INFORMATION TO USERS
This material was produced from a microfilm copy of the original document. While the most advanced technological means to photograph and reproduce this document have been used, the quality is heavily dependent upon the quality of the original submitted.
The following explanation of techniques is provided to help you understand markings or patterns which may appear on this reproduction.
1.The sign or "target" for pages apparently lacking from the document photographed is "Missing Page(t)". If it was possible to obtain the missing page(s) or section, they are spliced into the film along with adjacent pages. This may have necessitated cutting thru an image and duplicating adjacent pages to insure you complete continuity.
2. When an image on the film is obliterated with a large round black mark, it is an indication that the photographer suspected that the copy may have moved during exposure and thus cause a blurred image. You will find a good image of the page In the adjacent frame.
3. Whan a map, drawing or chart, etc., was part of the material being photographed the photographer followed a definite method in "sectioning" the material. It is customary to begin photoing at the upper left hand corner of a large sheet and to continue photoing from left to right In equal sections with a small overlap. If necessary, sectioning is continued again - beginning below the first row and continuing on until complete.
4. The majority of users indicate that the textual content is of greatest value, however, a somewhat higher quality reproduction could be made from "photographs" if essential to the understanding of the dissertation. Silver prints of "photographs" may be ordered at additional charge by writing the Order Department, giving the catalog number, tide, author an d, specific pages you wish reproduced.
5. PLEASE NOTE: Some pages may have indistinct print. Filmed as received.
Xerox University Microfilms 900 North ZMb Road Ann Arbor. Michigan 48100 76-18,012 MOHLER, Franklin Calvin, II, 1937- SPECTACULAR EFFECTS ON THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY CONTINENTAL STAGE. The Ohio State University, Ph.D., 1976 Theater
Xerox University Microfilms, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106
(2) Copyright by Franklin Calvin Mohler II 1976 SPECTACULAR EFFECTS
ON THE
SEVENTEENTH CENTURY CONTINENTAL STAGE
DISSERTATION
Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements of
the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate
School of the Ohio State University
By
Franklin Calvin Mohler XI, B. A., M. A.
*****
The Ohio State University
1976
Reading Committee i
Alan L. Hoods
Roy H. Bowen
Russell Hastings Advisor Department of Theatre ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The author wishes to acknowledge! with deepest gratitude! the assistance! suggestions and guidance of the following personst all of whom were instrumental in the completion of the studyt
Dr. John H. McDowellf who inspired this study and arranged
for many of the documents necessary for its completion.
Dr. Alan.L..Woods, who took over the advisement of this study.
The staff of The Ohio State University Theatre Research Institute
and the librarians of the various institutions holding the manuscripts
used in this study.
My parents and my in-laws! whose.encouragement was instrumental
in the completion of the study.
My wifer whose help and comments have contributed to this study
in many ways.
ii VITA
March 21, 1937 Born - Des Moines, Iowa
1965 B. A., The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio.
1965-1968 Production Assistant, Department of Theatre, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio
1968 M. A . , The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio
1968-1969 GLCA Teaching Associate, Denison University, Granville, Ohio
1969-1970 GLCA Fellowship, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio
1970-1975 Assistant Professor, Department of Theatre, University of South Carolina Columbia, South Carolina
1975- Acting Assistant Professor, Depart ment of Drama, University of Virginia Charlottesville, Virginia
PUBLICATIONS
"An Analysis of the Plans for the Theatre in the Seminary of the Collegio Romano." The Ohio State University Theatre Collection Bulletin, No. 16, 1969, pp. 39-53.
"Architectural Observations of the Theatre in the Collegio Romano and the Seminario Romano," The Ohio State University Theatre Collection Bulletin, No. 16, 1969, pp. 54-64.
FIELDS OF STUDY
Major Field: Theatre
Studies in Theatre History. Professor John H. McDowell ill Studies in Dramatic Literature and Criticism. Professor John C. Morrow
Studies in Theatrical Design. Professors Jerry R. Emery and Joy Apanabel
iv TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page acknowledgements ...... u
VITA ...... ill
LIST OF TABLES...... vil
LIST OF F I G U R E S ...... viii
CHAPTER
I. INTRODUCTION ...... 1
A Review of the Literature...... 2 The Specific Alma of the S t u d y ...... 9 The Limitations of the S t u d y ...... 9 The Nature of the E v i d e n c e ...... 10 Procedures...... 14
II. THE ILLUSIONISTIC STAGE...... IB
The Perspective Vista ...... 20 The Changeable S e t t i n g ...... 2A The Stage House . . . ,...... 53 Summary...... 56
III. WATER EFFECTS...... 58
Seas, Harbors, Inlets, Etc...... 60 R i v e r s ...... 83 Fountains and Waterfalls ...... 86 Fish and Monsters...... 90 Boat E f f e c t s ...... 103 Sea Chariots and Other Water Vehicles ...... 113 Summary...... 121
IV. EFFECTS FROM BELOW THE S T A G E ...... 123 .
Trap Opening D e v i c e s ...... 127 Machinery for Raising Profile Units ...... 134 Elevator Machinery ...... 143 Machinery to Expand Objects ...... 151 Summary...... 155
v CHAPTER
V. EFFECTS FROM ABOVE THE STAGE ...... 157
Simple Cloud Effects ...... 159 Sky Chariots, Clouds, Etc. with Performers . . . 1K4 Celestial Effects ...... 216 S u m m a r y ...... 255
VI. CONCLUSION...... 260
Slgniflgant Developments on the Illusionlstic S t a g e ...... 260 The Legacy of the Seventeenth Century Mechanized S t a g e ...... 263 Suggestions for Further Studies 263
APPENDIX
A ...... 265
BIBLIOGRAPHY ...... 271
vi LIST OF TABLES
Table Page 1. Comparison of Horizontal Perspective Angles .... 27
2. Frequency of Water Effects ...... 61
3. Frequency of Effects from Below the Stage..... 124
4. Frequency of Effects from Above the Stage ...... 160
vii LIST OF FIGURES
Figure Page X. Serlio's Perspective Vista ...... 21
2 . Serlio's Groundplan and Section ...... 24
3. Comparison of Vanishing Point Locations ...... 25
4. Sabbattini's First Method of Changing Side Wing Units ...... 30
5. Sabbattini's Second Method of Changing Side Wing Units ...... 31
6 . Vignola's and Dubreuil's Periactoi ...... 33
7. Furttenbach's Periactoi# Plan View ...... 34
8 . Furttenbach's Periactoi# Section V i e w ...... 35
9. Sabbattini's Periactoi ...... 37
1 0 . Groundplan from the Palatina Manuscript...... 38
1 1 . Flat Wing Setting ...... 40
1 2 . Palais Royale Wing Shifting Mechanism ...... 41
13. Palatina Manuscript Wing Shifting Mechanism . . , 43
14. Permanent Borders from the Palatina Manuscript . . 45
15. Changeable Borders from the Palatina Manuscript . . 46
16. Border Changing Mechanism from the Palatina Manuscript ...... 47
17. Sabbattini's Rear Closure Mechanisms ...... 49
18. Rear Closure Mechanism from the Oliveriani Manuscript ...... 51
19. Rear closure Mechanism from the Palatina Manuscript ...... 52 viii Figure Page 20. Upper Stage Shown in the Palatina Manuscript ...... 54
21. Setting for the Valenciennes Passion Play...... 59
22. Setting for Bellerofonte...... 63
23. Setting for Andromeda ...... 64
24. Furttenbach's Still and Sliding Haves...... 66
25. Sabbattini's Second Method of Showing a Sea . . . 68
26. Upstage.Have Machine from the Palatina Manuscript...... 69
27. Downstage Have Machine from the Palatina Manuscript...... 71
28. Sea Scene from the Palatina Manuscript...... 72
29. Furttenbach's Upstanding Have ...... 74
30. Furrtenbach's Violent H a v e ...... 75
31. Sabbattini's Third Method of Showing a Sea .... 77
32. Sabbattini's Rising and Swelling S e a ..... 7 g
33. Have Machine from Diderot's Encyclopedia. gg
34. Sabbattini's First Method of Showing a Sea .... 81
35. Have Machine from the Tessin Manuscript... 82
36. Sabbattini's Flowing R i v e r ...... 85
37. Sabbattini's Fountain ...... gg
38. Fountain from Tessin Manuscript...... rq
39. Fountain from Diderot's Encyclopedia ...... 91
40. Tessin Monster with Fountain...... 92
41. Sabbattini's Sea Mo n B t e r ...... 91,
42. Furttenbach's Sea Monster ...... 96 ix 4
Figure Page 43. Sea Monster from the Palatina Manuscript ..... 98
44. Sea Monster from the Tessin Manuscript...... 99
45. Flying Monster from the Tessin Manuscript...... 101
46. Land Monster from the Tessin Manuscript...... 102
47. Hiding Animals from the Tessin Manuscript...... 104 * 48. Sabbattini's Profile Boat ...... 106
49. Sabbattini's Galley ...... 107
50. Sabbattini's Boat Track ...... 109
51. Furttenbach's Boat ...... Ill
52. Boat Track from Diderot's Encyclopedia ...... 112
53. Sea Chariot from Oliveriani Manuscript ...... 115
54. Sea Chariot from the Palatina Manuscript...... 116
55. Sea Chariot from the Tessin Manuscript...... 118
56. Another Sea Chariot from the Tessin Manuscript . . 119
57. Sea Chariot from Diderot's Encyclopedia ...... 120
58. Sabbattini's Bar and Hedge Method of Opening a Trap...... 128
59. Sabbattini's Hinged Support Method of Opening a T r a p ...... 129
60. Method for Opening Trap Doors Shown in the Palatina Manuscript ...... 131
61. Hinged Trapillon from Diderot's Encyclopedia . . . 132
62; Trap Opening Device from Diderot's Encyclopedia ...... 133
63. Sabbattini's Transformation Device ...... 137
64. Sabbattini's Method of Raising a Mountain ...... 138 x. Figure Page 65. Method of Raising Profile Units from the Palatina Manuscript...... 140
66. Shaft and Groove Machine from the Palatina Manuscript...... 141
67. ftme and Cassette from Diderot's Encyclopedia . , , 142
68. Sabbattini's Handbarrow Elevator ...... 144
69. Sabbattini's Lever Elevator ...... 145
70. Furttenbach's Device for Lowering Performers Below the Stage...... 147
71. MidBtage Elevator from the Palatina Manuscript , . 148
72. Small Elevator from the Palatina Manuscript .... ISO
73. Expanding Machine from the Palatina Manuscript; Closed Position...... 152
74. Expanding Machine from the Palatina Manuscript; Open Position ...... 154
75. Expanding Cloud Frame from the Palatina Manuscript...... 162
76. Sabbattini's Horizontally Moving Cloud ...... 163
77. Sabbattini's Horizontal Sliding Lever Cloud .... 165
78. Horizontally Moving Cloud from the Palatina Manuscript...... 166
79. Vertically Moving Cloud from the Palatina Manuscript...... 168
80. Simple Clouds from Diderot's Encyclopedia...... 169
81. Sabbattini's Expanding C l o u d ...... 172
82. Sabbattini'B Vertical Flying Machine ...... 173
83. Star Shaped Cloud ...... 175
84. Shape Changing Cloud from the Palatina Manuscript...... 1177 xi Figure PaRe 85. Lion Cloud £rom the Palatina Manuscript.. 178
86 . Floor Level Cloud Unit from the Palatina Manuscript ...... a...... 179
87. Multi-Part Cloud Machine from the Palatina Manuscript...... 180
8 8. Cloud Effect from the Palatina Manuscript. 181
89. The Use of Simple Clouds for Complex Effects ...... 182
90. Furttenbach's First Lever-Operated Flying Machine ...... 185
91. Sabbattini's Lever-Operated Flying Machine .... i8 fi
92. Sabbattini's Block and Tackle Flying Machine a # # ^ 7
93. Flying Machines from the Palatina Manuscript , , , 190
94. Vertically-Sliding Flying Machine from the Palatina Manuscript ...... 191
95. Sabbattini's Horizontal Beam Flying Machine .... 192
96. Furttenbach's Suspended Flying Machine ...... 194
97. Suspended Flying Machine from the Palatina Manuscript ...... 195
98. Horizontal Flight Machine from the Oliveriani Manuscript...... 197
99. Diagonally-Flying Eagle from Palatina Manuscript . 199
100. Suspended Flying Machines from the Palatina Manuscript ...... 201
101. Chair and Cupid Machine from the Palatina Manuscript...... 202
102. Flying Machine from Trap, the Palatina Manuscript ...... 204
103. Operation of Flying Machine from Trap I ...... 205
104. Operation of Flying Machine from Trap I I ... 207 xii 4
Figure Page 105. Flying Chariot from Diderot's Encyclopedia • . • 208
106. Sabbattini's Flying Performer M e c h a n i s m ...... 211
107. Flying Performers from the Palatina Manuscript...... 212
108. Operation of Mercury's Flying Mechanism ...... 214
109. Operation of Cupid's Flying M e c h a n i s m ...... 215
110. Display on Upper Stage, Tessin Manuscript...... 220
111. Celestial Display Frames, Archivio Di Stato, Parma ...... 221
112. Celestial Display Machine from the Palatina Manuscript, Raised Position ...... 223
113. Celestial Display Machine from the Palatina Manuscript, Lowered Position ...... 224
114. Operation of Palatina Celestial Display Machine I ...... 225
115. Operation of Palatina Celestial Display Machine I I ...... 226
116. Operation of Palatina Celestial Display Machine III...... 228
117. Operation of Palatina Celestial Display Machine I V ...... 229
11B. Celestial Display Effect from the Palatina Manuscript...... 230
119. Celestial Display Machine from Archivio Di Stato Manuscript ...... 232
120. Elevations of Flying Celestial Display from Diderot's Encyclopedia ...... 233
121. Section of Flying Celestial Display from Diderot's Encyclopedia ...... 234
122. Operation of Flying Celestial Display from Diderot's Encyclopedia ...... 235 xiii Figure pflftA 123. Celestial Display from Germanico Sul R e n o ...... 23R
124. Machinery for Celestial Display from Germanico Sul Reno, Storage Position ...... 239
125. Machinery for Celestial Display from Germanico Sul Reno, Performance Po s i t i o n...... 240
126. Operation of Germanico Sul Reno Celestial Display I ...... 241
127. Operation of Germanico Sul Reno Celestial Display I I ...... 242
126. Operation of Germanico Sul Reno Celestial Display III ...... 2A3
129. Operation of Germanico Sul Reno Celestial Display I V ...... 245
130. Operation of Germanico Sul Reno Celestial Display V ...... 246
131. Groove and Shaft from Germanico Sul Reno Celestial Display ...... 247
132. Flying Stage from the Palatina Manuscript...... 248
133. Track Detail, Flying Stage from the Palatina Manuscript...... 250
134. Operation of Flying Stage from the Palatina Manuscript I ...... 251
135. Groove and Shaft Mechanism for Flying Stage from the Palatina Manuscript...... 252
136. Operation of Flying Stage from the Palatina Manuscript II ...... 253
137. Operation of Flying Stage from the Palatina * Manuscript I I I ...... - 254
138. Operation of Flying Stage from the Palatina Manuscript I V ...... 256
139. Operation of Flying Stage from the Palatina Manuscript V .... ^ ...... 257 4
' CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
Although most of the books dealing with theatrical production in the seventeenth century recognize the importance of the spec tacular elements of staging, few studies discuss these elements in
\ detail. It was, however, the creation of scenic spectacle that was one of the major developments of the seventeenth century theatre.
Many of the machines developed for the creation of the spectacular effects during the seventeenth century became standard features of theatres and operahouses in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
The court intermezzi and the early operas encouraged the develop ment of scenic spectacle since most of the regular dramatic pro ductions required only a single set and few special effects. In the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, several important designers and machinists emerged to accomplish the spectacular staging required by these productions. Bernardo Buontalenti,
Francesco Guitti, Giacomo Torelli, the Vigiranis, the Mauros and the Bibienas owe much of their fame to the scenery and spectacular effects that they provided for the intermezzi and opera. Although many of these individuals and families have been studied as scenic artists, the machinery used to shift the scenery and create the special effects has been neglected. The neglect of this machinery is particularly unfortunate since it was the mechanical innovations
1 used for the creation of the scenic spectacle in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries that provided the basis for much of modern theatrical practice.
The major concern of this study is to answer the question, "how were these almost legendary spectacular effects created?" Although some of the methods and machines used for these effects are known, there are large gaps in our knowledge of the subject. A brief re view of the literature on sixteenth and seventeenth century spectac ular staging will indicate these gaps in our knowledge of stage machinery.
A Review of the Literature
Those researchers who have attempted to study the stage machinery from this period have been faced with a major problem.
With a few exceptions, there is a lack of primary source material that is descriptive in nature. The major exceptions are the impor tant, but mechanically simple, intermezzi machinery of Nicola 1 2 Sabbattini and Joseph Furttenbach the Elder. Although these works were published in the middle seventeenth century, most scholars believe that they illustrate earlier techniques, perhaps from the
late sixteenth century. In addition, the complicated stage of the
late eighteenth century Palais Royal has been preserved in Diderot's
1 Nicola Sabbattini, Pratica di Fabricar Scene e Machine ne Teatri (Ravenna, 1638). 2 Josef Furttenbach, Architecture Recreationis (Augsburg, 1640), pp. 59-70 and Mannhaffter Kunstspiegel (Augsburg, 1663), pp. 111-137 and 225-260. 3 Encyclopedia. although several errors may exist in the engravings.
In the period between the late sixteenth century and the late a eighteenth century very little descriptive material on stage machinery is extant. It was during this period that several important inno vations were developed, among them were the a vista scenic change and the use of the free-hanging counterweight as the basic machine used for spectacular effects.
The lack of descriptive material about the stage machinery may be due to a variety of reasons. The most obvious reason is secrecy, in order to retain exclusive use of a new invention for the creation of "stage magic." Since the sponsors of the court productions strove to outdo each other, it would be natural to protect the methods used to create scenic spectacle. The descriptions of the techniques pub lished by Sabbattini and Furttenbach were no longer closely guarded secrets since many of these techniques were out-of-date by the mid seventeenth century.
The problem is further compounded by the large number of courts and other producing organizations that used these spectacular effects in their productions. Although different mechanical techniques could be used to achieve similar effects, few of the seventeenth century designers published descriptions of their mechanical techniques. As a result, it is difficult to determine when a new machine appeared and who should be given credit for the innovation.
3 Denis Diderot, Encyclopedia, Vol. X. Recueil de Planches, les arts Mechanigues avec leur explication (Parisi Charles Panckoucke, 1777). Most of the extant descriptions of seventeenth century spectac ular effects are concerned with the visual effect created by the machinery, not the type or operation of the machinery itself. The major source of these descriptions is the libretto from the production.
The libretti are published books containing the script, a list of the production staff# and, often, engravings of the settings for the production. The stage directions often provide a description of the scenic changes and special effects. These sources must remain somewhat suspect since some of the libretti were published under the control of the designer. Much of the information available about
Giacomo Torelli comes from the libretto he published for the pro- 4 duction of Bellerofonte Torelli would have been very interested in publishing material that praised his efforts.
Eyewitness accounts by audience members and letters by various participants also include some descriptions of the spectacular effects.
These accounts, too, must be considered in the proper context. An overwhelmed audience member or an audience member who is proud of a local production may find it very difficult to be objective. More over, the value of some of these sources is reduced by the fact that two eyewitnesses often disagreed in the details of the production.
Both the eyewitness accounts and the libretti share a semantic problem. Certain stage directions and descriptions can be inter preted in several ways. For example, "Apollo appears in the sky"
4 Per Bjurstrom, Giacomo Torelli and Baroque Stage Design (Stockholm! Almquist and Wicksell, 1961), pp. 51, 58. could mean that he flew In on a cloud, he flew in without the aid of a cloud, or he appeared on the upper stage when the clouds parted, etc.
The most important material for this study consists of the isolated drawings related to the production of spectacle on the seventeenth century stage* Several manuscripts consist of little more than drawings of stage settings, theatre plans, and the stage machinery used in the theatres and operahouses. Although many of the drawings have been available for some time, few of them have been adequately analyzed. Many of the drawings are totally isolated with no reference to the production, the operahouse, the designer, or the date.
The problem of analyzing the drawings is compounded by the fact that many of the drawings are crudely drawn. Several manuscripts contain internal inconsistencies that allow for a variety of inter pretations. One of the most difficult barriers to the analysis of many of the drawings is the lack of any accompanying textual material
to explain the purpose or the operation of the machines. It is probable that the machinery illustrated in the crude drawings of 5 Sabbattini* s Pratica would have been misinterpreted, or perhaps re mained uninterpreted, if they had not been accompanied by Sabbattini's
textual descriptions.
As a result of the analysis problems, the secondary sources provide little information about the machinery used for the creation
of the spectacular effects of the seventeenth century. The general
5 Sabbattini. histories of the theatre mention the importance of the development of scenic spectacle in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, but few writers have detailed the machinery used to create the effects.
In those books that do offer any details, the machinery discussed is inevitably the eighteenth century pole and chariot method of scene changing.
A number of important studies of the seventeenth century stage provide an excellent background on the variety of theatrical pro duction during the period. Among these studies are Lawrenson's 6 The French Stage in the XVIIth Century, Deierkauf-Holsboer's
I/Hlstolre de la Hise en Scene dans le Theatre Francaise de 1600 a 7 ® 1657, Horsthorne'B Venetian Opera in the Seventeenth Century, and 9 Baur-Heinhold*s The Baroque Theatre. Since these studies deal with the broad subject of seventeenth century staging, they offer little or no information about the techniques used to accomplish the effects produced during the period. Many studies of this type seem to con
sider the Hstagecraft" of the period inferior to the other aspects of production and, as a result, mention it only briefly. Although the development of the stage machinery may have been the development of
6 T. E. Lawrenson, The French Stage in the XVIIth Century (Manchester). 7 S. W. Deierkauf-Holsboer, L tHlstoire de la Mise en Scene dans le Theatre Francais de 1600 a 1657 (Parisi Libraire E. Droz, 1933). 8 Simon T. Worsthorne, Venetian Opera in the Seventeenth Century (Oxfordi Clarendon Press, 1954). 9 Margarete Baur-Heinhold, The Baroque Theatre (New York* McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1967). an engineering craft rather than an art form* it was, nonetheless, one of the most important legacies of the seventeenth century theatre.
The studies that deal specifically with the scenery and the pro duction of sixteenth and seventeenth century operas and intermezzi offer only a little more detail about the stage machinery. Per
Bjurstrom's Btudy of the works of the "great sorcerer", Giacomo 10 Torelli, does an excellent job of discussing the scenic designs of
Giacomo Torelli, but it is essentially an art history study. Al though Bjurstrom mentions the machinery and publishes several drawings of stage machinery, his discussion of the spectacle machinery is limited mainly to the descriptions in the libretti and the eye witness accounts.
