebration for the state aircraft industry, builders of the first Sputnik rockets and MiG planes. The panels were also highlighted at an annual concert, where some of the best-known Russian performers entertained dignitaries including former President Putin. “The Kremlin Palace always knew that the Soft-LED panels would be ideal as scenic elements for a range of performances,” points out Sagiv. “They chose the Main Light products because they were convinced that this product best met their specifications. They were shown a number of options but Main Light won on ease of use, speed of assembly, and resolution. The customer has told us that they are very pleased with the Soft-LED panels and have now even learned how to create their own content with the media server.”
