Theatre Design & Technology - Summer 1976 - 28

lifting rams; all movements are hydraulically and remotel~
controlled by hand·held units using servo control valves.
The platform, the single unifying element of the total
production, also allows for the widest range of effects, in
accordance with the multiplicity of styles and modes
inherent in Friedrich's and Svoboda's approach to the
staging. It can be a static area virtually indistinguishable
from the regular stage level of Covent Garden; it can
kinetically interact with the performers and the music; it
can become one or several staircases; it can function as a
giant mirror reflecting action beneath the level of the
stage; it can become a surface for projections. In its

Figs. 27a and 27b. Covent Garden Rheingold, Scene IV.
Fig. 27a shows the platform at a very slight rake and with
its surface flat. Valhalla is still behind a folio cyclorama,
dimly perceivable, with cloud projections on the folio
itself. Fig. 27b shows a steeper rake to the platform and
five of the seven rows of stairs exposed. The Valhalla
construction becomes much more visible with the folio
cyclorama lowered out of sight. Photos by Josef Svoboda.

response to his discussions with Friedrich. It is a platform
that is remarkable for its dramatically functional
characteristics and its theatrically symbolic overtones, as
well as its technical specifications. Technically, it is a
square, lattice-framed construction measuring approximately 33 x 33 feet, 2 feet thick. Its underface is
mirrored, its top capable of varied treatment. In Rheingold it consisted of seven flights of power operated stairs
which would tilt out at will or as soon as the angle of the
platform reached 20° from the horizontal; otherwise the
surface remained flat. In Die Walkure the stairs were
eliminated and several supplementary scenic pieces were
added to represent natural features. For Siegfried, due in
the fall of 1975, Svoboda plans to use a top flooring of
U-shaped channels, 1 3/16 x 1 3/16 inches, aligned
parallel to the proscenium opening, the front of each
vertical painted It..,hite, the rear black, to enable a combination of high intensity projections onto the platform
itself with equally intense counterlighting, without the
one diminishing the other.
But the decisive feature of the platform is its mobility:
it can sink more than six feet below stage level or rise
more than nine feet above it; moreover, it can tilt up to
45 degrees in all directions and it can rotate. Supporting
the platform is a single telescopic tower with two large

SUMMER. 1976

Fig. 27c. Covent Garden Rheingold, Scene /II. The platform is seen with its mirrored underside tilted up to show
Alberich's cave below stage level, as well as Alberich's
"command module," which rose and sank through a trapdoor. The platform was similarly positioned for Scene I,
reflecting the Rhine below. Photo by Josef Svoboda.

specific functions and dramatic versatility it recalls such
Svoboda works as Romeo and Juliet (Prague 1963),
Mother Courage (Prague 1970), and the non-produced
Fiery Angel (Milan 1970). Scenographically it is a unique
instrument capable of expressing a multitude of dramatic
states. Metaphorically it contains great theatrical power
by virtue of its sheer existence as a stage within a stage, a
platform stage as basic and simple as those found throughout theatre history, yet charged with the associations of
being a special reality, a special world, one that grants its
creators freedom to employ the widest possible range of
styles and conventions. Svoboda's informal remarks
elaborate on these points:
We've given birth to a stage, bare boards, the
plainest stage floor, the most simple reality. We
didn't want it to be a ring or anything circular, but a
stage. And we think and believe that we gave our·
selves an absolute freedom, and an instrument that
is capable of interpreting everything that we
need .... Can we have a 19th century stage dragon
and laser beams? The answer is yes if we're playing
theatre-world theatre. We have the right because
the moment that we elected to have an ordinary
stage, a platform, a stage floor, we created the right

THEATRE DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

USITT

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Summer 1976