More helpful to the study of stage machinery is Alois Nagler's 11 Theatre Festivals of the Medici. In this book Nagler deals speci
fically with the spectacular elements of the productions at, or
related to, the Medici court. Although this study, like Bjurstrom's,
is based primarily upon the libretti and eyewitness accounts, Nagler
concentrates more upon the spectacular elements. Nagler includes
reproductions of a number of machinery drawings, but does not ex
plain the illustrated machinery in any detail. He does, however,
provide the researcher with a comprehensive analysis of the libretti
for a number of productions. 16 Bjurstrom. 11 Alois M. Nagler, Theatre Festivals of the Medici, 1539-1637 (New Havens Yale University Press, 1964). e
Orville Larson's dissertation, Italian Stage Machinery, 1500- 12 13 1700 and a number of subsequent articles deal specifically with the subject of the effect-producing machinery. Larson concentrates, however, on the machinery of Sabbattini and the earlier production techniques. Although he includes several machines from the later seventeenth century, he was not able to obtain good copies of the drawings and, as a result, his analysis of the machinery illustrated in these drawings is inadequate.
A variety of sources that consider the stage machinery for the eighteenth through the early twentieth centuries provide material for comparison purposes and, occasionally, deal with machinery from the seventeenth century. The analysis of the early machinery is, however, sometimes inaccurate. For example, one of the machinery drawings for the 1675 production of Germanico sul Reno at the Teatro San Salvatore in Venice has been described and misinterpreted in Moynet's Trues et 14 Decors.
12 Orville K. Larson, "Italian Stage Machinery, 1500-1700" (un published Ph. D. dissertation, University of Illinois, 1956). 13 Orville K. Larson, "Nicola Sabbattini's Descriptions of Stage Machinery from Pratica di fabricar scene e Machine ne teatri (Ravenna, 1638)t An Explanation and Commentary," Players Magazine, October, 1962, pp. 13-20 and November, 1962, pp. 47-64. 14 Georges Moynet, La Machinerle theatrale; Trues et Decors (Parisi La Librarie illustree, 1893), pp. 157-160. The Specific Alms of the Study
The deficiencies in the existing literature indicate that the following aims should be establishedt
1. The study will determine the typical spectacular effects utilized by the opera and intermezzi productions of the late sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
2. Since the operation of the machinery depended, in part, upon the physical arrangement of the stagehouse and the stage setting, the methods of producing the scenic changes will be described and detailed in relationship to the developments that occurred to the physical stagehouse.
3. The methods of producing selected special effects on the
late sixteenth and seventeenth century stage will be described in detail. The effectiveness of the various methods of producing the effects will be compared to the methods used in the eighteenth century.
The Limitations of the Study
The main limitations of the study are as follows:
1. The study is limited to the production of scenic and spec
tacular effects on the late sixteenth and seventeenth century con
tinental stage. As a result, the study will be confined to those
forms of production that utilized and, in part, depended upon the
spectacular effects, the opera and the intermezzi.
2. Although a number of libretti and eyewitness descriptions
will be used in this study, the bulk of the evidence will be the 10 unanalyzed or Inadequately analyzed drawings of the machinery that was used to achieve the spectacular effects.
3. The study will deal with the effects and the methods of achieving the effects/ not with the individuals who have been credited with the invention of the effect-producing machinery.
4. Drawings and etchings of scenic designs will be used only when the designs can assist in the explanation of the effect or the method of achieving the effect.
The Nature of the Evidence
Both primary and secondary sources have been used in this study.
The primary sources are those actually produced (written or drawn)
during the period under study. All others/ although they may be
translations of primary sourceB« are classified as secondary sources.
1. The Primary Sources
a. The majority of the primary evidence used in this study
is iconographic in nature/ consisting of machinery drawings/ theatre
plans* and scenic designs. The material has been found in both
published treatises and unpublished manuscripts dealing with theatrical
production. The unpublished material/ held mainly by European
libraries/ is on file at the Ohio State University Theatre Research
Institute on microfilm. The following is a summary of the important
primary sources upon which this study is basedt 15 Manuscript 3708/ Biblioteca Palatina, Parma, Italy. This
Relatively unanalyzed manuscript contains twenty-four scenic designs is Bibioteca Palatina, Parma, Ms. 3708, McDowell Archives F.2048, 11 and fifteen machinery drawings. Some of the machinery drawings show the backstage area of a theatre and a variety of machinery including thoBe machines necessary for the operation of the continental a vista scenic changes. In addition, many of the scenic designs may be directly related to the machinery drawings. Thus, the manuscript illustrates not only the operation of the machinery, but also the scenic effect achieved by the use of the machinery. Although there is no accompanying textual material, internal analysis of the machinery drawings reveals valuable information about the seventeenth century techniques. 16 Mappe e Dlsegni, Vol. 4, Archivio di Stato, Parma, Italy.
This series of drawings includes plans, sections, and elevations for the Teatro Farnese in Parma and, more importantly for this study, it includes a number of drawings illustrating the stage machinery and the achieved effects for the 1628 production of Hercure e Marte. Two of the drawings in this manuscript illustrate exactly the same mechanisms that are shown in Ms. 3708.
Res. C 853, Bibliotheque de 1'Opera, Paris, France. This manu
script contains a series of scenic designs and corresponding technical drawings for productions of Adone in Cipo and Germanico sul Reno, produced at the Teatro San Salvatore, Venice in 1675. Although
several of the drawings from thiB manuscript have been analyzed in
16 Archivio di Stato, Parma, Mappe e Dlsegni, Vol. 4, McDowell Archives F. 2404. 17 Bibliotheque de 1'Opera, Paris, Res. c 853, McDowell Archives F. 1703. 12 other studies, the analysis has been incomplete. The drawings in the manuscript illustrate many of the same uses of stage space and types of machinery shown in Ms. 3708. 18 Vol. S7, Tessin Collection, Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, Sweden.
Although this collection of drawings is located in Sweden, the drawings were collected by Nicodemus Tessin in France during the seventeenth century. For the most part, the drawings illustrate unique stage machinery rather than the basic machinery required by most of the spectacular productions. Few of the drawings include any legends or textual material to explain the function of the machinery. 19 Vol. 01.3238-42, Archives Nationales, Paris, France. This manuscript contains a large number of unrelated scenic designs and machinery drawings. Although only a few of the drawings are of value to this study, the manuscript includes duplicates of some of the important drawings from the Tessin Collection with the addition of legends in French to describe the mechanisms in more detail.
Manuscript Oliveriani 312, Biblioteca Oliveriani de Pesaro, 20 PeBaro, Italy. Ms. 312 consists of a notebook of Nicolo Sabbattini containing a series of drawings of architectural details, scenic units and stage machinery. Like many of the manuscripts used in this study, this manuscript has no accompanying text or descriptive material.
18 Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, TesBin Collection, Vol. S7, McDowell Archives F. 2425. 19 Archives Nationales, PariB, Vol. 01.3238-42, McDowell Archives F. 2634*. 20 Biblioteca Oliveriani de PeBaro, Pesaro, Ms. Oliveriani 312, McDowell Archives F. 2653. 13
The drawings, however, are much more complete than those used to illustrate Sabbattini’s Pratica. The £ew machinery drawings indicate mechanical advancements over the machinery illustrated and described in the Pratica.
In addition to these unpublished manuscripts, several important sources have been published in their entirety and are widely avail able to theatre researchers. Three of the most important iconographi- cal sources are the theatre plans and machinery drawings published with legends in Diderot's Encyclopedia and the drawings and accompanying descriptions by Nicolo Sabbattini and Josef Furttenbach* Ab mentioned earlier, these works document the types of theatres and stage machinery in existence at the beginning and at the end of the period under study.
Another primary source for this study consists of extant theatre buildings. Although the earliest extant theatres that still contain original stage machinery were built during the eighteenth century, the study of these theatres can aid in the determination of the type of machinery used in the seventeenth century. Two extant eighteenth century theatres were visited and studied by the writert Sweden's
Drottningholm Theatre and Gripsholm Theatre. Unfortunately, no continental theatres from the seventeenth century are extant with
their original machinery,
2. The Secondary Sources
a. A number of translations and summaries of late
sixteenth and seventeenth century libretti and eyewitness reports of
the productions have been used in this study. Most of these have 14 come from two Important studies of sixteenth and seventeenth century theatre, Nagler’s Theatre Festivals of the Medici and Bjurstrom's
Giacomo Torelll and Baroque Stage Design.
b. In those cases where an overview of the period was necessary, standard histories of the theatre have been used.
c. Occasional use of doctoral dissertations and seminar reports from studies undertaken at The Ohio State University Theatre
Research Institute have proven helpful.
Procedures
In order to avoid the inclusion of excessive background material, the study assumes a basic knowledge of theatre history on the part of the reader. Since this study is a technical study, an under standing of physical stages, production techniques and mechanical principles would be helpful.
In this study, ’'spectacle" is used in a very limited sense.
The term is restricted to the unique elements of physical staging: scenic changes, transformations, flying effects, etc.
Selected libretti and eyewitness descriptions are cited in order to determine the types and frequency of spectacular effects produced on the late sixteenth and seventeenth century stage. These descriptions encompass the period under study and were selected as representatives of the major centers of spectacular production, Florence, Parma,
Venice and Paris. It was in these locations that the most important designers and machinists, Buontalenti, Aleotti, Torelli, etc., were employed. These productions are listed in Appendix A. Since most of the material utilized in this study consists of unlabeled drawings, the main research method may be termed "icono- graphical analysis." External analysis has revealed very little information about the origin of many of the drawings. Few of the drawings are signed or identified as to the production, the theatre, or the date of execution. For the most part, the library catalog ' descriptions must be used to assign the manuscripts to the seventeenth century. Internal analyses of the manuscripts, however, can provide
information about the staging of the period that is not available
from other sources.
Most of the drawings used in this study can be analyzed and
reconstructed to provide detailed information about the operation and
the function of the various machines. Although the drawings are, often,
crudely drawn, a knowledge of basic machinery allows the researcher
to examine each part of a complex machine to determine the function
► ■ of the individual part. The machine may be, then, redrawn or con
structed as a model to illustrate the operation of the entire machine.
Although without a method of accurately dating each manuscript it is
impossible to develop a viable chronology, similar drawings may be
compared to determine unique and common features. As a result, con
clusions may be drawn concerning the extent of the use of various
types of machinery in the production of spectacular effects.
Several problems exist for the researcher utilizing extensive
iconographical analysis. Since few of the drawings contain labels or
descriptive material, the function and operation of the machinery must
be determined from the visual content of the drawing. Unfortunately, 16 the sixteenth and seventeenth century draftsmen did not use a system of conventional drawing techniques. As a result, many of the details in the drawings are extremely difficult to analyze.
In order to clarify the machinery shown in these drawings for the modem reader, some of the machinery has been redrawn using modem conventions and drawing techniques. T .ese new drawings will aid the understanding of the operation and location of the various machines used to create the spectacular effects.
The study is organized by the types of spectacular effects that were produced.
Chapter II provides the background for the study. It delineates the features of the physical stagehouse and the prevalent types of scenery used in the spectacular productions during the late sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. This chapter also includes a discussion of the basic methods of changing scenery. It was necessary for the designers and machinists to find an improved method of changing the basic setting in order to allow additional space for the increasingly complicated spectacular effects. The discussion considers each element of the setting: the side wings, the heavens, the rear closure and units located in the middle of the stage.
Chapter III is concerned with the creation of water effects.
The various types of wave machines are described in detail. In addition, a variety of related devices, such as sea chariots, boats, fish, etc. are considered.
Chapter IV delineates the types of machines that emanated from below the stage floor. This chapter includes traps, elevators and a 17 variety of units that were raised from the substage area.
Chapter V describes selected flying machines. Representative machines of all types are described In teems of their operation and effectiveness. Machines for single flight, sky chariots, and celestial displays are included In this chapter.
Chapter VI, the concluding chapter, discusses the significance of the spectacular devices used in the late sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and their importance in the development of technical theatre.
The appendix, which follows the concluding chapter contains a list of the productions utilized to determine the typical effects seen on the illusionistic stage. CHAPTER II
THE ILLUSIONISTIC STAGE
The development of the machinery for the renowned special effects of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries was dependent, to a large extent, upon the development of the scenery and theatres associated with the illusionistic stage. Although some special effects were used in theatrical productions prior to the sixteenth centuryr most of these effects were quite elementary.
Even the classical theatre made use of theatrical machinery as attested to by Vitruvius and Pollox. Although many of the classical machines remain mysteries to modern scholars (especially those men tioned by Pollox), the descriptions of some machines were clear enough for them to be adapted by renaissance designers. The most important 1 of these are the periactoi f a revolving prism used for scenic changes, 2 and the crane or mechanef a flying machine.
Theatrical machinery was also used in the medieval theatre for the production of religious drama and sacred celebrations. Written accounts and iconographic evidence indicate the use of the hellmouth and the paradise or heavenly display. Brunelleschi's Paridiso,
-
M. H. Morgan (ed.), Vitruvius, The Ten Books on Architecture (New York: Dover Publications, 1960), p. 150. 2 A. M. Nagler (ed.), A Source Book in Theatrical History (New York: Dover Publications, 1952), p. 9.
18 19 although not a part of a theatrical production, is probably a develop ment of the medieval paradise and was certainly a forerunner of the more complex heavenly displays of the sixteenth and seventeenth 3 centuries.
During the classical revival of the fourteenth, fifteenth and
sixteenth centuries, the scenic and spectacular demands were minor.
Since the revivals of classical plays and the productions of plays
based on classical plays required little in the way of scenery and
special effects, the designers concentrated upon the creation of
theatres resembling the Roman theatre and, as a result, needed little
scenery.
By the late fifteenth century, however, several new influences
began to affect theatrical productions. The works of Vitruvius had
become available to artists and scholars in Italy, and with these «• works had come the suggestion that plays could or should be produced 4 with painted scenery. In addition, renaissance artists had developed
the use of perspective painting. As a result, by the beginning of the
sixteenth century, some plays were being presented with scenery
painted in perspective.
In 1551 Sabastiano Serlio published his treatise on architecture,
Archittura, in which he described a method for presenting a
3 This device is described in detail in Orville K. Larson, "Italian Stage Machinery, 1500-1700" (unpublished Ph. D. dissertation, University of Illinois, 1956), pp. 19-22 and Edward Carrick, "Theatre Machines, 1400-1800," The Architectural Review, LXX (July, 1931), pp. 9-10. 4 Morgan, p. 150; p. 198. 20 5 three-dimensional scene on stage. Serlio's treatise provided descriptions and illustrations of the three types of scenes mentioned, but not illustrated, by Vitruvius} the comic, the tragic and the
satyric. Each of the scenes illustrated by Serlio consisted of a view
down a street or path - a perspective vista. Serlio's "comic setting"
is shown in Figure 1A.
The Perspective Vista
The settings of Serlio illustrate the basic elements of the
perspective vista which was to dominate scenic design until the
eighteenth century.
Linear Perspective. Linear perspective describes the visual
effect of depth or distance on the size of objects seen by an observer.
We observe . . . that objects in the background appear to diminish in size as they recede, that parallel lines con verge and that horizontal lines assume various angles. 6
Figure IB illustrates how each story of the buildings appears to
diminish in size, parallel lines appear to converge, and horizontal
lines assume various angles. These relationships of line to space
can be determined mathematically or geometrically.
Aerial Perspective. Another perspective technique is aerial
perspective. Although aerial perspective is less exact than linear
perspective, it was a major factor in the seventeenth century settings.
5 Bernard Hewitt (ed.), The Renaissance Stage (Miami t University of Miami Press, 1958), pp. 21-33. 6 Ralph Mayer, The Artist's Handbook (New York: The Viking Press, 1970), p. 833. A SERLIO'S COMIC SETTING {Hewitt, The Renaissance Stage, p. 28.)
B ENHANCED DRAWING
FIGURE 1 PERSPECTIVE VISTA 22
In nature, the distant parts of a landscape assume a less brilliant color than the objects in the foreground? they are often made hazy or given a bluish-white tone by the volume of atmospheric moisture through which they are viewed. This effect may be directly translated to a picture without the use of rules or laws other than those which are learned by observation of natural phenomena,7
Center Vanishing Point. Although perspective techniques may be used with a variety of possible vanishing points, those points at which parallel lines appear to vanish over the horizon, during
the sixteenth and most of the seventeenth century, the designers used the simplest form - the center vanishing point. It was the use of this vanishing point located on the horizon at the center of the
setting that created the scenic vista.
Although it is very easy to create a two-dimensional painting of a street with a center vanishing point, theatrical designers were
confronted with the problem of creating a three-dimensional setting
in perspective. Serlio provides the methods needed for the creation of such a setting.
The Three-dimensional Setting. The buildings on stage right and
stage left in Figure 1 are actually built as three-dimensional units, known as Serlian Wings. Although each of the portions of the building
facades that are parallel to the front of the stage are built as
rectangular walls, the portions of the facades that face the street or vista are constructed with a false perspective. Since all of the
receding house facades use the same vanishing point, the effect is
that of a street of great depth.
-
ibid., p. 561. 23 The sky or heavens create no problem since they are# in essence, infinite in depth. As a result, the ceiling of the stage house can be painted to represent the sky. This technique was used for the 8 perspective vistas at the Teatro Olympico.
The stage floor also contributes to the perspective vista since it is alBo slanted up towards the same vanishing point. Figure 2 shows how Serlio built his stage with a rake. The plan view shows how the stage floor was also painted with lines leading to the vanishing point.
The perspective vista was completed by the use of a painted frame at the back of the scene. This frame or rear closure could continue the perspective scene, or, aB in the case of Serlio's settings, be painted as a building that ended the perspective view.
There were several problems with the early perspective vista.
As Figure 2 shows, the spaces between the individual buildings were very narrow, thus creating problems of entrances between the units onto the street. It is unlikely, however, that the street was used as an acting area since a performer only six feet upstage would be taller than the first story of the adjacent building, as shown in
Figure 3. In addition, although Serlio's setting would serve for single setting productions, the settings could not be changed with any facility since they were not only three-dimensional, but also had three-dimensional mouldings attached to the facades.
| 8 The painted-plaster dome at the Teatro Olympico is shown in a number of photographs taken by the author which are on file at the John H. McDowell Archives of the OSU Theatre Research Institute. McDowell Archives F. 1782. PLAN SECTION
FIGURE 2 SERLIO'S PLAN AND SECTION (Hewitt, The Renaissance Stage, pp. 22*23.) 25
V{ininhin£ point
vr.ni.shin;; ooint 2 7
Tator poi'anoctivo Vi n ta
FIGURE 3 VANISHING POINT LOCATIONS 26 The major innovations in the settings that appeared in the seventeenth century were the result of efforts to solve these problems.
The typical seventeenth century setting utilized a vanishing point that was located much further upstage than was the case in the settings of Serlio. This change resulted in a narrower perspective angle in the seventeenth century theatres. Table I compares the perspective angles found for several illusionistic theatres. Those theatres with more distant vanishing points provided a deeper acting area and more space for special effects upstage.
Concurrent with the increased depth on stage, was the elimination of three-dimensional scenic units. This change resulted not only in easier scenic changes, but equally important, it provided more space between the scenic units for entrances and special effects.
The Changeable Setting
The advent of the intermezzi and, later, the opera required changeable settings and more effective special effects. Sabbattini1s
Pratica describes several ingenious, yet rather primitive, methods of changing the Serlian perspective setting. The machinery utilized for
Sabbattini's scenic changes and the creation of his spectacular effects were based upon the simplest of machines, the lever, and variations of the lever principle, such as the winch.
Sabbattini realized the limitations of his scene-shifting methods.
He remarked that the audience's delight is caused by the appearance of a new setting, but not by watching the scenic change. Sabbattini suggests methods of distracting the audience's attention away from TABLE I
COMPARISON OF PERSPECTIVE ANGLES
PERSPECTIVE DATE THEATRE ANGLE (degrees) 1545 Serlio's Groundplan 83 1628 Furttenbach's Groundplan 49 1665 Schouwberq 30 1654 Teatro SS Giovanni e Paolo 29 1662 Pozzo's Groundplan 29 1672 Troili’s Groundplan 28 1778 La Scala 28 1689 Comedie Francais 24 ? Palatina Ms. Groundplan 24 1606 Teatro decrli Intrepid! 19 1656 Teatro della Perqola 18 1770 Palais Royal 17 1677 Teatro della Fortuna 14 1618 Teatro Farnese 12 1662 Salle de Machines 9 2R the stage at the tine of the scenic change.
For example, some confidential person is sent to the rear of the hall, who watching for the time when the scene should be changed, feigns to make a noise with another person also in the know, or else (although, this might occasion much disturbance) pretends that some beams supporting the seats are in danger of breaking, or with the sounding of a trumpet, a drum, or some other instrument draws attention from the stage. At that very moment the change of scene is made without anyone seeing it.9
However, by the middle of the seventeenth century scene-change methods had been improved to the point that the changing of the settings in view of the audience provided an important part of the entertainment. An eyewitness account of the 1641 production of La
Finta Pazza states:
The artifice of this change was miraculous, . . . all of the wings were shifted in a single quick movement, thus creating great amazement on the part of the audience.
The key to this new approach to scene-changing was the develop ment of the free-hanging counterweight which allowed the movement of a large number of individual scenic units by using gravity to provide the motive force. In order to make use of the counterweight, the three- dimensional scenic units had to be replaced with two-dimensional scenic units, flat wings. The date for introduction of the flat wing setting and the use of the counterweight for a unified scenic change remains a matter of scholarly argument. Giacomo Torelli has tradi tionally been given credit for introducing the counterweight-controlled
9 Hewitt, p. 99. 10 Larson, "Stage Machinery," p. 203. 29 scenic change in 1641 in Venice, but there is strong evidence that 11 the 1618 Teatro Famese utilized the sane or similar machinery.
The Changeable Side Units. The side units may be divided into three classificationst Serlian wings, Periactoi, and flat wings.
Sabbattini offered two methods of changing the Serlian Wings, both rather crude. Figures 4 and 5 illustrate these, methods. The first method, Figure 4, consisted of simply covering each Serlian wing with a cloth painted to represent a different scene. Figure 5 shows that the second method, which perhaps created a more effective stage setting, required that a second set of wing units be pushed into positions to cover the first set of wing units. Both of these methods
required the labor of a large number of stage hands to change the entire setting.
The sixteenth and seventeenth century machinists took an idea
from Vitruvius for the second classification of side units, the periactoi. The periactoi was a vertical unit with three or more sides.
