Ranked among the world’s premier theatres, Kulala Lumpur’a Istana Budaya is also an international statement in terms of its sound installation. Richard Lawn reports

Opened by former Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, the Istana Budaya (Ministry of Culture, Arts and Heritage Malaysia) provided the National Theatre with its new premises on Jalan Tun Razak on 15 September 1999. Ranked in the 10 most sophisticated theatres in the world, the theatre cost a total of RM210m (US$60m) to build and is immense, having a floor area of 21,000-sq-m and rising eight floors above the stage level and a further four below.

The inspiration for the design by Malaysian architect Muhammad Kamar Ya’akub is drawn from the traditional wau bulan [moon kite] motif, and the main building takes the form of the sirih junjung, which is a traditional arrangement of betel leaves used during Malay weddings and welcoming ceremonies. It is divided by function as in a traditional Malay house, with its three sections of the serambi (lobby and foyer), rumah ibu (mother house) as the auditorium, and the rumah dapur (kitchen) as the stage and rehearsal hall. The interior makes extensive use of Langkawi marble, while ornately carved high-quality tropical wood have been used for the doors and the lush carpets in the foyer and lobby feature motifs based on the cempaka flower and the beringin tree. The grand entrance to the theatre replicates the Balairong Seri (palace hall) of a Melaka palace, while the theatre lobby on the third floor takes the shape of the rebana ubi, a traditional Malay drum. The royal boxes on both sides of the auditorium are also patterned in the style of the spacious windows of a traditional Malay house. The auditorium (Panggung Sari) can seat 1,400 people, including 797 in the stalls (Balai Hadapan) on the first floor and 312 in the Grand Circle (Balai Utama) on the second floor. The centrepiece is the 28m by 25.3m (77m from stage right to stage left) proscenium-stage, which can be adjusted to suit any performance in just a few minutes, with the orchestra pit in front of the proscenium on a lower level in order not to obscure the audience view. There are a total of 61 flying bars each measuring 20m in length with 145 hoists (24 for stage FOH) capable of lifting 200kg. Performances vary from the Academic Orchestra of Zurich to rocker Ramli Sarip. However, the theatre’s technicians were soon to discover that their work was handicapped by a sound system that would need troubleshooting if the theatre was going to welcome major productions from overseas as well as domestic shows.

The original two-way PA system had been installed high up in the roof, with amplification racks placed out of sight above the theatre roof. This has subsequently been replaced with another two-way system in 2001. This time, uneven coverage caused by a badly specified speaker system together with a lack of servicing brought it criticism from tour production companies – one of which insisted that a PA system be hired in if Cats and Saturday Night Fever were to be staged. As the technicians learned to configure various Meyer, Nexo, L-Acoustics, EV and d&b speaker systems for the various productions, it became clear that a permanent solution was required if the theatre was going to retain its place as a top theatrical venue.

The bid by contractor Sri Ganggamaya (M) to provide the design, supply and installation of a new FOH line array speaker system, an analogue console, multitrack recording system and digital matrix intercom system for the auditorium was accepted in September 2006 following a public tender. With Imasistem as systems integrator, EVI (M) Distribution was called in to supply the equipment. One striking point in the contract was that the FOH system would have to be hoisted on a motorised rigging system, flying the speakers above the stage level, and allowing tour production companies to easily uncouple the house PA should they require to use their own. Amplifiers were listed as a separate item in the tender, ruling out an active system. As much of the old equipment was still in good working condition, the contract did not include the removal of the existing Soundcraft mixing console and JBL monitors used for stage monitoring. Similarly, the Sennheiser wireless 5000 series microphone system was also retained.

