Theatre Design & Technology - Fall 1987 - 22

Other of a longitudinal elevation, W,IS published to commemorate the event. The title page of this small booklet
reads:

The closing sentence is perhaps the most revealing of
all, for it announces that all the technical apparatus,
including lighting, was the creation of the "distinguished and \\'orthy ;\\a~ter of ;\\achines, Signor Petronio ="anni of Bologna." This is the first mention I
GROUi\"D PLAi\" AND ELEVATIOi\"
haw ever seen of a machinist ha\'ing been associated
OF THE i\"£\\"
\\'ith any of the Galli'Bibienas, This is nOt extraordiTHEATRE
nary, howe\'er, since machini tS had certainly come inBOLOGNA
to their own el e\\'here by thi time,; Also, thi may
DOi\"E ON THE OCCASIOi\" OF ITS OPENING
explain why from the \\'ealth of materials, including
THE J.lTH OF "lAY, 1763
published \\'orks, left behind by the Galli-Bibiena
Including the Explanation by VittU\'ius on the Theatre Halls
family, little if any of it pertains to technical theatre,
for -'laking them Sonorous and Consonant
It appears that Antonio, at least, was content to be
a designer and leave machine technology to someone
Consistent with this impressive title, the contents
else. Perhaps Petronio Nanni was his O\\'n personal
provide a comprehensive view of the theatre including a
machinist. In any case, it appears that the separation of
detailed account of the stage and stage machinery. The
the tWO crafts of machinist and designer was well
established by his time, particularly since Petronio
latter is rare, paticularly in eighteenth century Italy, and
this work is further enhanced by being a record of a stage
Nanni even has a guild or trade ti tle, "Master of Mabuilt and used by one of the great Galli-Bibiena family
chines," One wonders JUSt how long this separation
of the two crafts had been effect in Italy.
who dominated stage design and theatre architecture
throughout the eighteenth
The stage of the Teatro Nuovo
century. ~
is surprisingly simple and in
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The author is anonymous,
some ways even archaic when
probably a well-known local percompared to its famous counterson who did not feel that it was Archaic as some of these features may part of the same period, the Paris
necessary, or possibly even apOpera." It has only one grid floor
seem by contmst to some of the more and one level of bridges as oppropriate, to sign his work. After
posed to the Paris Opera which
a brief introduction he limits his
technically sophisticated stages of
text to descriptions, usually
had twO grid floors and twO levels of bridges flanking the stage,qui te brief, of the variou parts
the same period, particularly the
of the theatre, including the
The machinists set the maParis Opem, they provided for a
stage. He ends his work with an
chines for operation on the grid
"Explanation by Vitruvious on
floor while the machines were
great deal more flexibility thanzv'as
Theatre Halls for 'laking them
operated from the bridges where
Sonorous and Consonant." The
the operators could have a clear
possible at the lattn
latter has not been included here
view of the stage. These masince it is only marginally relechines were all powered by
« «
vant to this theatre.
counterweights and the lines to
His descriptions arc labeled
regulate the weights and mawith numerical coordinates on the ground plan and alchines were tied off to pin rails on the bridges.
phabetical on the elevation. Some of these labels are
There are no bridges running across the stage in the
extremely difficult to see, particularly on the very dark
Teatro uovo, while they were a common featUre of the
etching of the elevation. With patience, however, the
Paris Opera and used to tend the border lights as well as
reader can find all of them. Concise and informative in
set borders and drops. For its time, this grid is a relati vely
matters of architecture, the author is alit of his depths
simple installation, Similarly, there is only one level
when he describes the technical apparatus of the stage.
beneath the stage whereas the Paris Opera had four levFor example, the reader learns that "pieces of turned
els, 1\\any levels were required at the Paris Opera to
wood," are used in the grid to guide the ropes "so they
accomodate the many traps and sloats and their attenwill nOt wear out and will run better." Elsewhere he says,
dant machinery required to raise and lower scenery and
"On the lower part of the chariot are twO pulleys which
actors to and from the stage,' A this stage has no such
run on a piece of wood." Still, one is able to decipher his
machinery, only one level \\'a necessary beneath the
meaning and except where confu ion may ha\'e resulted,
stage.
the author's original Italian was rendered into English as
The absence of traps i rather surprising since traps
literally as possible, Occasionally, bracketed informaappear to have been common on Italian stages for a very
tion ha been added to facilitate the reading of the text.
long time 9 The long slots on the ground plan would
IThere are no brackets in the original text.l The original
indicate that in lieu of sloats, the older Italian method of
title of this work is Pillntll. e SflllcclIto elelnuo\'o Teatro
bringing individual pieces of scenery onto the stage \\'as
eli Bologna . .... and the copy used for thi translation is
employed in the Teatro TUOVO, In this seventeenthpreserved at the Biblioteca dell' Archiginnasio in
century method, individual pieces such as trees, altars,
Bologna. The plates from that text plus a playbill of the
columns, etc., were brought OntO the stage by means of
special chariots located beneath the long slOts, The piece
same period are reproduced here by their generous
permission,
was mounted in one of the chariOts and moved OntO the
stage JUSt as if it were ,1 wing except that it could be
This littk work reveab a great deal 'lbout col1temmoved all the way to center ~tage if desired. The long
parary stage practice in mid-eighteel1th,cel1tury It:dy.

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20

TD&T·

FALL 1987
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Fall 1987