Vitruvius described these devices as,
. . . triangular pieces of machinery (A# A) which revolve, each having three decorated faces. When the play is to be changed, or when gods enter to the accompaniment of sudden claps of thunder, these may be revolved and present a face differently decorated.
Several different designers made use of variations of this ma- 13 chine. A drawing published in The Mask shows the use of periactoi
11 Alois M. Nagler, Theatrical Festivals of the Medici, 1539-1637 (New Havent Yale University Press, 1964), p. 153. 12 Morgan, p. 150. 13 "On a Design by Sangallo", The Mask, 1925, pp. 151-160; 192. 30
A SABBATTINI'S DRAWING (Hewitt, The Renaissance Stage, p. 101)
B RECONSTRUCTION (Sonrel, Traite de Scenographie, p. 34)
FIGURE 4 SABBATTINI*S FIRST METHOD OF CHANGING THE SIDE WINGS 31
"A i SABBATTINI'S DRAWING (Hewitt, The Renaissance Stage, p. 103)
B RECONSTRUCTION
FIGURE 5 SABBATTINI'S SECOND METHOD OF CHANGING THE SIDE WINGS 32 by Antonio San Gallo the younger (1485-1546). Although many conjectures have been made about his use of this machine, little definite infor mation exists.
In 1569 Ignazio Danti utilized the periactoi not only for the side units, but also for the rear closure as shown in Figure 6A. The position of the periactoi suggests a three-sided enclosure with few if 14 any entrances for the performers.
Two designers experimented with the use of a periactoi to change angled wings which appeared similar to Serlian wings. Dubreuil's illustration, shown as Figure 6B, shows two four-sided units mounted 15 upon a pivot (E) to provide for a scenic change. Facades AB and BD are used for one scene, and when the unit is turned 180 degrees, facades CD and AD are revealed providing a second scene.
A more complicated use of the periactoi to change the angled wing is found in the 1640 treatise, Recreational Architecture, by
Josef Furttenbach. Figure 7A illustrates that each set of periactoi is arranged to present a configuration similar to that of the Serlian wing. When the periactoi are turned, a different configuration, as shown in Figure 7B, is presented to the audience. However, the second configuration is not in the shape of the Serlian wing. In fact, the facade facing the audience must be painted like a flat wing in order to be effective. Figure ft shows that the mechanism used for turning the periactoi was very basic - a lever extending from the pivot
14 Nagler, Festivals, pp. 44-46, 15 T. E. Lawrenson, The French Stage in the XVlIth Century (Manchester), p. 125. A DANTfs PERIACTOI (Nagler, Theatre Festivals, p. ^5)
uwitituVu'11'11'' A n.rti jV
B DUBREUIL'S PERIACTOI (Lawrenson, French Theatre, Fig. 60)
FIGURE 6 PERIACTOI uai;l4
lilt dmiiii^
; (3itft**
».■(•(.■■ till • ■»» ••• • «••■■»•-■•• • ■ *• §•*■ ' •* • *•► '■) »»♦**•«*»♦«•»,.• #*• «t. ,»«««•'• • "
FIRST POSITION (Hewitt, The Renaissance Stage, p. 195)
B SECOND POSITION (Hewitt, The Renaissance Stage, p. 197)
FIGURE 7 FURTTENBACH'S PERIACTOI SETTING, PLAN VIEW Vu Ki £ c i ( f U i ( t ( U O m o d i t itvrjfiucr ‘TrtftYt,
X
I-
FIGURE 8 FURTTENBACH'S PERIACTOI, SECTION VIEW (Hewitt, The Renaissance Stage, p. 201) 36 shaft. Since the plan shows ten perlactol, ten men would be required to turn the units. The biggest problem with the side units as shown 4 by Furttenbach is the slanted base of the periactol which would pre vent the unit from turning.
Sabbattini solved this problem with his version of the perlactol.
He specified that the base of each periactol must be horizontal so the units could be turned. He describes a mechanism which allows all the periactol to turn at the same time. Figure 9 shows how rope was to be wrapped around each pivot shaft and connected to winches. When the winch was turned, the rope was pulled, causing the rotation of the pivot shaft and the periactol.
All of these devices for changing the Serlian wing and the periactol units shared several disadvantages. The units were all three-dimensional eliminating the possibility of wide entrances be tween the units. In addition, the shifting methods were clumsy and 16 required the co-ordination of a relatively large crew. These problems were eliminated with the invention of the flat wing and the counterweight-controlled scenic change.
Figure 10 illustrates the arrangement of the flat wing units on the stage and how the painted perspective scene was divided into components that could be painted upon flat surfaces, as shown in
16 A number of scholars have studied these machines and have published detailed commentaries on their operation. See Hewitt) Larson, "Stage Machinery") Larson, "Nicola Sabbattini's Descriptions of Stage Machinery from Pratica di Fabrlcar scene e Machine ne teatri (Ravenna, 1638)t An Explanation and Commentary," Players Magazine, October 1962, pp. 13-20 and November 1962, pp. 47-64) and Pierre Sonrel, Traite de Scenographie (Paris: Odette Lieutier, 1943). UCuiMi. A SABBATTINI'S DRAWING (Hewitt, The Renaissance Stage, p. 105)
' A r t ? * . .
A'r>Ukt ■ >«»•&*{ (b u A.B fc lll t » B RECONSTRUCTION (Sonrel', Traite de Scenographie, p. 35)
FIGURE 9 SABBATTINI*S PERIACTOI 38
I. .*5‘? Wj'&s'. J ‘ *.• • ■ »? ■ •; *1*
... T & V /'/¥•«• •' ^ 5'' .."::,t. : f f > =: ii. • v m vt.«u* * VV I . < 'H .U .<*.. • 4 ■•*••■.'*¥ * • * < I • ** lfl* i• . •V.V.A.**;;..*• :* ‘ r. .,.} ■« iHhiiii 1 *• * * ,'*■* I'1 * * *. ?*— r . •Vj'.v ’■ . • • 0/ *.•<•* V . « ' , ■ / . * - ^ ,, ! > * : -,:-v. v ■. . .• ■)'; ,4f \: • . • f* ' "V.1 ■;■> tt. -rr*^ >/.fi •: v b •t'2 '• a ? “\v- 1 . ,s.■...*;:aIV-i 3 gTMruj rsscruj __ zm 1 r! • »v.paa Jt * • P‘ r*iv -Iffi », 7j J , : . . ► j £ * -jT .J vi— p ‘ y.* ' * 7 «.a >«,iQ J'«•- ■ ■ i ▼ 1 . ' # »*r/tn>y*r*,w ^ J . ■ ■ •?» ®'- '%| , ^virS*1 f“1 • I, ~iir-JCJ-'A‘i>',Uwl^ L •_ _ < \ ^1- pltwriurMto — “ ^ , 7 ^ 1 j.o ra - 1 /. __ B • -s-K'f * J v:'t- J 1 i \ J]*w,«^^.«rum ,fnmTO#Tri'Tf» .. i_jj i*u iar«¥^y* «» ,, ». ^I. *"?:wrrt-UN1 f .'i'.UV7V#/Aearii!uvM«rut4 * . n“n -in if - - -1 C M V i W# f* V * | | i I . » 'I j 7 , A (.><«v w . u M r ^ « r a t b ' T ^ V n t-'^rl i T r T 1''— ■*— * - ^ ■ - t ^ - r U . ^ .-r-' » M ' - 7 r ^ • ’ .'' W f'-u-/.*.— ^ (J) ‘V..; ' • *'■*• ■ v .. :*• -• V ■»»Haininw—ngri * 1 ,■ ■..'•! ■'.', '••• » /I;*UT>nmr/m“ ■ »,■ r E P: V r - / - ‘ v »•>»■ ■ <•• "■■■•■ - rj,l' • -h ; ■ ,,‘ t-*'— . • • ■ - ♦ ■..;..,,. • r^f ’. * - ’*••• >»J P ../• r^TTJ v :. r.rir ^ - (» ;. « f . ( ••T’ " y Tl VX'^I. > %_ M ‘ . .♦ » •■ » * 1 »» ^ ■ V . , • ■...... FIGURE 10 GROUNDPLAN FROM THE PALATINA MANUSCRIPT (Biblioteca Palatlna/ Parma, Ms. 3708, McDowell F. 2048) 39 Figure 11, instead of being constructed as three-dimensional units. A compromise had to be made since part of the wing had to be painted 17 to represent the stage floor. This technique was not totally new since even Serlic's floor plan (Figure 2) utilized perspective painting on a two-dimensional surface for the rear closure and the upstage- most wing units. The revolutionary innovation was the use of a counterweight to shift all the wing units at the same time and at the same speed. Figure 12 shows how this mechanism worked at the 1770 Palais Royal. Although the illustration shows only two sets of wings, the Palais Royal's sixteen sets of wings were all connected to the central shaft and were changed at one time. Each painted wing was mounted on a chariot or trolley unit that could be rolled on or off stage. The unit which was to be revealed was connected by a rope (X) to a control shaft under the stage floor. Another rope was wrapped around the control shaft and was connected to the counterweight located at the top of the theatre. The counterweight was prevented from falling and turning the shaft by the control line (Z). When it was time for the scenic change, the control line (Z) was released allowing the counterweight to fall pulling rope (W) and thus turning the control shaft. As the control shaft revolved, the ropes (X) connected to the wings were wrapped around the control shaft, pulling the wings 17 This problem was partially solved by those designers who built theatres with the wings slanted upstage. This form can be seen in the plans for the Teatro San Giovanni e Paolo in Venice and the Schouwberg Theatre in Amsterdam. FIGURE 11 FLAT WING SETTING (Biblloteca Palatina, Parma, Ms. 3708, McDowell F. 2048) 41 H - 4 - 1 t o ! . i DRAWING FROM DIDEROT* S ENCYCLOPEDIA (Diderot, Encyclopedia, X, pi. XIX) j v. * y.. B RECONSTRUCTION FIGURE 12 PALAIS ROYAL WING SHIFTING MECHANISM 42 onstage. Since the o££stage ends of each trolley were connected by another rope (Y), as one wing in each set moved onstage, the other wing was pulled offstage. "The device for this change was mar velous because a single fifteen year old youth gave motion by re- 18 leasing a counterweight. . . ." This method of changing the setting dominated scene changing 19 from the seventeenth century until the end of the nineteenth century. A drawing in manuscript 3708 from the Biblioteca Palatina shows the components necessary for this device. Figure 13 includes the trolley units and the central drum. Although a counterweight is not shown in this drawing, many other drawings in this manuscript illustrate the 20 use of counterweights to achieve various effects. Although the invention of the centrally controlled flat wings was the key to the a. vista scenic change, innovations were also made in the other elements of the stage setting. Serlio did not mention the decoration of the heavens, but both Sabbattini and Furttenbach de scribe methods for representing the sky. In both cases, the sky was 18 Detailed descriptions of the wing-shifting machinery from the Palais Royal and other theatres may be found in Sonrel; James Hawley and Allen S. Jackson, "Scene-Changing at the Palais Royal", The OSU Theatre Collection Bulletin, No. 8 (1961), pp. 9-23; and Frank C. Mohler II, "Analysis of the PlanB for the Theatre in the Seminary of the Collegio Romano", The OSU Theatre Collection Bulletin, No. 16 (1969), pp. 43-48. : 19 John H. McDowell, unpublished translation of "II Cannocchiale per la Pinta Pazza ..." Published in the Italian in Per Bjurstrom, Giacomo Torelli and Baroque Stage Design (Stockholm: Almquist and Wicksell, 1961), pp. 237-38. 20 Frank C. Mohler II, "An Analysis of a Drawing from Manuscript 3708 at the Biblioteca Palatina", unpublished term paper, The Ohio State University Theatre Collection, Columbus, 1966. 43 J,JWkt Jl/t v..’: \TPffvfiJJWi a zr&yJJ-M1 *•'-! } :. - .V J • I ^S’- rfV f•.. 7 " 7 . f e ? *. ’ Jh&f* w 'tts i nijJi^cfasiwisr-jMs'^SEs! * .• jvr c?TC7&:x&»^i*a'W*3s: If* ’ * * 5T * « ^~~~J » ■■ * ■«![»■♦ I P I * •} • ;»7»OTXf!TOC-’ h _». l t.-..-.*J.lf\Vl?,'( •• 1 T 'iS J.i t£i U v ) ^ ™ * ~cr m . m ' s * « ■ s \ « * .^.•j bi^lpi.i’-'f T^-r-v-V^g}! .* uV" ?yni--* y. <■:: r nt-j r\*Cr?C - W ft. ST 4 ! «>!*• ! * M * f ^ ■«:!'*** *,• FIGURE 13 PALATINA MANUSCRIPT WING CHANGING MECHANISM. (Biblioteca Palatina, Parma, Ms. 370B; McDowell F. 2048) 44 changeable only by the addition of clouds, an effect which will be considered in Chapter V. The skies described by Sabbattini and Furttenbach consisted of a series of curved borders over the per spective scene as shown in Figure 7. In the middle of the seventeenth century designers and machinists apparently developed a method of changing the borders because designers began to include a few settings with ceilings for grottos and interior rooms. The Palatina manuscript includes two drawings that describe a technique for achieving this effect with the use of a flat border. Figure 14 is a complicated drawing that includes cloth borders that may be used to represent the sky, which remained the primary overhead 21 decoration. Figure 15, however, shows a method for lowering another set of borders in front of the permanent cloth borders. Again this machine is controlled by a counterweight. This counterweight appears to be slightly heavier than the weight of the borders. To lower the border frames (C), the winch is turned raising the counterweight, allowing the drum (D) to turn, unwinding the ropes that support the border frames. To raise the borders, the winch is turned the opposite direction, allowing the counterweight to fall, thus, re volving the drum and raising the borders. Figure 16 presents a reconstructed section of a theatre showing how the two types of borders could be used together to represent either the sky or a space 21 This drawing is very complex including a number of specialized machines. The most important of these, a machine for flying an entire stage floor will be considered in Chapter V. 66 **>. V FIGURE 14 PERMANENT BORDERS FROM THE PALATINA MANUSCRIPT (Biblioteca Palatina, Parma, Ms. 3708; McDowell F. 2048) 46 1 .n«f**w»f iLXi^L^uL-'xLv y TP L^vJS. ,U“ ."rrnsity. Hr' ^^-7/ 'r^nfM^^r-NJ1, • 6 ■ *•«*}( nawnr.’w 1//.. • **V^, f'4 4 WM Jj s ■• *’ ■/, !&$*/> ! ft f FIGURE 15 CHANGEABLE BORDERS FROM THE PALATINA MANUSCRIPT (Biblioteca Palatina, Parma, Ms. 3708; McDowell F. 2048) 47 1$ »*". f I t : i L'il CHANGEABLE BORDERS 3 11 j f I Irf — PERMANENT BORDERS WINGS ,*<— 'PERMANENT BORDERS ,CHANGEABLE BORDERS WINGS p FIGURE 16 BORDER CHANGING MECHANISM FROM THE PALATINA MANUSCRIPT inclosed by a ceiling. From the machinery illustrated in Diderot's Encyclopedia and other sources, it appears that this method was re jected for a system of alternating borders, similar to the wing change technique, because the architecturally decorated borders be- 22 came more common in the eighteenth century settings. Rear Closure. The third element of the stage setting, the rear closure, was physically the largest single element of the setting. Apparently the earliest method of changing the rear closure was by the use of shutters. The painting that limited the scenic vista consisted of two sliding frames divided in the middle, allowing each frame to be drawn off to the sides, and thus revealing another shutter. 23 Both Sabbattini and Furttenbach illustrate this technique, Figure 17A shows the basic method of opening the rear shutters. The frames GHIK are held in grooves at the top and bottom, when the scene is to be changed, the shutters are drawn offstage revealing another shutter. Both Sabbattini and Furttenbach suggest a number of variations to the basic technique. Sabbattini suggests that wheels or casters be used 24 on the lower edge of the shutters to make them roll easier and Furttenbach suggests that the shutters may be attached to a counter- 25 weight to open them faster. Sabbattini also describes an ineffective 22 A detailed description of the operation of the border- changing machinery at the Palais Royal may be found in Mohler, "Collegio Romano", pp. 48-52. 23 Hewitt, pp. 113-119| p. 210. 24 4 49 A SHUTTER (Hewitt, The Renaissance Stage, p. 114) B ROLL-DROP (Hewitt, The Renaissance Stage, p. 92) FIGURE 17 SABBATTINI*S REAR CLOSURE MECHANISMS V - ; 50 26 method of hinging the shutters to open like a set of double doors. Two other methods for changing the rear closure are mentioned by Sabbattini, although he concedes that both methods have problems. He borrows a front curtain raising technique and adapts it for use for the rear closure. Figure 17B shows a machine that resembles a modern window shade. When the counterweights I and K are released, they fall revolving the roller AB, thus winding the painted scene up 27 on the roller. 28 The other method for removing the rear closure is described but not illustrated in the Pratica. An illustration of this device, however, is included in the Sabbattini Notebook from the Biblioteca Oliveriani and is shown and reconstructed in Figure 18. This device, also, makes use of a counterweight to ease the scenic change. The weight of the painted framework is counterbalanced by the counter weight. To raise or lower the painted framework, the winch is turned. Sabbattini mentions that this machine may be used to either raise the frame into the overhead space, or lower it beneath the stage. The Palatina Manuscript and Diderot's Encyclopedia both illus trate methods of flying the rear closure. Figure 19 shows a machine for the flying of a backdrop illustrated in the Palatina Manuscript. The backdrop is supported by a number of lines that lead to a drum over the stage. A counterweight is also attached to this drum. As 26 ibid.. pp. 115-116. 27 ibid., p. 118. 28 ibid., pp. 118-119. A DRAWING FROM SABBATTINI'S NOTEBOOK (Biblioteca Oliveriani, Pesaro, Ms. 312} McDowell, F. 2653) B RECONSTRUCTION FIGURE IB REAR CLOSURE MECHANISM FROM THE OLIVERIANI MANUSCRIPT »?■ ■ i i / W ’» • * .r * / ' V i . ■ * . ;::'/.•'•K ;: £ l- a * v> ?» ' tf- *v rv-,';.'■v;*' />/;.f.'■ '■ ■. "•, -p ■>'V-■ A. I a 2 ■* f* VI .. * fi«*V-'o$'«. *•* * i« .*.^’rvV*'.':;■' !’ ft V" «l,*\ i<7 V !*•.. »•*?.,40 •*. f» * W *. § & ? A ? A ■ , * v .t': ••!>• >•'■•% »•; f J ’ ' V-: » £ •: .* •■•■•■. ‘ • A iff> • '-'I •’ ••; J1-. * j + * SJrV/'.* ■*.• *l I* ■ *; • *■ * • -y A’V A*'^ S7. •;V... • ;•••' - I S . 4': '** IV.--M__ \ V / 1 . V P , V i ' f ’ss.; t I I * • • * '. 1 < * t . V.y<- #*-'Tr viir *J ' •• : ' . V U , . v ' . .• ' * •• • ■/.. ,r» ., ,!! - V !:v''/.' 'it-f.'■’I I *. *. : i. ’ » "•••.:, ' !■'•• •’ ■y< ' • ..v.:- i-p. . . . .v.LyjiviwJ .' • \ FIGURE 19 REAR CLOSURE MECHANISM FROM THE PALATINA MANUSCRIPT (Biblioteca Palatina, Parma, Ms. 3708,* McDowell} F. 2048) the counterweight is lowered the backdrop is raised and visa versa. The Inner Stage Area. One part of a total scenic change was often the revelation of the inner stage area, that area upstage of the rear closure. Both Sabbattini and Furttenbach mention the use of the 29 area upstage of the rear closure for special effects. In both of these cases the inner stage consists of only one level, essentially an extension of the stage floor. The Palatina Manuscript and the San Salvatore drawings both indicate the use of an upper stage area in addition to the use of the lower stage. Figure 20 shows the location of the upper inner stage in the theatre illustrated in the Palatina Manuscript. The use of the upper stage is further supported by a number of descriptions in eyewitness accounts and libretti of effects that would seem to require such a space. These effects will be considered in Chapter V. The Stage House Type of Theatre. The arrangement and amount of space in the stagehouse of the theatre was dependent upon the use and longevity of the structure. Most of the early illusionistic theatres were temporary structures built in the courtyards or great halls of ducal palaces. As a result, the theatres- were not only limited by the size of the room or courtyard, but also by the temporary nature of the theatre. The machinery described in Sabbattini's Pratica was designed for such a temporary theatre. 5A FIGURE 20 UPPER STAGE SHOWN IN THE PALATINA MANUSCRIPT (Biblioteca Palatina, Parma, Ms. 3708J McDowell F. 2048) 55 By the beginning of the seventeenth century the courts, the classical academies and, eventually, private entemprenuers began to build permanent theatres. The Teatro Farnese, the Venetian public theatres and the theatres associated with the French court are examples of this type. Most of the machinery that depended upon the use of the counterweight evolved for this latter type of theatre. Stage Areas. The size of the various stage areas can be directly related to the type of theatre structure. The wing area was relatively limited in both types of theatres since all the floor-level scenery was limited to the immediate sides of the performance space. Although each theatre needed some offstage space for entrances and effects machines, the major effects emanated from other areas of the stage- house. Most illusionistic theatres had a single sub-stage level. During the sixteenth century this level was used primarily to house the trap mechanisms^ during the seventeenth century the central shafts for the scene changes became the dominant element in the sub-stage area. The overhead area became much larger in the seventeenth century with the increasingly complex flying machinery and interchangeable borders. The structural demands due to the large weights of the effect pro ducing machinery and the counterweights may not have been practical in a temporary structure. One of the most important differences between the use of space in the temporary theatres and the permanent theatres was the in creased use of an upper inner stage. The only examples of the upper inner stage are for theatres that date after the beginning of the 56 seventeenth century. This feature was made practical by the increased depth of the stages in the seventeenth century, which was brought about by the increasing demand for spectacle in the intermezzi and early operas. Summary The renaissance interest in the visual arts provided the major impetus for the development of the illusionistic stage. Although the early illusionistic settings were probably merely paintings hung behind the actors, by the middle of the sixteenth century pro ductions were staged using three-dimensional perspective vistas. These early perspective vistas were little more than three-dimensional paintings, but soon the vanishing points for the vistas were moved further from the audience, allowing the placement of the dramatic action within the confines of the setting. Most of the early perspective vistas, such as Serlio's, were immovable since the plays did not require a change of place, however the development of the intermezzi and the opera required changeable settings. Initially, attempts were made to change the three-dimen sional scenic units of Serlio, but by the beginning of the seventeenth century the flat wing became the basis of the stage setting. The flat wing could be changed easily by using a central drum and a falling counterweight. As the desire for spectacle grew, the stage was expanded, enabling the designer to display large or complicated effects upstage of the main setting. In some theatres, this inner stage area was built with two levels allowing even greater possibilities for scenic spectacle. By the beginning of the seventeenth century, many of the temporary court theatres had become permanent. The permanent theatres could provide greater structural support for the various elements of the setting and the spectacular effects. The development of the renowned spectacle of the illusionistic stage was dependent upon the flat wing setting and the large permanent stagehouse. CHAPTER III HATER EFFECTS One of the most widely used spectacular effects on the sixteenth and seventeenth century stage was the sea scene1 Like many of the other elements of the renaissance stage, the sea scene had classical and medieval precedents. Although the nature of the machine remains unknown, Pollox, describing the parts of the classical theatre, refers to the "semicircle:" the semicircle is so called from its shape: the situation of it is in the orchestra, and its use to show afar off any particular place of the city or person swimming in the sea.^ / Unfortunately, this vague description is more confusing than helpful. Another classical precedent may be more easily imagined. During the Roman period, the nauaachia became an entertainment form, exhibiting mock sea battles in arenas or specially-constructed buildings. The orchestras of the theatres were, on occasion, flooded 2 and used for swimming feats or other aquatic entertainment. In the middle ages, dramatic productions occasionally needed a sea as the location for the dramatic action. Figure 21 shows a sea (la mare) included in the well-known illustration of the passion play performed at Valenciennes in 1547. It should be noted that this 1 Alois M. Nagler, A Source Book in Theatrical History (New York: Dover Publications, 1952), p. 9. 2 Margarete Bieber, The History of the Greek and Roman Theatre (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1961), p. 253. 