Estonian National Theatre Vanemuine invests in new Robe LED technology

Vanemuine is Estonia’s oldest, largest and most visited theatre. Based in the country’s culturally vibrant and picturesque second city of Tartu, it has recently invested in more Robe moving lights as part of Estonia’s ‘Green Turn’ sustainability initiative, whereby all major theatres and performing arts centres are transitioning to LED stage lighting.

Under the technical leadership of Andres Sarv, Vanemuine’s head of lighting, all three of its auditoriums – The Grand Building of Theatre, The Small Building of Vanemuine and The Harbour Theatre (black box) – have benefitted from carefully considered investment in Robe lighting technology over the years, with the most recent purchases being in LED luminaires.

This has seen an additional 14 T1 Profiles, 14 T2 Profiles, 11 T11 Profiles, 8 LEDBeam 350s, 8 LedPOINTES, six iParFect 150 FQW RGBWs and four T32 Cyc Slims added to the Vanemuine lighting inventory.

All these plus other fixtures are now at the disposal of Vanemuine’s own lighting department for all the shows and touring productions that they produce, as well as for the incoming and guest LDs who are visiting with numerous national and international shows.

Many of the new Robe fixtures were used on the acclaimed 2025 production of La bohème, lit by Swedish lighting designer Palle Palmé.

While many of the new lights will reside in The Grand Building, servicing the largest and most complex productions, they can be moved around as and where needed between the three auditoriums – and they can also go on the road with Vanemuine’s various touring shows.

In The Grand Building, two RoboSpot systems are also new – supplied as with all the LED fixtures by Robe’s Tallinn-based distributor E&T Valgus – but these are separate from the green turn investment. However, they can be used with many of the Robe fixtures, giving greater flexibility and enabling better follow spot angles to do the job.

Vanemuine has been using Robe fixtures for at least the last 14 years, and the recent arrivals also prompted them to replace some of the older fixtures like MMX Spots and 600E Spots, which were still working … but have now been replaced in all the houses, giving a much more powerful, energy-efficient and contemporary set of creative options.

In some cases, the older Robe moving lights – like LEDWash 1200s – are still in active service and used for powerful back light or other effects. Andres comments that this reliability and longevity are a great asset and one of several features that keep them returning to the brand for moving lights and intelligent LED fixtures.

The Small Building already had T1s in the house rig, but the Harbour Theatre’s older Robe DLX Spots – in residence since 2013 – were replaced with some of the new batch, joining the existing Robe LEDWash 600s in there, together with a host of conventional lights.

The new LedPOINTES, while more of a multipurpose than a purely theatrical fixture, will mainly stay in The Grand Building as they are ideal for musicals, and were “very well priced,” commented Andres.

He commented that the optics of the LEDBeam 350 are “great” for theatre, and naturally, they are delighted to now have the additional power of the T2s in the house.

Andres believes that Robe’s T-Series luminaires are excellent for any performance space: “The breadth of the T-Series ranges is fantastic, there is a fixture to cover multiple needs, and Robe can provide a very consistent solution in terms of light quality and colour management.”

He is also very enthused by the potential of the T32 Cyc Slims to provide rich, smooth and even coverage for cycs and set pieces, and the four units will replace 12 heavy lights that were previously used for this task.

Back in 2001, Andres recalls, Palle had been the first visiting LD to use new moving lights that had just been installed in The Grand Building, and in 2025, he was delighted to engage in another Vanemuine first in using the Robe T2 Profiles in the same venue.

Andres works alongside a lighting crew of 10 at Vanemuine across all three venues. While they primarily present theatrical shows and some orchestral concerts, the pace and turnarounds are very much rock ‘n’ roll in style and speed.

The house lighting rigs need to be as dynamic and flexible as possible, and Robe products are currently adding reliable and creative production value, together with the all-important “outstanding” local support from E&T Valgus.

Estonian National Theatre Vanemuine was founded in 1870 and is internationally famous and renowned for its action-packed programme of spectacular and eye-popping productions that embrace drama, opera, ballet, large-scale musicals, and orchestral concerts.

Vanemuine is known for its high-quality productions and has been recognised with numerous awards and accolades throughout its history.

In 2026, Vanemuine and Eesti Kontsert will bring Richard Wagner’s tetralogy Der Ring des Nibelungen to the Saaremaa Opera Festival, beginning with Part I, Das Rheingold. In the following years, all four operas of the Ring Cycle will be presented, directed by Dutch opera director and set designer Michiel Dijkema. 

Photo credit: Maris Savik.