Vilnius – New lighting fixtures at the City Hall

On the occasion of Vilnius city 700th anniversary, an exclusive premiere was presented in the renovated Vilnius City Hall – a revival of Joseph Haydn’s oratorio “The Creation” based on biblical motifs. It is symbolic that more than 200 years ago, this piece was first played at no other but the historic Vilnius City Hall and only later performed in the composer’s native Austria, Vienna.

During the February 1 premiere, over 70 musicians performed on the stage of the City Hall. The choir of the Vilnius city municipality “Jauna muzika”, opera soloists Lina Dambrauskaitė, Edgaras Davidovičius, Tadas Girininkas sang on the stage. Vilnius municipality’s St. Christopher’s Chamber Orchestra was led by conductor Modestos Barkauskas. Designer Marius Puskunigis took care of the minimalist scenography.

High-quality events

Perlis Vaisieta, the manager of the Vilnius City Hall and the initiator of the idea of ​​the new “Creation”, is happy that the new modern lighting system installed in the City Hall right before the premier helped to create a special atmosphere during the event.

According to the head of the City Hall, in order to delight visitors with professional, high-quality events, not only music is important, but also the aura surrounding the performances, in which lighting plays a huge emotional role.

“I am very happy that we managed to convince the city leaders and the members of the Council that different spaces of the City Hall must be revived with the help of modern lighting technologies to meet the events of the 700th anniversary of Vilnius,” says the manager of the City Hall.

The modern lighting system

The modern lighting system in Vilnius City Hall was installed by Sonus Exsertus, a company with many years of experience in this field.
The lighting system installed by the company will make it possible to color the vault, arcs, stairs, columns and other unique architectural details of the City Hall in various scenarios. Wireless spotlights are part of the integrated lighting system, which will give Vilnius City Hall flexibility in directing various types of events in various spaces of the venue. The easy adaptation and use of wireless devices in different spaces will provide the interior of the City Hall with artistic dynamics. A fog generator has also been installed to help create a mysterious atmosphere during events.

For the main space of the City Hall, DTS Lighting Synergy 5 Profile spotlights with a white body were specially produced, which smoothly blended into the light interior of the vault of the Great Hall. The entire modern lighting system is easily controlled by a tablet computer and is easily adapted to different events.

What about the new lighting system

“The applicability of these solutions is very wide: from commercial business events to international conferences and state or municipal official events. For example, the exterior of the City Hall was  illuminated with the new wireless lighting devices, when the columns of the building lit up to commemorate the Lithuanian Freedom Defenders’ Day on January 13“, says P. Vaisieta, manager of the City Hall.

Vytautas Vaišys, the lighting technology manager of “Sonus exsertus” responsible for the interior lighting project implemented in the City Hall, has no doubts that the new lighting devices will give artists the opportunity to implement their creative ideas more effectively and give the audience the opportunity to feel the performances more deeply.

“The new lighting system will bring color and dynamics to the events taking place in the City Hall. Controllable motion spotlights and wireless rechargable lights will allow convenient mobile illumination and subtle emphasis on architectural elements – such as columns, stairs, window borders”, says V. Vaišys.

According to the head of the City Hall P. Vaisieta, not only the spectators will feel the changes. He has no doubt that the newly integrated lighting system will also help in inviting world-class artists to perform in the City Hall.

“World-renowned artists from Lithuania and abroad are planning to perform in the City Hall. Understandably, the most famous performers have certain requirements regarding stage lighting. Until now, we could only offer simple incandescent white-lighting spotlights and standard lamps, so during each more complex event, we had to rent additional equipment and face extra costs each time, or limit ourselves to our “standard” that existed until then. The professional equipment now available will always be in place, serving even events that require exceptional lighting, such as theatre plays. Let’s meet at our City hall!” P. Vaisieta invites.