53 FIGURE 21 SETTING FOR THE VALENCIENNES PASSION PLAY (Nagler, Source Book, p. 48) 60 illustration also includes a ship upon the sea. The early productions of the classical revival during the renaissance borrowed a great deal from the medieval staging techniques. At times, attempts at sea scenes were made for productions of plays that did not require such scenes. In a 1486 account of a production of Plautus' Menaechmi, the following is foundt In his courtyard waB erected a wooden stage with five battlemented houses. There was a window and a door in each. Then a ship came in . . . and crossed the courtyard. It had ten persons in it and was fitted with oars and a sail in a most realistic manner.3 In the late sixteenth century, the designers of the illusionistic theatre took these sea scenes and presented them in such a way as to astound the audience with the realistic effects. Table II indicates the popularity of sea scenes in various locations during the late sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. More information about these productions may be found in Appendix A. Seas, Harbors. Inlets, Etc. The basic sea scene consisted of one of a variety of wave machines flanked by scenic units decorated as rocks, ships or buildings. The decoration of the rear closure varied depending upon the location of the scene. Of the twenty-one productions listed on Table 2, sixteen of them include a sea scene, and nineteen productions include some type 3 Allardyce Nicoll, The Development of the Theatre (New Yorkt Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1957), p. 82. TABLE II FREQUENCY OF HATER EFFECTS |Seas, Harbors, Etc. I {Fountains (Fish, Monsters, Etc. (Boats Rivers Sea Chariots N. EFFECT PRODUCTION N. Florence 1565 1 Florence 1568 Florence 15B6 XX Florence 1.589 XX X X Florence 1600 XX Mantua 1608 111 X X Mantua 1608 #2 XX Florence 1608 #1 Florence 1608 #2 x x XX Florence 1611 X x X Florence 1613 x X X Florence 1624 X Florence 1625 x x X Parma 1628 #1 x x X X Parma 1628 #2 X X Florence 1637 x X x X Venice 1637 x X Venice 1641 X Venice 1642 x X X Paris 1650 XX Fano 1677 X X 62 of water effect. The typical sea scene was used for the fourth intermezzo for the 1589 Florentine production of L'Amico fido. The audience was transported from the Florence of the third act to a sea coast. At the outermost edge of the stage rose impassable reefs . . . the entire stage was now inundated by the most natural-looking waves.4 A later sea scene used in the production of 11^ Gludizzio di Paride, produced in Florence in 1608, was unsuccessful. An eyewitness, Gabriele Bertassuolo, wrote that “the marine scene had failed to come off since the Florentines had avoided making the sea in the 5 Mantuan fashion .“ The production of an unsuccessful effect was apparently unusual since the majority of the descriptions are very positive.’ The following description of the opening scene for Andromede, produced in Venice in 1637, is more typical of the sea scene. The scene was entirely sea. In the distance was a view of water and rocks so contrived that its naturalness (although feigned) moved the spectators to doubt whether they were in a theatre or on a real sea-shore.6 Although these descriptions indicate the popularity of the marine scene, they provide very little information about the tech niques used to achieve the effects. By the seventeenth century, there appear to be two types of sea effects; the sea used as an up stage background, as shown in Figure 22, and the sea UBed to cover 4 Alois M. Nagler, Theatre Festivals of the Medici, 1539-1637 (New Havent Yale University Press, 1964), p. 64. 5 ibid., pp. 107-8. 6 Simon T. Worsthorne, Venetian Opera in the Seventeenth Century (Oxford; Clarendon Press, 1954), p. 25. 63 W ' - ' m S k mm FIGURE 22 SETTING FOR BELLERFONTE (Nicoll, Development of the Theatre, Fig. 2B6) 64 FIGURE 23 SETTING FOR ANDROMEDA (Nagler, Source Book, p. 170) 65 the downstage portion of the stage r as shown in Figure 23. A variety of machines were available to create these effects. The wave machines may be divided into three classifications: profile waves, column waves, and seacloths. Since Sabbattini illus trates examples of each type, and Furttenbach illustrates two of the types, it is impossible to determine which type preceded the others. It is probable, however, that the profile wave, being the simplest form, was the earliest type of wave machine. Profile Waves. Furttenbach describes the simplest form of illusionistic wave machine. He states that this wave is to be used in the rear pit pinner stage/ when the sea to be shown is calm and quiet. The "machine" consists of a board, cut in profile to resemble waves, leaning against the back wall of the inner stage area, which is 7 painted as a sky with clouds and sunbeams. This wave is labeled 8 in Figure 24. The use of this type of wave would have an effect similar to a painted backdrop. Realizing that productions often need more active sea scenes, Furttenbach provided for this effect by adding a second cut-out wave to the inner stage. The second wave, cut and painted as a more billowy sea, is placed in the fourth set of rear closure grooves, having first removed the last set of shutters. This wave, labeled 69, can, then, be Blid back and forth in the groove giving motion to the sea, as shown in Figure 24. Furttenbach goes on to mention that ships may pass between the two waves, and "when this sliding wave is moved 7 Bernard Hewitt, The Renaissance Stage (Miami: university of Miami Press, 1958), p. 239. 66 A ORIGINAL DRAWING (Hewitt, The Renaissance Stage, p. 240) B RECONSTRUCTION FIGURE 24 FURTTENBACH'S STILL AND SLIDING WAVES continuously back and forth in this groove# then the ship will seem e to move in a natural sea# and the audience will be delighted." Sabbattini describes a method of utilizing profile waves that is more complicated than the methods of Furttenbach. Although Sabbattini does not specify the location of the sea machines# it would appear from the semi-permanent construction of the machines that they would need to be located in the inner stage behind the shutters. Figure 25 illustrates Sabbattini*s "second method of showing a sea." The sea consists of a series of boardB cut in the profile of waves. The first wave (AB) is fastened securely to the stage floor and serves as a base to hinge the downstage ends of beams NO and PQ. The second (CD)# fourth (GH) and sixth (LM) wave profiles are attached to beam NO and the third (EF) and fifth (IK) wave profiles are attached to beam PQ. RSTVX on the drawing indicate supports used to fasten the wave pro files to the appropriate beams. Each wave profile board is covered with a cloth that hangs below the profile board to mask the beam when the wave 1b raised. According to Sabbattini# the upstage ends of the beams are raised and lowered alternatively setting the waves in 9 motion. The effect would be that of a rolling sea. Two other forms of profile waves are illustrated in a drawing from the Palatina manuscript 3708. The simplest of the two machines is shown in the upstage area and is reproduced in Figure 26. This A ORIGINAL DRAWING (Hewitt, The Renaissance Stage, p. 132) B • RECONSTRUCTION FIGURE 25 SABBATTINI'S SECOND METHOD OF SHOWING A SEA ORIGINAL DRAWING (Biblioteca Palatina, Parma, Ms. 3708) McDowell F. 2048) B RECONSTRUCTION FIGURE 26 UPSTAGE WAVE MACHINE FROM THE PALATINA MANUSCRIPT 70 machine, like those of Sabbattini and Furttenbach, is of a semi permanent construction which would indicate that it would have to be preset behind the rear closure to be revealed at the proper time. The machine consists of a series of flat boards suspended on sets of ropes. It is assumed that the boards would be cut as wave profiles, although this is not shown. If one wave profile would be moved, the action would make the rope bounce, imparting motion to the other waves. Figure 27 illustrates the downstage wave machine from the same drawing of the Palatina manuscript. This machine could be used to create a sea on the downstage portion of the stage as a part of a total scenic change, since the wave machine is raised through a long narrow trap in the stage floor. The mechanism of the wave machine is more complicated than the other profile waves. The profile wave boards (C) are mounted in pairs on crankshafts, in such a way that when one wave is in the low position, the other wave is in a raised position. The entire wave machine is mounted on a frame that may be raised and lowered by means of a winch on each end of the frame. The drawing shows positions for four such units in the downstage area. Although the drawing does not show a method of imparting motion to each set of waves, a stagehand positioned under the stage floor could move the waves. A similar wave machine is a part of a working model of an eighteenth century stage located in the Toneelmuseum in Amsterdam. Palatina manuscript 370B also includes a scenic design that shows the effect achieved by utilising the two forms of wave machines shown in the manuscript. This scene design, shown in Figure 28, is 71 ■w«y»r y* A ORIGINAL DRAWING (Blblloteca Palatina, Parma, Ms. 3708; McDowell F. 2048) side view of wave mechanism 4F.&rto/r A-A* B EXPLANATORY DRAWING FIGURE 27 DOWNSTAGE WAVE MACHINE FROM THE PALATINA MANUSCRIPT FIGURE 28 SEA SCENE FROM THE PALATINA MANUSCRIPT (Biblioteca Palatina, Parma, Ms. 3708; McDowell F. 2048) similar in many aspects to the setting for the third act of Andromede, produced in Paris in 16S0. Machines similar to those shown in the Palatina manuscript could obviously have been used to create this scene. One further form of the profile wave machine deserves to be mentioned. Furttenbach describes a unique wave machine used to show the parting of the Red Sea. This machine, shown in Figure 29, con sists of two profile waves constructed with lever arms. These waves are mounted upside down and connected to the fourth shutter groove with pins that serve as pivots. Counterweights are attached to the offstage ends of the levers to allow a stagehand to push the lever down, thus raising the wave profiles'to an upright position. When the Pharaoh pursues them £the children of Isreal/ with his army, and gets to the middle of the Red Sea, the waves come down. Amidst terrible cries and raising of hands, all are drowned. 10 Versions of the profile wave remained in use for many years. The profile waves (ground rows) used in the production of La Tour 11 Enchantee in 1895 are shown in Moynet's Trues et Decors. Column Waves. The'second basic classification of wave machines is the column wave. This machine consisted, essentially, of a specially-shaped horizontal column that was rotated around its axis. Furttenbach utilized a primitive type of column wave to show "violent waves." This machine, shown in Figure 30, consisted of four wave 10 ibid., pp. 240-41. 11 Georges Moynet, La Machinery Theatrale: Trues et Decors (Parist La Librarie Illustree, 1893), PI. 18. I A ORIGINAL DRAWING {Hewitt, The Renaissance Stage, p. 240) B RECONSTRUCTION FIGURE 30 FURTTENBACH*S VIOLENT WAVES 76 t profile boards mounted ninety degrees apart around a shaft. According to Furttenbach, "two or three such machines, one behind the other, 12 produce a tremendous effect.** Like Furttenbach1 s other wave machines, the "violent waves" were mounted at floor level in the inner stage area. Sabbattini believed that the column wave was the most effective wave machine available. Figure 31 shows the column wave machine he described in his "third method of showing a sea." Each column or 13 cylinder was made of strips of wood and was shaped like a sea. The desired effect was obviously that of a horizontal serpentine column. The columns were covered with cloth and painted blue and black with a touch of silver. A crank was located at one or both ends of the column to enable its rotation by a stagehand. Sabbattini combines the column wave and the profile to create a more active sea. For this effect, shown in Figure 32, the column waves are turned slowly to create the illusion of a calm sea. In order to make the sea "rise, swell, get tempestuous and change color,*1 stagehands, stationed between each column wave, raise profile waves that have been painted black with silver tops. As the profile waves are raised and moved violently, they hide the column waves. To make the seas grow calm again, the profile waves are lowered and the rota- 14 ting columns are again visible. 12 Hewitt, pp. 239-40. 13 ibid., pp. 132-33. 14 ibid., pp. 134-35. A ORIGINAL DRAWING (Hewitt, The Rennlssnnce Stage, p. 133) B RECONSTRUCTION FIGURE 31 SABBATTINI'S THIRO METFOn OF SHOWING A SEA 7R A ORIGINAL DRAWING (Hewitt, The Renaissance Stage, p, 134) B RECONSTRUCTION FIGURE 32 SABBATTINI'S RISING AND SWELLING SKA The popularity of the column wave is attested to by the fact that it was this type of wave that was installed in the 1770 Palais Royal. Figure 33 shows the wave machine illustrated in Diderot's Encyclopedia, and it should be noted that the wave machine has been !5 rigged on an ame and cassette mechanism to allow it to be raised from below the stage floor, thus allowing the machine to be used in the downstage area. There is an extant column wave machine in the eighteenth century Drottningholm Theatre in Stockholm, but this machine is permanently installed in the inner stage and must be re vealed by removing the rear closure. Seacloth. The final type of wave machine, the seacloth, also has a long history. Sabbattini describes a seacloth as his "first 16 method of showing a sea." A cloth is loosely attached to a frame as shown in Figure 34. Several ropes are sewn laterally across the cloth and extend from each side (labelled EF, GH, and IK). To show the sea in motion, stagehands tighten and slacken the ropes starting from the upstage part of the cloth, giving the effect of a billowing sea. The last, and perhaps most effective, sea machine to be dis cussed is a combination of the column and seacloth types of wave machine. A drawing from the Tessin manuscript, Figure 35, shows a wave machine mounted on a castered framework. The machine consists of a rotating shaft with crossarms of varying lengths. At the ends of IT" This mechanism is discussed on page 139. 16 i 3^ 5 1 ^ 3 FIGURE 33 WAVE MACHINE FROM DIDEROT'S ENCYCLOPEDIA (Diderot, Encyclopedia, X, pi. XXIII) A ORIGINAL DRAWING (Hewitt, The Renaissance Stage, p. 130) B FIGURE 34 SABBATTINI*S FIRST METHOD OF SHOWING A SEA 82 .TfSRntfBWObBIB< A ORIGINAL DRAWING (Nationalmuaeum, Stockholm, Teaain Vol. R7; McDowell F. 2048) R HXPLANATORV DRAWING FIGURE 35 WAVE MACHINE FROM THE TESSIN MANUSCRIPT each crossarm is a wheel, or rotating bearing, that rolls along the underside of a seacloth. As the shaft is rotated, the crossarms, moving under the seacloth, create the ever-changing crests and troughs of a sea. Although the castered frame would allow for a rapid set-up of this type of wave machine, it is unlikely that it could be used as a part of an a vista change. An analysis of the above machines would indicate the following: a. Any of the machines would serve for a sea scene in the inner stage area, since they could be prepared in advance and revealed to the audience. b. The machine from the Palatina manuscript (Figure 10) and the machine illustrated in Diderot's Encyclopedia (Figure 33) would serve best for the sea scenes located in the downstage areas, since they could be raised from beneath the stage floor. c. Machines utilizing the seacloth could not be used for sea scenes that require boats moving upon the sea or people emerging from the sea. d. All of the machines used for showing seas in motion would require a large number of stagehands, one or two men for each indi vidual wave machine. RiverB Occasionally a production required a different type of water effect, a flowing river. Although there are few references to this effect, one of the productions shown on Table II used a flowing river. The second act of la Regina Sant'Orsola, produced in Florence in 1624, utilized a setting described as follows: "the walls of the city occupied the background . . . in front of them flowed the Rhine, 17 spanned by bridges." River Machinery. Only one source describes a technique for creating the illusion of a flowing river. Sabbattini provides a method for creating a "constantly flowing river" utilizing an "end less" belt of fabric. Figure 36 illustrates how a blue cloth, touched with silver, emerges from a hole (EF) on one side of the stage, "flows" across the stage floor, descends through a long slit (GH) on the other side of the stage, and travels under the stage to the entrance hole. According to Sabbattini the stagehand under the stage floor pulls the cloth down through the slit, thus making the river 18 "flow." Although this method would work if it was entirely pre-set in advance in the upstage area, or if used as a part of an unchangeable setting, it would be impractical to try to create the river as a part of a scenic change. The two ends of the piece of fabric would have to be threaded through the slit and the hole, then sewn together to make an endless belt. This would be time consuming and awkward if it were done during a scenic change. It is possible that a river could be created in the downstage area by using one set of wave machines similar to the Palatina downstage profile wave (see page 65 *) the stage floor was left intact both upstage and downstage of the 17 Nagler, Festivals, p. 136. 18 Hewitt, pp. 144-45. 85 A ORIGINAL DRAWING (Hcultt, The Renaissance Stage, p. 144) r - B FIGURE 36 SABBATTINI'S FLOWING RIVER wave machine, the effect would be that of a river instead of a sea. In this case performers could appear to emerge from the river; this is impossible with the Sabbattini flowing river method. Fountains and Waterfalls Fountains and waterfalls are classified together since the mechanisms used to create the effects are essentially the same. The technique for creating the illusion of a fountain is similar to that of the flowing river, since a fountain is more compact, it is easier to include as a part of a scenic change. Several of the productions listed in Table II include fountain effects. The second intermezzo for L*Idroplca, produced in Mantua in 19 1608, utilized a garden setting with fountains gushing "real water." The "real water" would have been impractical in a changeable setting; however the description may indicate the effectiveness of the fountain machine. The setting for Act II, scene 4 of Bellerofonte, produced at the Venetian Teatro Novissimo in 1642, included a typical fountain effect. In the far perspective, beneath a vault of greenery and upheld by four great posts, sat a Neptune on a dolphin from whose mouth appeared to issue a large volume of water collecting into a great vase of singular artifice. 20 Fountain and Waterfall Machinery. Several extant drawings illustrate fountain and waterfall machines. These machines may be 19 Nagler, Festivals, p. 181. 20 Worsthorne, pp. 180-81. 87 classified as spouting' mechanisms and flowing mechanisms. Nicola Sabbattini described a machine for a spouting fountain 21 in his Pratica. Figure 37 illustrates the operation of this machine. The spouting fountain effect is based upon an "endless" cloth similar to Sabbattini1s flowing river machine. The cloth, painted blue and silver, passes up through a tube (BC) in the center of the fountain (A), spreads out as it arches over, passes down through a large opening in the basin (D), whereupon it passes back up through the tube in the center of the fountain. Sabbattini suggests that a number of short rods be sewn along the length of the cloth to help it arch over as it emerges from the tube. Two stagehands are needed to operate the machine: one stagehand feeds the bunched-up cloth up through the tube and the other pulls the spread-out cloth down through the opening in the basin. The Tessin manuscript illustrates several machines for the creation of flowing fountain effects. Figure 38A shows the fully decorated fountain with water flowing from a dolphin's mouth. Figures 38B and C show the framework work and machinery for a similar fountain. Although the machinery is more complex than Sabbattini's fountain, the basic principle is the same - an endless cloth belt. Figure 38D clearly shows the operation of the machine. The "water" emerges from the dolphin's mouth at roller Kl, it flows down to roller #2 in the upper basin, passing back up to roller d3 at the lip of the basin. At this point, the "water" flows down to the lower basin, passes around 21 Hewitt, pp. 145-46. 88 B A ORIGINAL DRAWING (Hewitt, The Renaissance Stage, p. 144) RECONSTRUCTION FIGURE 37 SABBATTINI*S FOUNTAIN 89 v: m i k m u ro m u i ini mifiMMfl D. in ® ■H£T FIGURE 38 FOUNTAIN FROM TESSIN MANUSCRIPT (Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, Tessin Vol. S7; McDowell F. 2048) 90 roller #4 In the lower basin, then around roller #5 to change its direction and passes back up to roller #1 at the top of the machine. One of these rollers, probably #5 which is hidden within the unit, would have a crank handle to be used by a stagehand to set the "endless” cloth in motion. Mote that a crank is shown in Figure 38B which is a variation of the same machine. Diderot's Encyclopedia shows a similar machine used for a waterfall effect. Figure 39 shows the waterfall created by an "endless" belt of cloth passing around two rollers. It is assumed that the crank would, in actuality, be on the lower roller which is out of sight at the bottom of the machine. The Tessin manuscript also illustrates a similar device, but in the form of a monster that functions as a fountain. Figure 40A shows the creature with water flowing from his mouth into a basin at his waist. Figure 40B is a cut-away view showing how the effect is achieved. In this case, the machine is actually a performer inside a monster costume feeding an "endless” belt of cloth out through the mouth of the monster. The belt passes down into the basin, then into the costume and back up to the mouth. The performer keeps the belt in motion with his hands. Fish and Monsters Many of the productions in the sixteenth and seventeenth cen turies made use of one or another type of sea creature. Some of the descriptions of such effects indicate the use of very simple machines, while others appear to require extremely complicated machines. A ORGTNAL DRAWING (Diderot* Encyclopedia, X, nl.XIX) / r crank (!'■-« J leaves Motion Diagram f I f R FIGURE 39 FOUNTAIN FROM DIDEROT’S ENCYCLOPEDIA A B FIGURE 40, TESSIN MONSTER WITH FOUNTAIN (Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, Tessin Vol. S7; McDowell- I. 2048) 93 A variety of sea creatures were used for the fifth intermezzo for the 1589 production of La Pelleqrlna in Florence. First, "a mother-of-pearl shell emerged from.the sea, it was drawn by two dol phins, which bounded ahead, squirting perfumed water in the air. Later, Arion emerged from the sea on the back of a dolphin." Ser Jacopi, who went backstage after the production, stated that the 22 dolphin was four ells in length and made of foil-covered papier-mache. The appearance of artificial creatures that could perform realistic functions was common on the illusionistic stage. The last act of the 1637 production of Andromeda in Venice included such a sea monster. This animal was made with such beautiful cunning that, although not real, he put people in terror. Except for the act of tearing to pieces and devouring he did everything as if alive and breathing. Fish and Monster Machinery. Although Ser Jacopi provided a description of the method for creating a dolphin that could be ridden, he does not explain the techniques used to achieve the spouting of water, the motions of the head and eyes, etc. These techniques are, however, shown in drawings from a variety of manuscripts. Sabbattini describes one of the simplest of the sea creatures in 24 the Pratica. Figure 41 shows that this device was merely a profile 22 Nagler, Festivals, pp. 87-88. 23 Worsthome, pp. 25-27. 24 Hewitt, pp. 142-43. A ORGINAL DRAWING (Hewitt, The Renaissance Stage, p. 143) / f . i•" B RECONSTRUCTION FIGURE 41 SABBATTINI'S SEA MONSTER of a fish mounted on a short pole. By rocking the pole back and forth between the wave machines, the creature appears to be Bwimming by raising its head and tail. In addition Sabbattini*s sea creature could spout water from the top of its head. A stagehand, stationed behind the profile of the fish, blew "beaten silver or pounded and pulverized talc" up through a tube. Josef Furttenbach described the construction of a more specialized type of sea creature - a whale that could swallow Jonah. Like the creature described by Ser Jacopi, Furttenbach*s creature was made three-dimensional and operated between two wave machines. Furttenbach suggested the use of his first and second methods of creating a sea to achieve the necessary effect. The lower part of the creature was made of wood and hollowed out, while the upper part of the body was built up with wood hoops covered with cloth. The whale was provided with a mouth that could be opened by pulling on a line, raising the upper part of the jaw, and could be closed by a counterweight. Jonah could enter the open mouth, slide through the body, and out an opening in tho upstage side of the creature. In addition, the large eyes of the whale were constructed of mirrors to reflect the light. The machine was operated by two stagehands located in the pit between the wave units. One stagehand -'I pushed the machine across the £tage and the other operated the lever to raise and lower the head as shown in Figure 42, the line to open the 25 mouth, and the rear wheel that gave the whale a side-to-side motion. 