Theatre Design & Technology - Fall 1987 - 24

precedent and, also, the description for label \I contradicts this labeling by stating that the borders only continue to the fifth order (i.e., last order of slots on the
stageLI; Perhaps these drums are just general drums to
bL used as needed for whatever machines should be
installed there 1 ('
Wings were also used in the prospetta to extend the
depth of the set. When this was done the wings were
mounted on stakes which were set into the sockets in
the stage floor by stagehands while the prospetta was
concealed by a backdrop or set of shutters. 1- Thus,
scenes frequently alternated between shallow and deep
settings which not only allowed for changing scenerv in
the prospetto , but \\'as considered a very striking effect.
For very deep settings the doors to the large room
behind the back wall of the stage were opened and the
wings extended back into it. Otherwise, this room was
used for storage. It should be noted that the floor of this
room is a continuation of the raked floor of the stage.
Since the size of the wings and set pieces diminished
according to the accepted rules of perspective, the scenery at this point would be very small, a very large
building or tree being no larger than a person. Neither
the large room nor the prospetta were playing areas.
Archaic as some of these features may seem by contrast to some of the more technically sophisticated
stages of the same period, particularly the Paris Opera,
they provided for a great deal more flexibility in design
than was possible at the latter. At the Paris Opera, for
example, there was no prospetta. The wings, mounted on
chariots, continued all the way to the back wall.
Changes were faster and more efficient, but gone was the
flexibility of the prospetta. Similarly, all the grand machines were permanently installed land greatly simplifiedl, ever ready for use in the grid. However, they were
limited by an extremely narrow range of effects. One
could only choose how to decorate the machines, not
determine the effects they could produce 18 The older
Italian system was less efficient but it allowed a much
broader range of creativity to the designer and
machinist.
The ground plan of the auditorium is bell shaped, the
hallmark of Galli-Bibiena theatre architecture. There
are five rings of boxes plus two lower levels of seating
surrounding the spacious platea or orchestra seating.
Five rings of boxes, with or without lower seating levels,
was standard for Italian theatres at this time and had
been so since the se\'enteenth century. Since this is a
public theatre, scrupulous attention has been paid to
observing class distinctions in the seating arrangements. Everything has been considered in the design of
this theatre from provisions for future expansion to rest
rooms, a feature usually not found in older theatre plans.
The Teatro Comunale is still active after more than
twO centuries. No longer on a spacious lot, it is now wall
to wall with the elegant, colonaded buildings which
crowd around it. Its huge stage, still one of the largest in
Italy, is stripped of its old machines, of course, and is now
fully equipped for modern productions, though the old
bridges still cling to the side walls of the stage house 1 '!
Gone are the benches in the platea-comfortable modern theatre seats have taken their place. The old statues
of music and poetry no longer grace the niches on either
~ide of the pro~cenium, and the auditorium ha~ been
furnished with electric lights, however discreetly so as
22

TD&T·

FALL 1987

not to intrude upon the elegant decor. Otherwise, this
fine old theatre is much the same as it was when it
opened so many years ago.

+>-+

THE TEXT +~

he Malavezzi Theatre was consumed by voracious
flames which devoured it just aiter the end of a
performance of Gil1stino on the night of Carnival,
Thursday, February 19, 17-+5. The money received from
that performance was destined for the relief of souls in
purgatory, which should have been quite easy to see if, in
fact, the stage was set for Gil1stino while everything
perished with it. Through this same disaster this noble
and ancient city lost the finest and most magnificient
theatre in which presentations of innumerable masters
of musical works had been presented and which had
been decorated with paintings by the most excellent

Deso-iption of the Parts of the Theatre l\'oted
on the Grollnd Plan Zi-'ith Nllmbers \'(I/Jlch
Correspond to Those Given Below

)

94r~ +( « *( «

1. Floor or piazza of the auditorium, commonly called the

platea.
2. PermaneIll, comfortable benches conforming to the Ishape
oflthe platea with its surrounding aisles.
3. Two lenls of seating wrapping around the platea, the
upper of which has a balustrade in front and which
combined with the abon-mentioned benches provide

Plan of Te.1trO i':uoyo.

.......
---,

-./-f_\
,:,,
')\ r

/
'.
PJR

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