At front-of-house, an Electro-Voice line array has been set in an LCR configuration using six Stagemaker SM10 1004m motorised hoists. The left and right hangs consist of 12 EV XLCi-127DVX and a central hang consists of 12 EV XLD-281 speakers. A further eight EV X-Subs and four XLCi-215 subwoofers have been placed in four of the boxes on each of the circles, as they are no longer used during performances – the theatre box design is a European concept, and it became evident that Asian audiences didn’t value these seats. The entire PA system is powered by 26 EV P3000 RL amplifiers, rack-mounted in one of the boxes in the upper tier, stage right. Cards have been added allowing all 26 amplifiers to be monitored and controlled from a desktop computer using EV’s Intelligent Remote Integration Supervision (Iris) software. Iris provides a broad array of DSP tools and supervision technology that controls virtually all aspects of the audio signal, filters, delays, and EQ parameters, along with many other functions that are easily available and can be quickly configured. In addition, assigning macros, setting schedules, running system checks or setting up channel equalisation can all be controlled from this one interface. When used with RL series amplifiers, Iris-Net incorporates advanced remote speaker diagnostic tools to detect a wide range of problems in speaker lines and even speaker systems themselves. These tests can be run directly from the Iris-Net application and specific problems can be pinpointed easily at the FOH position on a 19-inch PC monitor screen. The surround-sound system is controlled via Pro Tools and consists of 14 EV ZX1i90 speakers that are powered by seven P1200 RL amplifiers, again allowing Iris network control and supervision. Six speakers are located in the stalls, with a further four on each of the balconies.

A Midas XL4 remains in the old control room but is now used for recording the staged performances in the theatre, while a new FOH position has been established at the rear of the stalls. Here 20 seats have been removed to accommodate two 56-channel Midas Heritage 3000 consoles – one console was installed in 2005 but the engineers realised that the larger productions required more microphone inputs and so a second H-3000 was brought in the following year. Graphic equalisation at FOH is performed with two Klark Teknik Helix DN9340 master and DN9344 slave units. The old control room now also houses a core audio system consisting of Pro Tools HD processing cards and I/O modules, with Midi I/O integrated into the XL4. This allows playback of musicians’ recordings, offering them a respite during productions, which may run for up to a month.

Outside the theatre, a Dynacord Digital Pro Matrix 4000PA processor is used for BGM and voice announcements via existing Bose Panaray speakers in the foyer and entrance halls. Tascam CD players and Dynacord CMS 1000 mixers, and a Telex digital matrix system complete the Istana Budaya’s audio refit.

RTS beltpacks and headsets allow the theatre’s staff to communicate around the building during the performances, via two SSA 324-220 system interfaces. In another of the boxes – now the intercom nerve centre – two Cronos 32x32 digital matrices have been daisy-chained to provide a 64x64 matrix, and an SM KP32 key panel allows the engineers to talk freely from 64 different locations. Three dual-channel BTR UHF wireless units support 24 channels of wireless communication. The new intercom system has also removed the need for a PA backstage in individual dressing rooms. At the onset of Ramadan, the cabling and trunking was laid using Sommer multicore, speaker and microphone cable, with Belden cable used for intercom. In addition,144 new tie-lines have been run for monitor,FOH, multitrack and A/Vproduction areas, and 192 microphone points in the four rising stages.

Imasistem A/V project manager Muhammed Rafiq Udhaya confirmed that the installation had been smooth, although limited access to hang the middle XLD line array made the work problematic for the installation team initially: ‘The limited time-frame during Ramadan was possibly the hardest aspect of the project,’ he recalls. ‘Unexpectedly, after the second week of Ramadan, we were notified that there would be a royal farewell function taking place in a week’s time. The various sultans, heads of state and VVIPs attended the farewell concert forthe king. At that point we were still installing amplifiers, hoists, speakers and cabling, and it left a lot to be done. But there could be no failure whatsoever.’

It could not be confirmed that the opening song to be performed from the new EV XLC/XLD line array was Dire Straits’ ‘Sultans of Swing’, but with the cooperation received from Istana Budaya’s technical team headed by Ir Mohamad Azmi Hamid, the installation team managed to deliver the system for the royal function without a hitch.

Istana Budaya, Malaysia: +60 3 4026 5558

www.istanabudaya.gov.my

EVI Distribution, Malaysia: +60 3 5569 2289