4 96 c ORIGINAL DRAWING (Hewitt, The Renaissance Stage, n. 242) MOTION DIAGRAM FIGURE 42 FURTTENBACH*S SEA MONSTER 97 A similar three-dimensional sea monster from the Palatina manu script is illustrated as Figure 43. The body of the creature is con structed as a wooden frame to be covered with cloth or papier mache. The framework for the tail is apparently constructed as a spring to allow it to whip from side to side. The head of the creature is rigged for two movements: the mouth is able to,open and close by the use of a control line (A) and the eyes are able to turn from side to side by the use of another line (C). All of these movements are controlled by a stagehand located inside the unit, accesible by a trap door in the top. By comparing this illustration with Figure 28 which shows the creature as it would appear to the audience, it is obvious that, like Ser Jacopi's dolphins, performers could ride on it. The entire creature is mounted on a castered frame similar to a wing trolley (6) that moves laterally across the stage on tracks. Apparently this creature must enter from the side of the stage rather than appearing out of the sea, since the top of the trolley slides between two beams. The Tessin manuscript includes a large number of mechanical monsters, but only one is constructed in such a way as to make it easily usable as a sea monster. Figure 44 shows a monster that is similar to the Palatina creature. Like the Palatina creature, the Tessin monster is supported by a trolley unit and is controlled by a Btagehand located inside the unit. The body would appear to be a framework covered with a decorative skin. The tail appears to be con structed as a spring or in segments enabling it to swing from side to side. 98 iff ZsJi (I V ’V , p * -*\V - • I"-,* • ■*,ir(:'. •. X I'JJII'.UM ■TjtiVfr. w rer a ■»1 t ' . t ' r j r..1 r i- * v . r. .“‘“Ai. sxr FIGURE 43 SEA MONSTER FROM THE PALATINA MANUSCRIPT (Biblioteca Palatina, Parma, Ms, 3708; McDowell F. 2048) t k \ J f /j i f f ? ? : 1 \ \ £TJX-t . 4 : // L ' i H fa. '*•' ■' r;;i • FIGURE 44 SEA MONSTER FROM THE TFSSIN MANUSCRIPT (Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, Tessin Vol. S7: McTlowell 2A25) ion The stagehand Is able to raise and lower the monster's head by moving his own head which is connected to the monster by a head band and lever arrangement. The stagehand's arms £it inside the front legs of the monster to permit additional movement. This unit, like the Palatina creature, can not rise from the sea, but must enter from the side of the stage. It is possible that the trolley unit rides on the stage floor rather than on tracks in the sub-stage area. Since the wave machine illustrated in the Tessin manuscript appears to rest on the stage floor, the trolley portion of the sea monster would be hidden by the wave machine. The Tessin manuscript also illustrates several other monster units that fly or move across the stage floor. Many of these devices utilize techniques similar to the ones used for the sea monster. Figure 45 shows a flying monster which has features in common with the sea creature. The tail is constructed as a spring and the head can be raised and lowered by the use of a control line. It also appears that the lower jaw is hinged allowing it to flap open and closed or be controlled by a control line. The front legs of the monster may be on pivots, shown at the bottom of the frame, to allow leg movement. Figure 46 shows a land-based monster from the Tessin manuscript that is able to raise and lower its head. The head is supported by a double lever arrangement that is pivoted from the body framework. The upper lever is controlled by lines from the overhead area that kept the head level as the neck was lowered. It appears that the lower jaw was hinged to allow the mouth to open as the neck was lowered, 101 FIGURE 45 FLYING MONSTER FROM THE TFRSIN MANUSCRIPT (Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, Tessin Vol. S7; McDowell F. 2425) 102 3 M k I'l.kl' I, ‘iJ (toVM I lr: <•*<•«« * FIGURE 46 UNI) MONSTER FROM THE TESSIN MANUSCRIPT (Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, Tessin Vol. S7? McDowell F. 2425) 103 but the necessary linkage is not shown In the drawing. The drawing, also, does not show how the monster was moved across the stage, although the drawing seems to indicate a mechanism for raising the unit through a trap. The Tessin manuscript also indicates how to create creatures that have performers riding on their backs. Figure 47 shows one simple method that was used for this effect. No complicated mechani cal linkages are needed for this unit since the performer provided the only motion. The performer is actually standing with the lower part of his body in a hollow shell representing an animal or other creature. Fake legs have been molded on the top of the shell and are partially covered by the performer's costume. When the performer walks, the creature appears to be carrying him across the stage. Boat Effects Eight of the productions listed in Table II included some type of boat effect. These effects varied widely in their degree of complexity. For example, the fifth intermezzo of la Pellegrina included both simple and highly complex boat effects. When the intermezzo began, several Bmall boats were seen moving across the water in the background. Ser Jacopi revealed that these 26 boats were "cut from pasteboard and moved in grooves." Later in the intermezzo, more complex boat effects were used. 26 Nagler, Festivals, pp. 87-88. FIGURE 47 RIDING ANIMALS FROM THE TESSIN MANUSCRIPT (Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, Tessin Vol. S7; McDowell F. 2425) 105 . . . a well-fitted galley appeared, its crew plowing the waves with their oars . . . the ship executed various maneouvers, and all sails were struck. . . . the ship executed a few more turns before departing through the "atrada" by which it had entered. The 1677 production of 11. Trlonfo della Contenza in Fano included a very complex boat effect. The first act opened with a "sea-battle in which a vessel is attacked by two pirate ships and blown to 28 pieces, . . Machinery for Boat Effects. Like the sea monster machines, the boat mechanisms can be divided into two types, profile cut-outs and three-dimensional models. The three-dimensional boats could be rigged for a variety of additional effects. The simplest boat effect was described and illustrated by Sabbattini. Figure 48 shows a profile boat painted to appear three- dimensional. The profile boat rides in a well-soaped dove-tail groove located between two wave machines. A stagehand can slide the boat 29 across the stage creating the effect of a ship sailing on the sea. Sabbattini offers a refinement to the basic profile boat by ex plaining how it may be adapted to become a galley being rowed across the sea. Figure 49 shows that the basic construction of the boat is similar to the one described above. However, a series of oars have been added, extending through holes in the side of the ship and connected to the bar in the back. While one stagehand moves the 27 ibid., p. 88. 28 Per Bjurstrom, Giacomo Tbrelli and Baroque Stage Design (Stockholm Almquist and Wicksell, 1961), p. 216. 29 Hewitt, pp. 135-36. 106 A ORIGINAL DRAWING (llewitt, The Renaissance Stage, p. 136) / B RECONSTRUCTION FIGURE 68 SABBATTINI'S PROFILE BOAT 107 6 ORIGINAL DRAWING (Hewitt, The Renaissance Stage, p. 137) RECONSTRUCTION FIGURE 49 SABBATTINI'S GALLEY 108 boat along the dove-tail groove, another stagehand moves the bar in a circular motion, making the ends of the oars appear to dip in the water, push forward, lift out of the water and move back to repeat 30 the motion. In order to create more complicated movement of a boat, Sabbattini suggests making a three-dimensional boat. The boat is made without a bottom to allow stagehands room to work under the boat. A short cloth skirt is attached to the sides of the boat to hide the stagehands from the audience. The boat rides on rollers located at its bow and stern. Sabbattini describes a number of effects possible with such a model boat: A. Figure 50 shows how the boat may be rolled along a wave shaped track creating a rising and falling motion as the boat moves across the stage. Further, the boat can be made to travel upstage or downstage if the wave machines are divided in the middle, providing a path for the stagehands to use, lifting the boat from one track to 31 another. B. The model boat may be rigged like a sailing vessel allowing the stagehands to pull on hidden lines raising or lowering the sails. Galleys, moved by oars, may be created by using the same mechanism described for the profile ship, but in the case of the three- 32 dimensional boat, the oars should be located on both sides. 30 ibid., p. 136. 31 ibid., pp. 137-38. 32 ibid., p. 138. 109 A ORIGINAL DRAWING (Hewitt» The Renaissance Stage, p. 13*0 B RECONSTRUCTION FIGURE 50 SABBATTINI*S BOAT TRACK 110 C. Boats can appear to rock at anchor if a vertical pivot point has been placed between the wave machines. When the stagehands move the boat towards the pivot, they slowly raise the boat, set it on the pivot and throw out the anchor. The stagehands can, then, slowly 33 rock the boat back and forth on the pivot. Furttenbach describes a different type of three-dimensional boat as shown in Figure 51. Furttenbach*s mechanism consists of a large model boat capable of carrying six passengers pivoted on a large chassis similar to a cannon carriage, bv manipulating the handles (yy) at each end of the boat, the boat could be rocked on the axel. The entire unit was pulled across the floor of the rear pit by a windlass at each side of the stage. Furttenbach suggests that boats of this type could be fitted out as armed warships and by using the thunder and lighting devices a "heroic sea battle" could be 34 staged. The 1770 Palais Royal used boat devices similar to the ones described by Sabbattini. Two plates in Diderot's Encyclopedia illus- 35 trate the use of a boat on stage. Figure 33 shows a boat in con junction with a sea machine and Figure 52 illustrates how the boat was used. The track labeled A in Figure 52 can be raised from beneath the stage as a part of a scenic change on an ame et casBette 33 ibid., pp. 141-42. 34 Ibid., pp. 143-45. 35 Denis Diderot, Encyclopedia, vol. X, Recueil de Planches, les arts Mechaniques avec leur explication (Paris; Charles Panckoucke, 1777), PI. XXI and XXIII. Ill ORIGINAL DRAWING (Hewlett The Renaissance StaRe, p. 244) r - { n -*» .-rr 71 (/ . a / 7 v I, ( y A j \ .,/ c!r B RECONSTRUCTION FIGURE 51 FURTTENBACH'S BOAT. FIGURE 52 BOAT TRACK FROM UinEROT'S ENCYCLOPEDIA (Diderot, Encyclopedia. X, pi. XXI) mechanism. A framework to support a profile boat (R) can be moved along the wave-shaped track to create the illusion of a boat rolling on the sea. Since the Palais Royal track unit is the only boat effect that can be raised from under the stage, this feature would appear to be the main innovation to the boat effect in the eighteenth century. It should be noted that both profile boats and three-dimensional models continued to be used in the nineteenth century. Moynet's Trues et Decors illustrates a profile boat sliding in a groove used in 36 La Tour Enchantee. The Illustrated Dramatic News of October 2, 1886 included an illustration of a three-dimensional boat with two 37 passengers traveling along a wave-shaped track. Sea Chariots and Other Water Vehicles Since most of the early operas and intermezzi included gods in the action of the performance, one of the most popular effects was the use of a sea chariot to bring the god onstage. Twelve of the pro ductions listed in Table II included a sea chariot, floating island or other type of vehicle. The audience was reported to have been amazed by the sea chariot that appeared in the fourth intermezzo of the 1586 production of L*Amlco Fldo in Florence. Neptune and twelve nymphs rose from the sea on a large chariot from which the nymphs disembarked to gather flowers. At the end of the scene the chariot sank into the waves. 36 Georges Moynet, PI. 18. 37 Bamber Gascoigne, World Theatre, (Bostont Little, Brown and Company, 1968) p. 251. Rossi /the commentator/ praised the designer because the vehicle sank into the waves without rumbling or rattling, noises which were invariably produced on such occasions.31* The sea chariots were not restricted to rising from the waves and sinking back again. Giacomo Torelli provided a laterally-moving chariot in his 1642 production of Bellerofonte in Venice. Then, from the right of the sea, arose a car in the form of a golden shell drawn by sea-horses which moved from the right to the centre of the stage, turned round and stopped facing the body of the theatre. This car bore Neptune, king of the waves, surrounded by his Tritons, excellently played. 39 Sea Chariot Machinery. Surprisingly, neither Sabbattini nor Furttenbach mention the use of sea chariots in conjunction with sea 40 scenes. Sabbattini*s notebook does, however, include a drawing of a sea chariot. Figure 53 shows a simple shell form mounted on a platform which slides along a track. The shell unit is pulled across the stage by the winch shown at the side. It is quite possible that other machinery could be adapted to create sea chariots. Nagler suggests that the chariot used for Neptune in L*Amico fido could be achieved by using Sabbattini *s method of "making mountains and other objects rise from under the 41 stage." This device is discussed on page 136. The Palatina manuscript illustrates a sea chariot mechanism to be used between wave machines in the downstage area. Figure 54 indicates 38 Nagler, Festivals, pp. 65-66. 39 Nagler, Source Book, p. 169. 40 Biblioteca Oliveriani di Fesaro, Oliveriani Manuscript 312. McDowell Archives F. 2653. 41 Nagler, Festivals, p. 68 . FIGURE 53 SEA CHARIOT FROM THE OLIVERIANI MANUSCRIPT (Biblioteca Oliveriani, Pesaro, Ms. 312; McDowell F. 2653) 116 V Vi- Vi-i i ^ V- rrrj- sr.writv w r •■■. -*-• v „ , ; t IS » » » w » i * mK r * . r u 'J * \ 't »•*»•■ ♦ ORIGINAL DRAWING ■l ^ v . y ~ v - i f S '**• ! # V- . J ’ p. - o •; S? <^i ./ ■>• .;V” i r - v f J F * l ^»r^T3<'-vr ,fV !\»»£< *'* "C< :-*• ~ ‘f .r ’** * V/l .-.. J:;*: • r^,\ / .*• ,< *■ <#w. f(ivT r-tPTrr^s'H'Nj; Isrirr.w..y,.**.. v* •••iii *•1 i » t e ily^n;ahp^yjja mm ?,-.•>•-'• V - . !.••'• iS\ ' rfyvrstrfiv •/A rn v.ra r? ‘ixfi.vwri'v.'.r,*: w s v ’ B ENHANCED DRAWING FIGURE 54 SEA CHARIOT FROM THE PALATtNA MANUSCRIPT (Biblioteca Palatina, Parma, Ms. 3708; McDowell F. 2048) 117 that this machine operates in a manner similar to that of the Palatina sea monster. The chariot (H) is supported by a trolley (N) which is pushed along a track on the floor of the sub-stage area. A hinged board (1) hangB below the chariot to mask the supports from the view of the audience. Figure 28 illustrates the appearance of this unit on stage. Several sea chariots, more complicated in nature, are included in the Tessin manuscript. Figure 55 shows both the framework for the shell chariot and its appearance to the audience. Figures 55 B and C indicate that the unit was capable of two different movements. The entire unit could be pulled across the stage with the lower casters riding on a track. The upper set of casters would permit the rotational movement of the chariot and dolphins. Figure 56 is a similar unit that shows how the two tritons could control the rotation of the upper part of the unit by pulling on lines attached tothe frame supporting the dolphins. Thus, as the unit was pulled across the stage, it could turn to face the audience, creating the effect described in 11^ Bellerofonte. Like the Tessin manuscript sea monster, the sea chariot appeared to move along the stage floor, rather than along the sub-stage area. If the wave machines each had a separate sea cloth, thus permitting an open path between the waves, there would be no problem. The 1770 Palais Royal had a provision of sea chariots, but they were much simpler than the Palatina or Tessin manuscript versions. Although the machine illustrated in Figure 57 could be raised in the middle of the sea, it was not capable of any other movements. This M k t t t "M U H f ! • W ' T r * t c k B n lower tetter* FIGURE 55 SEA CHARIOT FROM THE TESSIN MANUSCRIPT (Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, Tessin Vol. S7; McDowell F. 2425) 119 4 a FIGURE 56 ANOTHER SEA CHARIOT FROM THE TESSIN MANUSCRIPT (Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, Tessin Vol. S7; McDowell F. 2425) FIGURE 57 SEA CHARIOT FROM DIDEROT'S ENCYCLOPEDIA (Diderot, Encyclopedia, X, pi. XXII) 121 shallow unit was raised £rom the sub-stage area on an aroe et cassette mechanism. It is probable that the complexity of the machinery at the Palais Royal contributed to the effectiveness of the spectacle, but also limited the variety of effects that could be presented. Summary The marine scene was one of the most popular settings throughout the period under study and was one of the only settings that required scenic units other than the typical side wings, borders and rear closure. A sea or other large body of water was created by the use of one of the three forms of wave machine; the profile wave, the column wave or the seacloth. Since variations of all three forms are described in the Pratica, and since all three forms were still used in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, it appears that few major innovations were made in the sea scene in the seventeenth century. The major exception was the location of the sea effect. Sabbattini and Furttenbach restricted the wave machine to the inner stage area where it could be pre-set and then revealed to the audience. The larger, highly mechanized stages of the seventeenth century per mitted the use of wave machines in the downstage areas. Additional spectacle could be provided in the marine scene with the use of sea chariots, boats, sea monsters or "swimming performers." These units could be used between the individual profile or column waves. Sabbattini and Furttenbach described most of these supple mentary effects; the seventeenth century designers merely added a few refinements to the operation. 122 Occasionally other types of water effects were included in the productions. Flowing rivers( fountains and waterfalls were created by using an "endless belt.” Variations of this machine are described in both Sabbattini and Diderot suggesting that the basic mechanism spanned several centuries without undergoing a significant change. By using one or more of the great variety of water effect machines, the designer could provide almost any water effect required by the libretti or his imagination. CHAPTER IV EFFECTS FROM BELOW THE STAGE Many of the spectacular effects on the illusionistic stage emanated from the substage area. In addition to the use of traps for the appearance of performers, some of the water effects described in the previous chapter were raised up to the performance area from be neath the stage. Although there is little evidence of stage traps prior to the sixteenth century, there is some indication of the use of openings in the stage floor in the classical theatre. The Greek theatres at Eretria and Corinth had an underground passageway leading from the stagehouse to the center of the orchestra. Margarete Bieber suggests that this passageway may well be the "Charonian Steps" mentioned by Pollox in his description of the parts 1 of the theatre. This feature is not, however, a common part of the extant classical theatres. The first significant use of the stage trap is found in the illusionistic theatres of the sixteenth century. Table III shows the frequency of effects emanating from below the stage floor in the selected productions used for this study. It should be noted that the mention of effects emanating from beneath the stage floor de creases in the seventeenth century. A comparison of Table III and - Margarete Bieber, The History of the Greek and Roman Theatre (Princeton: Princeton University Press), p. 78. 123 TABLE III FREQUENCY OF EFFECTS FROM BELOW THE STAGE FLOOR (Large Objects from trap Epnig bet | [Small objects from trap | (Expanding objects Sea effects from trap \ EFFECT PRODUCTION Florence 1565 X X Florence 156B X X Florence 1586 XX XX Florence 1589 X X X Florence 1600 XX X Mantua 1608 #1 X Mantua 1608 (i2 X Florence 1608 til Florence 1608 #2 X X X Florence 1611 X Florence 16l3 XX Florence 1624 X Florence 1625 Parma 1628 #1 Parma 1628 #2 X Florence 1637 X Venice 153V X Venice 1641 Venice 1642 Paris 16&0 Fano 1677 125 Table IV will show that there was a corresponding increase in the use of flying effects in the seventeenth century. Although this apparent shift in the dominant type of spectacular effect may be a result of the personal interests and completeness of the later commentators, it may also reflect the characteristics of the various theatre buildings. In the more temporary theatres of the late sixteenth century, it was undoubtedly easier to cut holes in the sfcage floor than to rig heavy and complicated overhead machinery. The effects emanating from beneath the stage floor may be classi fied by the size of the unit which is brought to the stage level. The simplest and easiest to achieve of the understage effects is the small object or single performer. This effect is typified by the effects used in the intermezzi for the 1665 production of La Cofanaria at the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence. Performers and scenic units emerged from small traps on three different occasions; in the third intermezzo seven small hills, each accompanied by two performers, rose from the stage floor; in the fourth intermezzo seven small gorges appeared from which smoke billowed forth; and in the fifth intermezzo the four monsters emerged from openings in the stage floor that billowed 2 smoke. The illusionistic productions also required the appearance of larger units from under the stage floor. In the same 1665 pro- 3 duction a mountain appeared with Pegasus at its summit. In the 2 Alois M. Nagler, Theatre Festivals of the Medici, 1539-1637 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1964), pp. 17-20. 3 ibid., pp. 20-21. 12fi fourth act of the 1660 production of II Rapimento di Cefalo in Florence, "a mass of earth in the shape of a small mountain heaved up from a caved-in hollow . . . the mountain burst open revealing 4 the goddess Berecyntia." In addition, some of the wave machines and other marine effects described in the previous chapter emerged from below the stage floor. The understage effect which most astounded the audiences and the conntentators was the appearance of a very large object that was taller than the height of the understage space from which it had emanated. In the 1586 production of L'fimico Fido at the Teatro Medici, a sea chariot with Neptune and his entourage appeared. The commentary mentions that the spectators admired Neptune's chariot, "a carro ten e l l B high and just as wide and ^were/ astonished at seeing so tall a structure rise from the trap room, which itself was only five 5 ells high." In order to achieve such an effect, the designer, Bernardo Buontalenti, must have used some device that could expand as it rose through the trap opening. The basic mechanisms needed to achieve the required effects include machinery for opening the traps, machinery for raising profile units, machinery for small and large elevators, and machinery to enable the expansion of a unit. Such devices are depicted not only by Sabbattini and Furttenbach, but also in later sources. 4 ibid., p. 99. 5 ibid., p. 65. 127 Trap Opening Devices The most basic method for opening the stage floor consisted of removing the flooring in the inner stage area while a closed shutter hid the activity from the audience. Furttenbach mentions this simple 6 technique. A more sophisticated method was required for use in the down stage area where the removal of the floor could be observed by the audience. Sabbattini offers two sinple but effective methods of 7 opening an upstage trap. For the smaller traps Sabbattini suggests using a trap door hinged on the upstage side and secured by a bar as shown in Figure 58. To insure a tight fit when the trap 1b closed, he recommends the use of wedges to force the trap door against its frame. When the trap is to be opened, the wedges are removed and the bar is slid out allowing the trap door to drop open. For larger and heavier trap doors, Sabbattini recommends the use of a number of hinged legs to support the weight of the door and performers standing upon it. Figure 59 shows the operation of this method of opening the trap. To open the trap, one stagehand is assigned to each supporting leg to swing the leg upstage, thus lowering the trap door. To close the trap door the procedure is reversed.• Furttenbach merely recommends equipping a trap door with 8 iron hinges like the lid of a trunk. 6 Bernard Hewitt, The Renaissance Stage (Miami: University of Miami Press, 195B), p. 208. 7 ibid., pp. 119-122. 8 ibid., p. 228. 128 OPEN A ORIGINAL DRAWINGS (Hewitt, The Renaissance StaRe, p. 120) B FIGURE 5R SABBATTINI'S BAR ANT) WEDGE METHOD OF OPENING A TRAP 129 ORIGINAL DRAWING (Hewitt, The Renaissance Stage, p. 121) View from below - closed » View from below « open B RECONSTRUCTION FIGURE 59 SABBATTINI'S HINGED SUPPORT METHOD OF OPENING A TRAP 130 The method shown in the Palatina manuscript Is very similar to that described by Sabbattini. Although Figure 60 shows a long narrow trap opening to be used in conjunction with a wave machine, the basic principle could be applied to any Bize of trap opening. The covering for the trap opening consists of a pair of trap doors, one hinged on the upstage side of the opening .and one hinged on the downstage side. The trap doors are held in the closed position by a pivoting leg or floor support. When the trap is to be opened, each support is pivoted to the lowered position and the doors fall open. The advantage of this system is that each door inscribes a smaller arc than would be inscribed by a single large door. As a result, objects set under the trap doors have more vertical space. This par tially solves one of the problems mentioned by Sabbattini: the per former must stand or lean to the side to avoid being hit by a falling 9 trap door. One of the trap opening devices used in the 1770 Palais Royal is more sophisticated than those previously described. Although the traplllons, or narrow slots in the stage floor, were hinged as shown in Figure 61, the mechanism used for the larger opening eliminated the problem of the arc inscribed by a swinging trap door. Figure 62A indicates that the trap covering is operated as a sliding door rather than as a swinging door. As a result, the required clearance is a matter of inches. 9 ibid., p. 122. ORIGINAL DRAWING (Biblioteca Palatina, Parma, Ms. 3708; McDowell F. 2048) stogo floor *rr_ Us V \L^ arcs from double trap door —. /■ // aro from single trap door*; B RECONSTRUCTION FIGURE 60 METHOD FOR OPENING TRAP DOORS SHOWN IN THE PALATINA MANUSCRIPT FIGURE 61 HINGED TRAPILLON FROM DIDEROT’S ENCYCLOPEDIA (Diderot, Encyclopedia, X, pi. XXV) A ORIGINAL DRAWING (Diderot, Encyclopedia, X, pi. XVIII) RECONSTRUCTION FIGURE 62 TRAP OPENING DEVICE FROM DIDEROT'S ENCYCLOPEDIA 134 The basic mechanism consists of a lever supports a pivoted frame (C) which supports the trap cover (B). When the lever is moved as shown in Figure 62B, the axle, the end of the pivoted frame, and the trap cover are lowered to a position im mediately below the level of the stage floor. When the line (X) is pulled, the trap cover, supported by the roller (G) slides under the adjacent stage floor. To close the trap opening, the other line (Y) is pulled, sliding the trap cover to its original position. The lever is moved to a vertical position thus raising the end of the trap cover to the stage level. A pin is used to secure the lever to the beam, locking the trap cover in place. Although the mechanics of this device are very simple, involving only a lever and rollers, this unit made a much more efficient use of the understage space. Machinery for Raising Profile Units One of the easiest methods to make objects appear from below the stage is to raise a cut-out or profile of an object. In this manner, painted mountains, altars, and similar units could appear, rising through very small cuts in the stage floor. Furttenbach describes a very simple method of making a vine grow up through the floor. "When the time comes for the vine to grow from the ground, a 2-foot wide trap door in the floor is let down . . . and the vine _ _ 10 /a seven-foot by four-foot profile/ is suddenly shoved up." 10 ibid., p. 228. PLEASE NOTE: This page not Included 1n material received from the Graduate School. Mimed as received. UNIVERSITY MICROFILMS Sabbattini gives two similar methods of raising mountains or rocks consisting of painted profiles. Figure 63, although actually a method to be used for a transformation, could provide such an effect. The rock or other object is painted on a piece of cloth which lays on the stage floor next to a small hole. When the rock is to appear, a pole attached to the top of the rock-cloth is pushed up through the hole in the stage floor until the cloth is stretched 11 vertically. This method has a major deficiency since the cloth must be preset on the stage floor and could be visible to the audience, or trip the performers. The other method described by Sabbattini, shown in Figure 64, provides a slightly more effective illusion. Instead of a crumbled cloth that finally becomes stretched taut, the audience would see the complete unit emerging from the stage floor. To achieve this effect, Sabbattini suggests using a vertical shaft sliding in a groove. The shaft is notched to engage with a geared winch. When the winch is turned, the gears cause the shaft and the attached scenic unit to 12 rise or descend. This principle of a shaft that slides within a groove is one of the most Important machines used in the creation of spectacular effects in the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries. The Palatina manuscript illustrates both overstage and substage machinery which use 137 A ORIGINAL DRAWING (Hewitt, The Renaissance Stage, p. 1?.Q.) B RECONSTRUCTION FIGURE 63 SABBATTINI’S TRANSFORMATION DEVICE 4 138 slot stage floor Winch. ■ Mountain In lowered a position mountain slot ia winch Mountain in rai3od position FIGURE 64' SABBATTINI*S METHOD OF RAISING A MOUNTAIN 139 this device* Figure 65 illustrates a substage machine from the Palatina manuscript. This machine consists of a pair of grooves slanting from the floor of the substage area up to the stage floor. Sliding in the grooves are two shafts (A) connected to each other by a series of hinged frames (C). When the shafts are extended through a slit or cut in the stage floor, the frames, previously laying flat against the shafts, can be opened creating a three-dimensional unit. Although the rigging for this machine is not shown, it is probably similar to the following machine. A device similar to the one described above is shown as a part of a more complicated machine pictured in Figure 6 6 . This device consists of a shaft and groove mounted in a vertical position. The scenic unit, a rock, fountain, mountain, etc., is attached to the horizontal stringers at the top of the shaft. A line is attached to the bottom of the shaft, led through a pulley mounted on the top of the groove unit, and is fastened to the winch drum (A). When the winch is turned, the line is wrapped onto the drum, pulling up on the bottom of the shaft, thus raising the scenic unit. A machine which was operated in exactly the same way was the main elevating machine in the 1770 Palais Royal. Figure 67 shows this machine as illustrated in Diderot's Encyclopedia. Known as the ame and cassette, this device consists of a shaft sliding in a vertical groove. The basic rigging of the unit was similar to that of the Palatina manuscript device, as shown in Figure 67. To raise heavy units several ame and cassette units could be used together as shown in Figure 33. In this caBe, the lines used to raise 140 :• j „ . c : r • ... i-i#i* - t • »G ~ JL.,1 ! • —J • •~t ff^frg^rraircia ^K&kk’x&x&zsZriZi A . • • * . -***!* r*— • <■*... *- jg ... * £. F ?; ?i- ? ^■ rf| •.'■•*• c'-.iaftJrlyJlI -U. * . ’ r ‘ ^ . V - •'V&U- A. » * ORIGINAL DRAWING (Biblioteca Palatina, Parma, Ms. 3708; McDowell P. 2048) stage floor stago floor .-shaf t """> slot - ~ ? slot- ihaft Groove Groove MACHINE BELO!/ STAGE m a c h i n e i n MrsEiTTOsiTOfr RECONSTRUCTION FIGURP 65 METHOD OF RAISING PROFILE UNITS FROM PALATINA MANUSCRIPT 141 ■ III IV M IK ® ' ' aV iN \.^ - :\M P I *■ *? If.'I ' ^v . kH'v t i i . "■.•7t.VV'r.?'..•■■?'■:■'• «.*'“ *« «,- • • •'.*■» :■« » i, ,;.i; .t;i ;l’;r » ,,i‘i >' i.' f<' '•.••, :;. r*i. i.i i»ll::;li!H!ii!i.!I’i„';:i! ■: FIGURE 66 SHAFT AND GROOVE MACHINE FROM THE PALATINA MANUSCRIPT (Biblioteca Palatina, Parma, Ma. 370R; McDowell F. 2048) A ORIGINAL DRAWING (Diderot, Encyclopedia, X, pi. XXIV) Shiu't {a m o ) e x t e n d e d shaft (ame) to winch lowered — groove - (cassette) B RECONSTRUCTION FIGURE 67 AME Aim CASSETTE FROM DIDEROT'S ENCYCLOPEDIA 143 the sha£ts ace connected to a drum which is turned by a falling counterweight. In the Palais Royal, these machines were used to raise and lower both profile units and three-dimensional objects. Elevator Machinery The sixteenth and seventeenth century machinists provided several types of elevators to raise or lower performers or large objects. Sabbattini provides the simplest of the elevator devices. Sabbattini's first method Nto bring men from the stage trap quickly" consisted of a ladder on the downstage side of the trap. The performers merely 13 climbed up to the stage level. The second method, although more effective, is also very primitive. Figure 6 B shows this technique which uses a hand barrow. When the trap is opened, two stage hands 14 raise the hand barrow with the performer through the opening. Only in his third method of raising a person through a trap does IS Sabbattini make use of a machine with mechanical advantage. This method, shown in Figure 69, uses a simple lever mechanism. When the trap door is opened, the staghand presses down on his end of the lever, raising the performer standing on the other end. Perhaps realising that his techniques were crude, Sabbattini mentions that the only way of making a performer appear without anyone noticing it is to arrange dancers in front of the trap opening to hide it from the 13 ibid.. p. 122. 14 ibid., pp. 123-24. 15 The mechanical advantage of a lever system is a ratio of the distance from the weight and the fulcrum and the distance from the fulcrum to the applied force. 144 A ORIGINAL DRAWING (Hewitt, The Renaissance Stage, p. 123) RECONSTRUCTION FIGURE 68 SABBATTINI*S HANDBARROW ELEVATOR 145 c ORIGINAL DRAWING (Hewitt, The Renaissance Stage, p. 124) a c uC--‘ , A B RECONSTRUCTION FIGURE 69 SABBATTINI'S LEVER ELEVATOR audience's view. After the performer has come through the trap to the stage level, the dancers can move to a new position revealing 16 the additional performer. Furrtenbach gives directions for a type of elevator to be used 17 to make "godless people be swallowed up." Figure 70 shows how a section of the stage floor could be arranged as a sinking elevator. A section of the stage floor is held in place by ropes in each corner which pass through holes in the stage floor to a winch below the stage. When the section of the stage floor is to be lowered, the winches are released, and the weight of the performers on the section of the stage floor makes it drop to the substage level. Furttenbach does not mention using this or other machines for raising performers from the substage to the stage level. Although the friction of the ropes passing through the holes in the stage floor would make it very difficult to raise performers with this machine, the substitution of pulleys for the holes in the stage floor would make it possible. The Palatina Manuscript provides illustrations of elevators. The most in^ortant elevator is shown in Figure 71, and is located between the main stage and the inner stage. This elevator is approximately four and one-half feet deep by twenty-two feet long. The elevator can not only be raised from the BUb-stage to stage level, but can also be raised into the heavens as shown in the illustration. Other drawings in manuscript 3708 show the midBtage elevator uBed in \ J*. ata^o floor ■ ir . gtrtoTT-rr.Tr.-■ ■ "^*V \ ropo ^ v-v„ i '* " > r *), winch v. VN rope; +r, winch FIGURE 70 FURTTENBACH'S DEVICE FOR LOWERING PERFORMERS BELOW THE STAGE 148 ,l" ''''/ijisliu"— •- »r*. J u i & V i:. tU-ri ^ • '•■h fa* :•■’ ; «: W*nfC .■ f •_ . _; _ #m * ■ * i. ;.l fi ■. • h w I rri I — w U FIGURE 71 MIHSTAGE ELEVATOR FROM T»E PALATINA MANUSCRIPT (JJiblioteca Palatina, Partna, Ms. 3708; McDowell F. 2048) IB conjunction with the upper stage. Figure 71 also shows part of the basic rigging of the elevator. The platform is supported by four ropes that pass through large pulleys at the posts that guide the platform. Although the illustration does not show the ropes beyond the pulleys, it is probable that they lead to the large winch located upstage of the elevator in the substage area. In addition, the illustration does not show the use of counter weights with this machine, but this omission may have been motivated by a desire to keep the drawing from becoming more confusing. Counter weights are illustrated in many of the other drawings in the manuscript; one would.probably be required for this large unit. The small elevator mechanism from the Palatina manuscript is shown in Figure 72A. Although this drawing, like the drawing of the large elevator, omits the rigging of the mechanism, the rigging necessary to operate such an elevator is shown in Figure 72B. A line attached to the eye at the bottom of the unit would lead through a pulley attached to the floor beam and then to a winch or winch-counterweight combination. If the system was a balanced system, the winch would be turned to raise or lower the elevator, or if the system was an un balanced system, the winch or control line would be released to operate the elevator. 18 Figures 97, 102, and 113 show this midstage elevator used for celestial displays and other effects. ORIGINAL DRAWING (Blblloteca Palatina, Parma, Ms. 3708; McDowell F. 2048) stage floor stage floor ■;r- B RECONSTRUCTED SECTION FIGURE 72 SMALL ELEVATOR FROM THE PALATINA MANUSCRIPT 151 4 Machinery to Expand Objects A number o£ descriptions of productions Indicate that some objects raised to the stage floor appeared to be taller than the height of the substage area. This could be accomplished if an object could be built to expand as it was raised through the trap. Although neither Sabbattini nor Furttenbach mention a method of achieving this effect, it would be possible to use Sabbattini*s method of raising a mountain (Figure 64) if the area below the shaft were deeply excavated. A much more effective method of making an object expand is shown in Figure 73, an illustration from the Palatina manuscript. This complex machine appears to have been positioned to rise through the large trap between the main stage and the inner stage. Although the unit has a simple shaft and groove mechanism mounted at the front, (See Figure 66) the complex of frames and the side and back of the unit constitute the mechanism used to make the unit expand. The total unit consists of five lower frames with upper frames attached to them. The center frame G and side frames K,K are per manently attached to the base of the unit. Side frames C,C are hinged to side frames K,K. At the top of each of these baBic frames is attached an upper frame (M,L,D). Small frames M and D are hinged to the top of the basic frames. Small frames L,L are attached to a shaft and groove mechanism. In addition, a second upper frame (F) is attached to the center lower frame and is raised by a shaft and groove mechanism. ~ n r f < c-\ FIGURE 73 EXPANDING MACHINE FROM THE PALATINA MANUSCRIPT CLOSED POSITION (Biblioteca Palatina, Parma, Ms. 3708; McDowell F. 2048) 153 » The rigging of this machine is complicated. A line attached to the bottom of frame C leads through a pulley at the front of the unit and is attached to a drum section of the winch A. When the winch is turned, one side of frame C is pivoted downstage to make frame C appear as an extension of frame K. Lines attached to the hinged upper frames D,D lead through pulleys mounted on the tops and bottoms of frames and are fastened to the base of the total unit. When frames C are pivoted to the downstage position, the upper frames D are raised to the extended position. The line attached to the top of upper frame M leads through a pulley and is attached to the winch A. The lines for the shaft and groove mechanisms used to raise upper frames L and F are also fastened to the winch A. When winch A is turned, frame C pivots downstage raising upper frames D, upper frame M swings up, and shaft mounted frames L and F slide up. The unit now appears in the larger con figuration shorn in Figure 74. In addition, the two small rectangular frames, mounted in grooves between the expanding units and the down stage shaft and groove device, are slid to the sides to join the two frames labeled C. It should be noted that the downstage shaft and groove unit is attached to the same winch used for the expanding mechanism, but the lines for the downstage unit are wrapped around the winch in a direction opposite to that used for the upstage unit. Thus, when the winch is turned to expand the upstage unit, the downstage unit descends. Although this machine is the only expanding unit shown in manuscripts illustrating machinery, a different (and less complete) drawing of 154 * • * # .. 5fr^4nV. ‘ .*•/:* i^rfrrn. • • i I: . n m s * V ' x\\ \\\wf • I \ ' [I ». .-\ ;-’V ' ■v^ i V3,“ ■ / , 1 .i •■J.l • A-* n n O ,v«|lii .'. .... *■ ■• ,•.■ • t. r7l*1 '-’3JTJ■-J ^ r .^v=S- --U . V .' J. Vv j-. ■■.■,•> •■;■ II....i.rj; f.» *•'.•• • ' " v::’••'!|jt' -■*• •*,;v •■'i->' ■?l,‘; S,|‘,ii'1|l,'|li't r . ,!l:.ji;!i:i- j.y,M;.n»... ■•:■ • ? .. 1 «*J. VJ -v ■ .. I . , •• : • 't 5,: \> ' ... .* % ;• * * .r > . : I, •• tv ..*• : ■jMlS.V. •: j * -T * . i. J . • • V "f ) •I , . • • . '. I ' • I V*.J „ v, i „ • • •.•■*• • *' 1 • • , * \ , • * » ♦* • ’ I • a * ■ > V. ••* •...... \ v ; r . ' , • i. •. \ h v’ •• ^ I • # ’» •!*:;’.'r. t...... ■ •• , » . • * * * > • • ! t‘».n.».\ J • FIGURE 74 EXPANDING MACHINE FROM THE PALATINA MANUSCRIPT OPEN POSITION (Blblloteca Palatina, Parma, M b . 3708; McDowell p . 2048) 155 the sane machine Is included in Volume 4 of "Mappe £ Plsegni" at the Archivio di Stato In Parma. This volume consists of machinery drawings possibly used for the 1628 production of Mercure £ Marte at the Teatro Farnese. Summary During the late sixteenth century effects emanating from below the stage appear to have dominated the spectacular productions. Since the sixteenth century wing-changing methods required little space in the sub-stage area, most of this area could be devoted to special effects. In the seventeenth century the central shaft, rigging and trolley for the wing-changing machinery used for flat wings occupied much of the sub-stage area. As a result, less space was available for the effects from under the Btage. The eighteenth century Palais Royal solved this problem by including four sub-stage levels. Most of the effects emanating from the sub-stage area consisted of performers or scenic units rising through traps in the stage floor. Although the Palais Royal included a very sophisticated trap opening device to slide the trap cover under the adjacent stage floor, the sixteenth and seventeenth century methods were based upon a simple falling trap door. The only significant difference between the trap doors described by Sabbattini and those illustrated in seven teenth century manuscripts was the division of the single trap door into two parts. The seventeenth century theatre developed more effective methods of raising performers and scenic units from below the stage to the 156 stage floor. The devices described by Sabbattini and Furttenbach were very basic# providing little or no mechanical advantage. Some of the machinery developed for seventeenth century wing-changing: the graduated drum# groove and shaft, and counterweight# were adapted to raise objects to the stage floor. The eighteenth century Palais Royal used the same mechanisms with little improvement. Perhaps the most unique effect emanating from below the stage was the appearance of a unit which was obviously too large to have been stored below the stage floor. Sabbattini described a crude method of accomplishing this effect# but the Palatina Manuscript provides the only evidence of an effective machine to achieve the ex pansion of an object from below the stage. The problem was much simpler at the Palais Royal since the deep sub-stage area could house very tall devices. CHAPTER V EFFECTS FROM ABOVE THE STAGE As the theatre buildings became more elaborate and permanent in the seventeenth century, the number and complexity of the effects emanating from the area over the stage increased. Although heavenly displays and flying machines had been used previously in theatrical productions, it was not until the seventeenth century and the use of the free-hanging counterweight for theatrical machinery that the effects became truly effective. Flying machinery had been used in theatres since the beginnings of western theatre in Greece. One of the machines described by Pollox and required by many of the plays was a device to fly a god into the performance area. Pollox describes the use of the mechane and the geranosi As for the scaffold j/jnechang/ it shows gods and heros that are in the air (such as Bellerophon and Perseus)t and it is fixed at. the left avenue aloft above the stage house . . . The crane ,/geranog/ is a kind of mechane let down from above for taking up a body, the same which Aurora made use of in seizing the body of Memnon. The ropes which were let down from the upper parts for lifting up heroes or gods, who seemed to be carried in the air, you might call them fly tackles.1 In the Middle Ages the mansions representing heaven were often decorated as celestial displays as shown in Figure 21, an illustra tion of the Valenciennes Passion Play. As early as 1439 attempts 1 Alois M. Nagler, A Source Book in Theatrical History (New York: Dover Publications, 1952), p. 9. 157 158 were being made in churches to fly a single individual from one lo cation to another. Bishop Abraham of Seuzdal reported two such effects 2 that he observed during a sacre rappresentazlonl in Florence. His description of the flying mechanism is not totally clear, but it would seem to consist of pulleys gliding along a pair of ropes stretched above the performance area. Perhaps the most famous celestial machine used in a church was Brunelleschi's Paradisp which was invented about 1400. This machine was created for a sacre rappresentazioni at the church of S. Felice 3 4 in Florence. Orville Larson and Edward Carrick have both studied and described this-machine in detail. This machine and others similar to it are the predecessors of the celestial displays of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The primary difference between the celestial machines used in the sacre rappresentazioni and those used in the opera and intermezzi was their location. The sacre rappre sentazioni machines were constructed in the open rafters of the church, while the machines used for the intermezzi and the opera were constructed to function as a part of the total illusion within the stage setting. Therefore, the machinery used upon the stage was dependent upon the elements of the stage setting and the physical theatre building. It is obviously more difficult to fashion a 2 Orville K. Larson, "Italian Stage Machinery, 1500-1700" (Un published Ph. D. dissertation. University of Illinois, 1956), pp. 16-19. 3 ibid., pp. 19-22. 4 Edward Carrick, "Theatre Machines in Italy, 1400-1800," Architectural Review, 70 (July 1931), p. 9. 159 machine to operate between the wingB and borders of a stage setting than to fashion a machine that can be built on the overhead beams of a church. Nevertheless, from the early intermezzi of the sixteenth century to the opera of the late seventeenth century, the use of flying machines and celestial displays was an increasingly important part of the spectacular productions. Table IV indicates the frequency of the use of effects from above the stage in the productions analyzed for this study. Simple Cloud Effects The simplest of the celestial effects is the appearance of one or more clouds in the sky. Since, until the middle of the seven teenth century, the only overhead decoration was a representation of the sky, the addition of clouds would add interest to the illusion. Although Table IV does not indicate very many descriptions of Bimple clouds, it is probable that a simple cloud would not be considered worth mentioning in the midst of the other more interesting effects. In addition, simple clouds were often a part of more complex effects such as celestial displays. Cloud Frames. Undoubtedly the earliest cloud effects were merely profile boards painted as clouds. Ceccherelli, who wrote the "Descrizione" for the intermezzi performed with 1^ Fabii in the great hall of the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence in 1568, stated that the cloud was painted on a canvas with cotton used to hide the safety TABLE XV FREQUENCY OF EFFECTS EMANATING FROM ABOVE THE STAGE [TCI |Variable Clouds iSky Chariots (Flying Performerspm (D H 1 0 \ . EFFECT H tn a rt H n P 0 1 P 3 PRODUCTION \ . t- U Florence lfi65 n Florence 1568 If Tf Tf Florence 1586 "X ■x Florence 1589 "X Florence l6llo Tf "X Mantua 16oB ttl "X Tiantua 160& #2 Tf "X "X “X Florence 160B #1 "X Florence l6(J8 #2 *X Tf "X Florence 1611 Florence 1613 "X "X Florence 1624 Florence 1625 Parma 1626 #1 Parma 1628 XXXXX Florence 1611/ X XX Venice 163V X X X Venice 1641 X X XX Venice 1642 X X XX Paris 1660 X X Fano 1677 XXX 161 5 harness supporting the performers. Although simple clouds were used to create the illusion of a single cloud floating across the stage# they were also used to mask the control and support lines for the more complex machinery. Figure 75, from the Palatina Manuscript# shows the type of framework used to support the clouds necessary to mask the lines or structure of an overhead unit. Each short wood- lath section is pivoted to the adjacent laths to enable the unit to expand or contract, thus masking the complex machinery as it descends or ascends. This simple mechanism is found not only in the Palatina Manuscript# but also in the Tessin Manuscript and the San Salvatore Manuscript. Clouds With Horizontal Movement. A variety of methods were used to create motion in the simple cloud effects. Both Sabbattini and Furttenbach offer methods of moving a simple cloud horizontally across the sky. These methods depend upon the use of the sectional heavens described in Chapter II. Figure 76 shows Sabbattini's single cloud crossing the heavens between the curved sections (AB#CD) which represent the sky. This simple device consists of curved cloud (EGF) attached to a vertical support (HG). When the sky is to become cloudy, a stagehand moves the cloud onstage by holding the vertical support and walking along 6 the lateral beams at the top of the theatre. Figure 8 shows Furrtenbach's version of the same machine. The main difference 5 Alois M. Nagler# Theatre Festivals of the Medici # 1539-1637 (New Havent Yale University Press# 1964), p. 39. 6 Bernard Hewitt (ed.)# The Renaissance Stage (Miamit University of Miami Press# 1958), pp. 147-8. 162 V ORIGINAL DRAWING (Biblioteca Palatina, Parma, Ms. 3708; McDowell P. 2048) B RECONSTRUCTION FIGURE 75 EXPANDING CLOUD FRAME FROM PALATINA MANUSCRIPT 163 ORIGINAL DRAWING (Hewitt, The Renaissance Stage, tj. 148) A S 'r 'y\r,i“4r’~) .. J U ■ B RECONSTRUCTION FIGURE 76 SABBATTINI'S HORIZONTALLY-MOVING CLOUD 16* between the two machines lies in the fact that Furttenbach's cloud is attached to a small platform that rolls along the lateral beams 7 above the sky frames. Sabbattini describes two additional methods of creating the illusion of a cloud moving horizontally across the sky. One cloud is mounted on a pivoted lever which extends behind the sky frames. When the cloud is to move across the sky, the stagehands move the offstage end of the lever from one side to the other. Sabbattini points out that it is difficult to prevent the lever from being seen 8 by the audience. Another technique provides a more effective illusion since the cloud masks the lever more completely. In Figure 77 it may be seen that since the lever moves in a track created by two sets of boards mounted horizontally behind the border frames, the lever remains behind the cloud during its traverse across the stage. Two sets of lines lead from the lever to winches on each side of the stage. When one of the winches is turned, the lines are wrapped around the winch, 9 thus pulling the lever across the stage. The illustrations in the Palatina Manuscript indicate that a simple horizontally moving cloud could be controlled by the slightly more sophisticated mechanism which is shown in Figure 78. This machine consists of a cloud frame hung from a framework (G) that slides along 7 ibid., p. 202. 8 ibid., p. 166. 9 ibid., pp. 165-66. " H - r , .tfi jti p / z / e t q . ORIGINAL DRAWING (Hewitt, The Renaissance Stage, n. lfifi) 11 ... j 11 -10- r JL« / B RECONSTRUCTION FIGURE 77 SABBATTINI'S HORIZONTAL SLIDING LKVFR CLOim P*f\f A ORIGINAL DRAWING (Biblioteca Palatina, Parma, Mb. 370R; McDowell v . 20AR) B RECONSTRUCTION FIGURE 78 HORIZONTALLY MOVING CLOUD FROM PALATINA MANUSCRIPT 167 the overhead beams of the stagehouse. The sliding framework is moved across the stage by turning the winch (H). Clouds with Vertical Movement* The only clouds described by Sabbattini and Furttenbach that have vertical movement are those that are used to bring performers to the stage. These machines will be considered in a later section of this study. The Palatina Manuscript, however, shows a mechanism for achieving a vertically moving cloud. Figure 79A shows a simple cloud frame (E) suspended by a rope from a winch. Figure 79 shows that when the winch is turned, the cloud pro files attached to the frame ascend or descend. Figures 79C and D show a slight refinement with the addition of a pulley, or eye, which allows the winch to be located at the side of the stagehouse instead of directly over the cloud frame. The operation of the device is the same as that shown in Figure 79B. Diderot's Encyclopedia illustrates a method of lowering or raising clouds at different rates. The machine from the Encyclopedia, shown in Figure 80, uses a graduated drum for controlling the rate of ascent and descent of the six individual clouds. As pictured, the machinery would raise the stage left clouds while lowering the stage right clouds since the ropes controlling the stage left and stage right clouds come off the drum in opposite directions. Assuming that all of the clouds are the Bame weight, the stage left clouds would exert more force upon the drum because the ropes suspending the stage left clouds are attached to the larger diameter section of the drum, and would, thus, have a mechanical advantage. The counterweight could be used to balance the entire system since rope (E) connecting ,ir . Jttf 1— *~ '. ../'.'lvvgulwrt. iV .A ~ A c C FIGURE 79 VERTICALLY MOVING CLOUD FROM THE PALATINA MANUSCRIPT (Biblioteca Palatina, Parma, Ms. 370R: McDowell p . 20AR) 169 's sN 'v 'J ^ \ N \ V \ .\'\/ * C j rx I t ! FIGURE 80 SIMPLE CLOUDS *R0M DIDEROTfS ENCYCLOPEDIA (Diderot, Encyclopedia, X, pi, XV) 170 the counterweight to the drum leaves the drum in a counter clockwise direction. This drawing seems to have several errors in the operation o£ the machinery. First, the clouds are supported by a single line, a situation which would allow the cloud to spin. Second, the machine does not raise or lower the clouds, rather it raises the clouds on one side of the stage, while lowering the clouds on the other side of the stage. Third, the control rope (6) does not seem to serve any purpose, since is opposes the stage left clouds which appear to be counterbalanced by the counterweight. Clouds with changing Size and Shape. Occasionally the clouds were required to change their size and shape as they moved across the sky. In the 1600 production of 11^ Raplmento di Cefalo in Florence, two such effects were used in the first act: . . . a pink cloud bordered in gold and silver appeared in the heavens. Descending slowly to earth, it opened to reveal a pretty young woman. Smaller clouds detached themselves from her cloud and fluttered about the goddess of the dawn. She steps off the cloud and it grows smaller and smaller, closing, and withdrawing into the heavens.^ . . . Tithonus appears on a cloud and as it traveled through the air, it underwent several metamorphoses} "first it grew larger, then shrank agains; at one point it resembled a dolphin, at others, a horse, a forest, or a mountain.11 As with most cloud effects, a variety of methods were available to execute the changes. They ranged from the simple techniques of Sabbattini to the more complex (and presumably more effective) 10 Nagler, Festivals, p. 97. 11 ibid. 171 techniques Illustrated in the Palatina and Tessin Manuscripts. Sabbattini*s device, shown in Figure 81, permits a cloud to increase in size as it descends to the stage. The device is an adaptation of a simple vertical flying machine used by Sabbattini to bring performers to the stage from the heavens. Figure 82 shows the basic flying machine consisting of a swallow-tailed groove (AB, CD). A horizontal beam (GE) and a brace (HF) are attached to the shaft and support the cloud (I). The vertical travel of the shaft is controlled by two ropes; one rope, attached to the top of the shaft, passes over a pulley (K) mounted at the top of the stage house and is connected to a windlass (LM) in the substage area, a second rope, attached to the base of the shaft, is wound onto the windlass in the opposite direction. As a result, as the windlass is turned, one rope pays out and the other is wound around the windlass, thus moving the shaft 12 up or down. To make this cloud increase in size as it descends, Sabbattini suggests the addition of a series of wooden ribs to the basic machine. In Figure 81, KL, ML, NL, and OL are the ribs attached to the hori zontal beam at point L with small hinges. Small compression springs are fastened between each rib and the beam to hold the rib out from the beam like the rib of an open umbrella. A cord attached to the end of one rib passes through holes in the ends of the other ribs to a set of pulleys on the beam located at Q and R. Thus, a stagehand in the substage area at S can control the endB of the ribs; by pulling 12 Hewitt, pp. 153-55. A ORIGINAL DRAWING (Hewitt, The Renaissance Stage, n. 164) B RECONSTRUCTION FIGURE 81 SABBATTINI'S EXPANDING CLOUD 173 A ORIGINAL DRAWING (Hewitt, The Renaissance Stage, n. ]5A) a i \ ‘1; 5 A • tt ; !W, '•L B RECONSTRUCTION FIGURE «2 SABBATTINI*S VERTICAL FLYING MACHINE 174 on the cord, the ends of the ribs coroe together and by releasing the tension on the cord, the springs force the ends of the ribs apart. A piece of cloth, painted like a cloud, is attached to the ends of the ribs. When the ribs are extended by the springs, the cloth is stretched out and appears as a large cloud; when the ends of the ribs are pulled together the cloth bunches together, and appears as a small cloud. Sabbattini warns that the operation is difficult since, as the beam is lowered, the tension on the string would be automatically 13 reduced allowing the ribs to extend very rapidly. Therefore, the stagehand must keep tension on the control rope, paying it out more slowly than the windlass rope. It should be noted that this awkward procedure could be simplified by the use of a graduated windlass similar to the one shown in Figure 80 which would pay the various ropes at differing rates. Sabbattini does not, however, make use of a graduated drum for any of the machines illustrated in his Pratica. The Archivio di Stato Manuscript illustrates several shape- changing cloud machines, one of which is shown as Figure 83. The illustration shows two sets of cloud frames suspended by a large number of lines which allow a star-shaped mass of clouds to become an essentially horizontal pair of clouds. Fourteen individual winches mounted on sliding platforms govern the height of the parts of the cloud frames, and, in addition, four large winches (undoubtedly with graduated drums) located at the sides of the stage, are needed to pull 13 ibid.. pp. 162-64. FIOHRE 83 STAR SHAPED CLOUD (Achivio di Stato, Parma, Mappe e Desegnli Vol. 4: McDowell P. 2404) 176 the Individual winch platforms to the proper positions to spread the top and bottom sections of the star into separate horizontal masses. It would appear that it would take at least eighteen stagehands to operate this machine. The Palatina Manuscript illustrates two methods for changing the shape of clouds. Figure 84 Bhows an alternate method for rigging the device shown in Figure 78 to change a mass of clouds in the sky into a vertical column of clouds extending from the heavens to the stage floor. A series of cloud profiles are mounted on the pivoted wooden laths (E). A short rope connects one end of the lath frame work to the overhead beams of the stagehouse. Another rope is attached to the framework about one third of the distance from the other end. This rope passes through an eye (or pulley) (instead of being tied off as in Figure 78) and is connected to a winch (H). When the winch is released the weight of the clouds and the framework causes the framework to lower into the vertical configuration. The second device (F) provides an effective method of changing a mass of clouds into the shape of a lion. Figure 85 shows the method of operation of this device. The machine is based upon a groove and shaft device mounted on the overhead beams of the stagehouse. Like the other cloud machines in the Palatina Manuscript, this machine utilizes a series of pivoted laths. The machine is designed to create a basic shape (in this case a lion) when the machine reaches its lowered position. The center of the figure is attached to the end of the sliding shaft, and the various laths that form the appendages of the body of the lion are secured with cords that are fastened to the O , '' * 9 • iV *vX 3 ' v “ ■* X y *’ r --* ------TTe’."1.—"V* *' T#?T ~ ,rt‘v ',"7fr*-'**■'* tr iftin V f *ft V. * r v i t* * ■ -U .V^UUr— i— il__ Sxjjitsr t-T' ■ i»«i P l **Ar >>■• W*i: »X • >,+( • r ^ ‘^y.itii^xu M riiar Sir. - J--» .« ■n! k:. .V. - T t t T f . . ‘j'.fi.*.''f.i ''.!' k.{ if .; . ~ . x \ & ••; > \y> r f 3- * .:!■ ’,.s;;.v,2* Ml '• * * ^ V v’; ^ »'.r•*'•■ fz* . ■ i. • v*.-, .,• • >*.v ’** *■ • -.\. --v5- .«■?• A ORIGINAL DRAWING (Biblioteca Palatina, Parma, Ms. 3708: McDowell . ¥ < 3 B RECONSTRUCTION FIGURE 84 SHAPE CHANGING CLOUD PROM PALATINA MANUSCRIPT 178 t x j / t .ap2. i.lM V . r a r e r A ORIGINAL DRAWING (Biblioteca Palatina, Parma, Ms. 3708; McDowell F. 2048) RECONSTRUCTION FIGURE 85 LION CLOUD FROM THE PALATINA MANUSCRIPT 179 A ORIGINAL DRAWING (Biblioteca Palatine, Parma, Ms. 3708; McDowell F. 2048) RETRACTED POSITION EXTENDED POSITION B RECONSTRUCTION FIGURE 86 FLOOR LEVEL CLOUD UNIT FROM THE PALATINA MANUSCRIPT FIGURF, 87 MULTI-PART CLOUD MACHINE FROM THE PALATINA MANUSCRIPT (Biblioteca Palatina, Parma, Ms. 3708; McDowell F. 2048) FIGURE 88 CLOUD EFFECT FROM THE PALATINA MANUSCRIPT (Biblioteca Palatina, Parma, Ms. 370R; McDowell F. 204R) \ r r - ( -*■ ) ( c * ~ ^ c ) ,-s~ K ) J 1 [ j? r y- V.V r- FIOURF 89 THE USE OF SIMPLE CLOUDS FOR COMPLEX EFFECTS 183 groove unit. Thus when the shaft is extended to its lowest position the laths pivot to focrt the lion shape. When the shaft is pulled up, the cords become slack allowing the laths to fall into a non-descrip- tive shape. It should be noted that the drawing from the Palatina Manuscript which shows these suspended cloud machines also shows floor-mounted units that create a mass of clouds (or fog) that expands to cover the stage floor from one side of the stage to the other. The cloud frames are arranged in the configuration of a scissor-jack as shown in Figure 66. The onstage end of the unit is mounted on a wheeled dolly that can be pushed to the center of the stage by a stagehand hidden behind the cloud profiles. As the scissor-jack expands across the stage, the mass of clouds becomes lower and longer. These various cloud machines are part of a complex cloud machine shown in Figure 87, and seem to have been used together to create the massive display shown in Figure 88. It should be noted that very simple horizontal and vertical cloud machines can give the impression of clouds that change their shape when they are used in various combinations. One example of this approach is shown in Figure 89. The overlapped clouds would appear as an essentially round mass, but when vertically moving cloud A moves up, the unit appears rectangular. If clouds C and D move right and left horizontally, the shape resembles a doughnut. Finally, by moving cloud A out of sight vertically and clouds C and D off stage horizontally, only a small cloud is left before the audience. 184 Sky Chariots, Clouds, Etc. With Performers Simple Flight. Table IV indicates that the most common overhead effect was the use of a flying vehicle; a chariot, a cloud, a bird, etc., for the entrance of a performer. The machinists and designers of these productions could create a variety of flying effects by using a basic flight machine and decorating it as a cloud in one production and as a chariot in the next production. Although most of the later machines could serve a variety of purposes, the simple mechanisms described by Sabbattini and Furttenbach restricted the effects to simple vertical and horizontal movements of clouds. Typical of these effects was one of the spectacular effects in the first inter mezzi for L*Amico Fido produced in the Florentine Uffissi Theatre in 1586; the descent of a cloud carrying the Beni to the stage floor 14 where they dismounted from the cloud. Perhaps the most primitive of the machines used to fly performers is Furttenbach*s cloud machine used by the destroying angel to descend to earth. Figure 90 illustrates Furttenbach's cloud machine which is built much like a playground teeter-totter, a simple lever. The machine consists of a pivoted beam with a weight fastened to one end and a cloud suspended from the other end. A bench is located in the cloud for the seated angel. To lower the cloud, the stagehands 15 raise the counterweighted end of the lever, thus lowering the cloud. 14 Nagler, Festivals, p. 61. 15 Hewitt, pp. 222-223. A ORIGINAL DRAWING (Hewitt, The Renaissance Stage, p. 223) B RECONSTRUCTION FIGURE 90 FURTTENBACH * S FIRST LEVER-OPERATED FLYING MACHINE 186 C ] 1 D 2 ORIGINAL DRAWING (Hewitt, The Renaissance Stage, p. 159) RECONSTRUCTION FIGURE 91 SARBATTINI'S LEVER-OPERATED FLYING MACHINE 187 JN - ,.r ^ ORIGINAL DRAWING (Hewitt, The Renaissance Stage, n. 161) ; -a. .vrrngc B RECONSTRUCTION FIGURE'92 SABBATTINI'R BLOCK AND TACKLE FLYING MACHINE 188 Sabbattlnl's machine for lowering wa cloud with persons in it from the rear of the heavens forward to the center of the stage" is similar to Furttenbach*s machine. It is, as shown in Figure 91, essentially a lever. When the effect begins the lever EF is in a nearly vertical position with a gimbaled cloud and platform located at E. The weight of the cloud, platform and performer is more than counterbalanced by a weight on the other end of the beam (F). A rope, fastened to the upstage end (F) of the lever passes through a pulley at the top to the stagehouse and is attached to a capstan. To lower the cloud, the capstan is turned, thus pulling the counterweighted end of the lever up and lowering the performer to the stage floor. To raise the cloud back into the heavens, the tension on the capstan is slowly released allowing the counterweighted end of the lever to 16 descend, raising the onstage end of the lever. Sabbattini also describes a variation of this machine which can be used for the same effect when there is no room for the counter weighted half of the lever. This machine, illustrated in Figure 92, is similar to a loading boom. One end of the lever is hinged to the back wall or a solid vertical support. The other end of the lever, which holds the gimballed cloud platform is controlled by a block and tackle which gives a two-to-one mechanical advantage. The control rope from the block and tackle is connected to a capstan in the 17 substage area. 16 ibid., pp. 158-60. 17 ibid., pp. 160-61. 189 The groove of Sabbattini's flying machine created masking pro blems. Since the devices were located against the rear closure or the back wall, the vertical groove above and below the cloud would be visible to the audience. Sabbattini suggested that strips of cloth could be attached above and below the supporting arm to mask the 18 groove. The Palatina Manuscript shows a machine that operates on princi ples similar to Sabbattini's machines, but avoids the masking problem by locating the machines between the scenic wings at the sides of the performance area. Figure 93 shows a series of stepped frameworks (undoubtedly faced with cloud profiles) that slide up and down on a vertical beam. As detailed in Figure 94, a single long windlass (F) controls all of the frameworks on one side of the stage. Although a counterweight is not shown for this machine, it could have been easily connected (as shown in the dotted line) to make the operation 19 of the machine easier. Sabbattini avoided the masking problem with another type of flying machine. This machine, illustrated in Figure 95, is used for the descent of performers on a cloud that extends the entire width of the stage. A large beam (FG) is pulled up and down, sliding between a pair of vertical tracks (AB and CD), located offstage left and right. Wooden strips (H, I), attached to the horizontal beam 18 ibid., p. 154. 19 Many of the drawings in the Palatina Manuscript seem to omit details. It should be noted that counterweights appear in many of the drawings. 190 FIGURE 93 FLYING MACHINES FROM THE PALATINA MANUSCRIPT (Biblioteca Palatina, Parma, Mb . 370Ri McDowell P. 204R) r l — . C/" l iY ELEVATION FIGURE 94 VERTICALLY-SLIDING FLYING MACHINE FROM PALATINA MANUSCRIPT 192 in A ORIGINAL BRAVING (Hewitt, The RenMannnrp StaRe. o. 157) V ~ 0 r<4 //' ELEVATION SECTION F D RECONSTRUCTION FIGURE 95 SABBATTINI'S HORIZONTAL BEAM FLYING MACHINE prevent it from revolving 'aa it is lowered. A profile cloud attached to the front of the beam masks the performers standing on the beam. The cloud can be raised and lowered by two ropes, one attached to each end of the beam, which pass through pulleys at the top of the stagehouse and are connected to a drum in the substage area. Since the potential weight of the beam and the performers was very large, the rotation of the drum was controlled by a rope attached to the center of the drum and wound around a large capstan that could be 20 manned by a large number of stagehands. Only one of Furttenbach's flying machines is based upon a mechanism other than the lever. Figure 96 shows a flying machine to be used for lowering an angel from the heavens to the stage within the inner stage area. Although very simple, this machine foreshadows the later flying machines by suspending the cloud by ropes. The ropes are attached to a windlass which is used to raise and lower the cloud. Furttenbach mentions the need to add weights to the cloud frame to keep it hanging straight, but he neglects to mention that a hanging counterweight could be used on the windlass to make the 21 operation easier. The Palatina Manuscript includes a flying machine very similar to the previously described windlass-operated machine of Furttenbach. Figure 97 shows a chair (A) suspended by two ropes which lead to a 20 Hewitt, pp. 155-58. 21 194 Bagtggssk A ORIGINAL DRAWING (Hewitt, The Renaissance Stage, p. 221) Lowered Position'"/' V V Raised Position V'V R RECONSTRUCTION FIGURE 96 FURTTENBACH1S SUSPENDED FLYING MACHINE A ORIGINAL DRAWING (Biblloteca Palatina, Parma, Ms. 3708: McDovoll F. 2048) *4 t/mi B RECONSTRUCTION FIGURE 97 SUSPENDED FLYING MACHINE FROM THE PALATINA MANUSCRIPT 196 windlass (G) mounted over the upper stage. The illustration shows that the wheeled chair lowers onto the tracks (B) and, then, rolls to the downstage edge of the upper stage. Figure 93, another drawing from the Palatina Manuscript, shows three chairs mounted on a single windlass. Although neither of these Palatina machines indicate the use of a counterweight in conjunction with the windlass, many of the machines in the Palatina Manuscript include free-hanging counterweights. It would appear that the artist omitted some of the details of the machinery to simplify the drawings. Figure 98 shows several significant advances over Figure 78. The beam supporting the performer is angled, rather than horizontal. This allows the effective masking of the unit by the curved border frame. In addition, the double rope system shown in Figure 78 has been replaced by a block and tackle which provides a three to one mechanical advantage. The friction of the unit sliding along the track has been reduced by the use of small bearings or wheels as shown in Figure 98C. Although the machine as illustrated in the notebook could move only from stage left to stage right, a second block and tackle could be used to reverse the flight of the unit. Complicated Flight. By the seventeenth century, theatrical flights became more complex with the sky chariots moving horizontally, diagonally, and in arcs across the sky. A large part of Giacomo Torelli's fame was a result of his flying effects. For the prologue of the 1641 production of La Finta Pazza, he created a machine that allowed "II Pensiero Improviso" to appear riding upon a dragon at A ORIGINAL DRAWING (Biblioteca Oliveriani, Pesaro, Ms. 212: McDowell F. 2653) ELEVATION SFCTION B RECONSTRUCTION I S j Q C FRICTION REDUCING WHEEL FIGURE 98 HORIZONTAL FLIGHT MACHINE FROM THF. OLIVERIANI MANUSCRIPT 198 22 the back of the stage and, then, fly to the front of the stage. In 1642 Torelli provided an even more complicated flying effect when Bellerophon fought the Chimera while riding upon Pegasus in II Bellerfonte. After making their entrance, Bellerophon and Pegasus flew from left to right and turned towards the center of the stage where Bellerophon shot his first arrow. Then they flew up to the pro scenium arch and Bellerophon fired the second arrow. After flying to stage left on an oblique line, Bellerophon fired a final arrow at the Chimera. Pegasus descended to the stage floor where Bellerophon 23 dismounted and cut off the head of the Chimera. The Palatina Manuscript includes two sky chariot type machines for complicated flights. One of these machines is shown in Figure 93. Figure 99 illustrates the operation of this relatively complex machine which provides a diagonal flight from the floor at stage left to the 24 stage right heavens. The most important part of the machine is the racheted drum (I) mounted on the sliding platform. The drum controls the descent of the eagle as the ropes supporting the eagle unwind from the drum. The rotation of the drum, however, is controlled by the rope wrapped around the drum and terminated at a ring in the stage left wall of the stagehouse. As the machinery platform is slid from, stage left to stage right, the terminated rope forces the drum to revolve in a clockwise direction, thus winding the eagle's supporting 23 Simon T. Worsthome, Venetian Opera in the Seventeenth Century (Oxfordt Clarendon Press, 1954), p. 180. 24 Many of the drawings of stage machinery may be interpreted in a variety of ways. If the sequence of operation or the rigging was to be interpreted differently, the effect would appear differently. 199 3- ■ '— ------..------•: ...... — ------:------—— ------— ------: § 1 X \ i \ 4 A LOITER POSITION B UPPER POSITION FIGURE 99 DIAGONALLY-FLYING EAGLE FROM THE PALATINA MANUSCRIPT 200 ropes around the drum and raising the eagle. The two counterweights (marked L) are somewhat problematical, since only the stage right counterweight is needed to move the ma chinery platform to the stage right. The stage left counterweight could be used to keep the machinery platform aligned on the over head beams if a track waB not used. The stage left counterweight would, of course, have to be lighter than the stage right counter weight. The rachet wheel mounted on the end of the drum would allow the drum to turn clockwise as the upward flight was executed, but would jam and prevent the drum from turning in a counter-clockwise direction once the flight was completed unless the jamming lever was released. Another flying machine in the Palatina Manuscript is shown in Figure 100. This machine, detailed in Figure 101, is similar to the previous machine, but requires a more elaborate mechanism. In this case the sliding machinery platform (F) is pulled from stage left to stage right by a single counterweight (G). The machinery platform contains a complex of three graduated drums to control the movement of two cupids (0) and chair unit (N). A rope leaves the large section of each drum and is connected to the stage left wall of the stage- house. It should be noted that the rope from the laterally-mounted drum (c) must pass through a direction-changing pulley (B). From the smaller section of each drum a supporting line is attached to the cupids or the chair unit. Since each of the cupids is supported by a single line, it is assumed that the cupids descend at the same rate as the chair unit and are able to hold on to itj otherwise the cupids f i g u r e .inn SUSPENDED FLYING MACHINES FROM THE PALATINA MANUSCRIPT (Blblioteca Palatina, Parma, Mr . 3708; McDowell P. 2DA8) 202 I A LOWER POSITION B UPPER POSITION FIGURE 101 CHAIR AND CUPID MACHINE FROM THE PALATINA MANUSCRIPT 203 would tend to spin around on the single line. As the machinery platform' is pulled towards stage right by the falling counterweight, the ropes connected to the larger sections of the drums are unwound, causing the drums to turn in a clockwise direc tion. This, in turn, causes the supporting lines to wind up upon the smaller sections of the drums resulting in a diagonal flight from the stage left floor to the stage right heavens. The most ambitious individual flying machine in the Palatina Manuscript is shown in Figure 102. This machine enables a performer seated in a chair to rise from a trap in the inner stage area, then "float'’ through the air to the downstage area, where he moves to the side of the stage. The entire flight is governed by several separate machines co ordinated to create a united effect. The chair unit consists not only of the chair, but also of a support with two rings. As with many complicated machines, the operation of this machine is subject to interpretation. The probable operation begins with the chair unit attached to the sliding hook being raised through the opening in the stage floor by winch B. Winch D then pulls the sliding hook a short distance downstage until the upper cross piece of the sliding unit cooes to rest upon the lower stringers of the crane (C). This is shown in Figure 103A. Winch D continues to pull the sliding hook downstage with the upper crosspiece sliding along the crane tracks until the weight of the chair forces the lower crosspiece up against the lower side of the crane track. The entire hook-chair unit is then pulled to the downstage end of the crane. 204 ■ « « . . . -. ______— _ 4.. . >* i 1-*1 li I", • • if* *s ‘ • ■■'!. V: *■ * ' % JL~—I___‘_ ■*—I --i— T__ fc_ V \ . riM-W^ti— r— - I it i -‘->-~* *"■ -—■««£ r *■•■;*»® ^ i %'•-•■ , ** * .... * - * <"1 V# ' ‘ '”*• • *•• (,• * •'?■■■ l* ’ .. !*.•*!! . .... VM.«' . •••• <■ ■ ■l‘ *** '^T ■■* ------:----- —.—■. — . ■ hw/ihw •* »*-*'•■ |> j f t ' 1 w f mum *t* .. •• - jfv y ^y. A i e W * y ,*. ♦ i -.r ••: i;-': i ?/•*uln .1', • - ■, '' ,N Ifc 1 yy y > r,-»* »t. **»' .__^ ' • ? j;..- I ..>v * • : P« •«* ** * 'j^rt;.»ww>wm 1 h w V ^ m i umiymim j » T ? a L [?%»>V' I I 1 '. V ^ '* •'* ■ ' ’* ’’ |_ w A / » : •’imrrStl — i^i»■ m.i.ii* .i.... t • 3 ^ ' i V : . * : * .’*'••* ® * * 4 ■ -X *' L? ’ i * :.r. *• : 2 «^v | ; j ; ..?: . • « i- / i - i • $ * /I I f ® - !\ M Ifili -. 0 .f >!". i FIGURE 102 FLYING MACHINE FROM TRAP, THE PALATINA MANUSCRIPT (Biblioteca Palatina, Parma, Ms. 3708; McDowell F. 2048) B FIGURE 103 OPERATION OF FLYING MACHINE FROM TRAP I * 206 At this point the most difficult part of the entire operation takes place. Figure 103B shows that hook E suspended by a rope from winch F must engage the ring at the front of the chair unit. The next movement of the chair unit begins as the chair is passed downstage from winch F to winch G to winch I, as shown in Figure 104A. The ropes from winches G and I pass through rollers to prevent friction as the chair is swung downstage, as shown in Figure 102. When the chair is supported only by the rope from winch 1 (the ropes from the other winches being slack) the final movement begins. Winch M is turned which pulls the sliding unit K towards stage right. Rollers prevent friction as the rope from winch I is changed from a horizontal to a diagonal position as shown in Figure 105B. As described, the chair will rise towards the heavens as it moves to stage right. If a horizontal flight towards stage right is desired, winch I must un wind the supporting rope as unit K is pulled towards stage right. Diderot's Encyclopedia includes a chariot-type machine that is very similar to the mechanism shown in Figure 105, except that since the Palais Royal machine is used for a diagonal descent instead of a diagonal ascent, it is less complex. Figure 105 shows a sliding unit (C) that moves along a rope (F) from stage right to stage left. The progress of the sliding unit towards stage left is controlled by a line (G) attached to the stage right end of the sliding unit. Because the machine is used only for a descent, the weight of the performer and chariot provides the motive force and, therefore, a counterweight is not needed. Lines D, suspending the chariot, pass through the pulleys on the sliding platform and terminate on stage 207 A h > ,fe -«l B FIGURE 104 OPERATION OF FLYING MACHINE FROM TRAP II 20R FIGURE 105 FLYING CHARIOT FROM OIPKROT’S KNCvCLQFEniA (Diderot, Encyclopedia, X, pi. X) 209 left. As a result, when the control rope G is paid out the weight of the chariot and performer cause the platform to slide towards the left, and the chariot descends from the stage right heavens to the stage left floor. Flying Performers. One of the most spectacular effects on the illusionistic stage was the appearance of a performer flying through the air without any visible means of support. Although the sixteenth century saw performers flying through the air on clouds and chariots, the decoration of the unit could mask the crude machinery used to accomplish the flight. At least as early as 1589 the effect was attempted in the intermezzi for La Pellegrina produced in Florence at the Uffizzi Theatre. In this production, the flying Apollo was actually a puppet which was replaced by a live performer when it 25 reached the stage floor. Ser Jacopi, an eye-witness, reported that 26 the puppet was suspended from an iron wire. Apparently a live performer was flown in the 1628 production of Mercurio e Marte. Mercury appeared in profile through an opening in the sky on stage left, then flew in a circle and landed in the middle of the stage. The audience was amazed and "fancied he kept himself 27 aloft merely by beating the wings on his sandals." Aleotti had I mentioned this machine in a letter to Duke Ranuccio in 1618 in which he mentioned that the model of Mercury's flying machine achieved the 25 Nagler, Festivals, p. 83. 26 ibid., p. 84. 27 ibid., p. 154. 210 28 desired effect. Spectacular effects of this type continued to amaze audiences throughout the seventeenth century. Although effective machines for the flying of individual per formers were not developed until the seventeenth century, Sabbattini describes how to lower a person onto the stage without using a cloud, 29 so that he may immediately walk about and dance. This machine, shown in Figure 106, uses the same vertical groove and shaft mechanism described on pagel71. In this case the horizontal beam and the brace are constructed of iron to make them smaller and stronger. At the end of the beam (C) is mounted a small saddle with a single stirrup to support the single performer. The machine is operated in exactly the same way as the simple flying cloud chariot machine previously described (see Figure 82). When the beam carrying the performer reaches the stage floor, the performer steps out of the stirrup. The iron beam continues to descend and passes through a slit in the stage floor, disappearing from view. Although this machine could provide the effect of a performer flying without support, it was very limited; the effect had to take place far upstage, the performer's body could not adequately mask the horizontal beam or the brace, and the flight was a simple vertical motion. The Palatina Manuscript shows much more advanced techniques and more effective flights. Figure 107 includes a machine to fly Mercury 28 ibid., p. 153. 29 Hewitt, pp. 168-69. 211 B ORIGINAL DRAWING (Hewitt, The Renaissance Stage, p. 85) n % M B RECONSTRUCTION FIGURE 106 SABBATTINI’S FLYING PERFORMER MECHANISM f "'I'' V *' • ' * A «* *• '.".1 O * *. f ‘ ' «t- « * i V ;t * ' \ 4 f igure 107 FLYING PERFORMER FROM THE PALATINA MANUSCRIPT (BiMiotcca Palatina, Parma, Ms. 370B{ McDowell P. 2048) 213 (P) without the aid of a cloud or chariot, from the stage right floor to the stage left heavens. This machine, like others in the manuscript, is based upon the use of a sliding machinery platform. A graduated drum (H) on the platform controls the flight. A line (K) leaving the large section of the drum in a counterclockwise direction is attached to the stage right stagehouse wall and another line leaving the small section of the drum in a clockwise direction supports the performer. In addition, there is a control line attached to the performer which passes through a pulley attached to the stage right side of the grid. The sliding machinery platform is propelled by a counterweight (1) attached by a line to the platform. ' Figure 108 shows the technique used to make Mercury fly. The counterweight would be allowed to descend, which would begin to pull the machinery platform across the stage. As the platform moves stage left, the line (K) attached to the. stagehouse wall would make the drum rotate in a counterclockwise direction, and the line supporting the performer would wind up around the small section of the drum, thus raising the performer as he moved stage left. The control line attached to the performer could be used to keep him from spinning out of control. Figure 109 illustrates the operation of another of the flying machines shown in Figure 107. This machine would allow the performer (Q) to fly and hover in place. The weight of the performer is over balanced by the graduated drum (L) and counterweight (M) mechanism mounted high on the stage left stagehouse wall. The counterweight would need an additional line to enable a stagehand to control the 214 jtfgfrW w wwr '.* i ii i rs Tar ?2!z?*x : r FIGURE 108 OPERATION OF MERCURY'S FLYING MECHANISM 215 -- ■/%//* */7iV- •i f ’’ /'fr r FIGURE 109 OPERATION OF CUPID'S FLYING MECHANISM 2.16 descent of the counterweight or stop its descent at any point. A second line attached to the performer leads to a pulley mounted on the stage right edge of the grid. This line could be handled more easily if it had a light counterweight (although this is not shown). The performer enters in the stage right heavens and his descent is controlled by the stage right line which is slowly paid out by a stagehand. Since the performer is also attached to a line connected to the drum and counterweight mechanism on stage left, which is secured and not operating at this point, he descends in an arc to the stage floor. When the performer is to fly up into the heavens, the stage left counterweight mechanism is released and the performer is lifted off the floor. The stage right control line may be used at this point to control the actual direction of the flight until the performer dis appears into the stage left heavens. It should be noted that the machines in thiB section of the study were designed to be used to fly an individual performer, how ever most of the machinery used for the flight of sky chariots could also be used to fly individual performers. Many of these basic flying techniques are used in the modern theatre. ' Celestial Displays Many of the accounts of the spectacular productions include (and often conclude with) a large celestial display. These displays usually featured a number of gods arranged in the clouds. Although some of the celestial displays originated in the lower portion of the inner stage, many of the effects emanated from the upper inner stage. These effects and their relationship to the inner stage are among the least studied aspects of the seventeenth century spectacular theatre. Because of their size, most of these effects had to be preset upstage and revealed to the audience by removing the rear closure of the setting. The final effect for the intermezzi that accompanied the 156B production of I_Fabii showed the parting of the heavens to re veal the gods assembled for a banquet. "The heavens remained open for a while to enable the spectators to identify the painted papier- 30 mache gods." The heavens were then closed and the performers playing the gods appeared on the stage floor. Soon the celestial displays became more ambitious, exhibiting live performers on the upper stage. In some productions, a few of the performers would descend from the heavens on cloud chariots. One of these displays appeared in the first intermezzi for the production L'flmico Fido at the Teatro Medici in 1586. The heavens above the city were opened by the Horae, and a large cloud supporting Hymen and the Greatest Blessings (Beni) appeared in the center. Jupiter, surrounded by all the gods, was seated on another cloud. The cloud carrying the Beni descended.31 In the seventeenth century audiences were amazed by huge celestial displays that could move from the heavens to a downstage portion of the stage floor. One of the most elaborate of these display machines 30 Nagler, Festivals, p. 40. 31 21* was used for the 1628 production of Amlnta in Parma. At the end of Aminta, . . . the heavens parted, revealing an assembly of gods with Jupiter in their midst on a golden throne . . . expanding until it filled the entire width of the stage, the celestial machine moved forward on a horizontal plane then descended vertically.32 Although the works of Sabbattini and Furttenbach omit mention of the upper inner stage, Sabbattini describes how to open the heavens to allow a simple flying machine to descend to the stage floor. It will be necessary to make an aperture in the heavens similar to the cloud but a little larger so that the cloud may descend without impediment and return with equal facility. This aperture must always be closed with a piece of heavens made on a small frame of thin pieces of wood, which resembles as much as possible the color as well as the shape of the sur rounding heavens. So the inner parts of the heavens are painted similar to the outer ones, lest any discrepancy be seen when the wicket is opened to permit the cloud to come out of the aperture.33 Sabbattini's device would seem to be similar to the one mentioned by Ser Jacopi for the 1589 intermezzi that accompanied La Pelegrina. Ser Jacopi reported that one detachment of stagehands "stood ready by the grooves in which the shutter was pushed to expose the central 34 opening in the heavens." A large variety of machines were used to achieve these celestial displays. Simple Displays. The Tessin Manuscript, although lacking in machinery drawings for celestial effects, illustrates several drawings 32 ibid.. p. 151. 33 Hewitt, p. 159. 34 ibid., p. 76. 719 for displays that utilise the upper stage. One drawing from the Tessin Manuscript, shown in Figure 110, shows a celestial effect and a sectional drawing of the display unit. In this drawing it is clear that the downstage set of stairs is prac tical, leading to the elevator platform. The set of stairs leading to the throne unit seem to be false, painted upon the wall sup porting the platform on which the throne is located. Behind the throne unit are flat wings painted to represent the rear collonade. A simple celestial display machine is found in the Archivio di Stato Manuscript. Figure 111A shows a series of five rectangular frames with seats for fifty-six performers. In addition, a vertically descending chair is suspended over the rectangular frames. Although the machinery for operating this machine is not shown, the frames and the chair could be lowered by a simple winch and drum mechanism. The illustration shows a unique rigging for the machine. The suspension ropes (D) provide a mechanical advantage. Figure 111B shows that the suspension ropes are not attached to the top of the rectangular frames. The suspension ropes, detailed in Figure 111B are attached to the grid and pass down through a serieB of pulleys (G) mounted on the inside of the vertical members of the rectangular frames, around the pulleys at the bottom of the unit, and up through the pulleys mounted on the outside of the vertical members of the rectangular frames. As a result the rigging of the rectangular frame provides a two to one mechanical advantage. FIGURE 110 DISPLAY ON UPPER STAGE, TESSIN MANUSCRIPT (Nationalmuaeum, Stockholm, Tessin Vol. S7; McDowell F. A ORIGINAL DRAWING (Archivio di Stato, Parma, Mappe e Desegni. Vol. 4; McDowell F. 2404) B RIGGING DIAGRAM FIGURE 111 CELESTIAL DISPLAY FRAMES, ARCHIVIO nt STATO MANUSCRIPT * 222 Complex Display Machines. The Palatina Manuscript includes a large number of celestial display machines. Most of these machines utilize the upper stage and the midstage elevator (previously dis cussed in Chapter II). Figures 97 and 102 include the use of the upperstage and the midstage elevator to achieve the desired effects. Figures 112 and 113 illustrate the use of these features of the seventeenth century stage to create a celestial display. Figure 112 shows the stage right half of the machinery in its raised position and Figure 113 shows the stage right half of the machinery in its lowered position. When the machinery is lowered it would extend the display shown on the inner stage into the downstage area. Figure 114 shows the center portion of this machine in both its raised and lowered positions. Unit L is a stepped platform which is suspended by lines connected to graduated drum K. A control line con nected to the large section of the drum is wound around winch N. To operate this part of the display, winch N is released allowing the stepped platform to descend to the level of the midstage elevator. As Figure 113 indicates, catwalks G, hinged to the upper stage, and catwalk F, hinged to the midstage elevator, are lowered and rest upon the stepped platform. Immediately downstage of the stepped platform is the folding framework shown in Figure 115. This framework although folded in the raised position, unfolds to form an arc with seats when in its lowered position. The framework is raised and lowered by the lines which lead to the small section of drum K. Thus the stepped platform and the folding frame are lowered together. The framework is formed into an FIGURE 112 CELESTIAL DISPLAY FROM THE PALATINA MANUSCRIPT RAISED POSITION (Biblioteca Palatina, Parma, Ms. 3708; McDowell Fi 2048) FIGURE 111 CELESTIAL DISPLAY MACHINE FROM THE PALATINA MANUSCRIPT LOWERED POSITION (Biblioteca Palatina, Parma, Ms. 3708; McDowell F. 2048) 225 A RAISED POSITION B LOWERED POSITION FIGURE 114 OPERATION OF PALATINA CELESTIAL DISPLAY MACHINE I 226 A RAISED POSITION n LOWERED POSITION FIGURE 115 OPERATION OF PALATINA CELESTIAL DISPLAY MACHINE II 227 arc by deadhung lines when it reaches the lowered position. Figure 116 shows the folding step unit located some distance downstage of the folding framework. These stairways hinged like disappearing stairs for modem attics, provide access from the side catwalks of the theatre to the stage floor. The stairways are raised and lowered by a groove and shaft mechanism attached to the landing level of each stairway. Each shaft is pulled up into the groove by a rope which passes around pulley G and is connected to the small sec tion of graduated drum E which is located in the center of the grid. ThiB drum is controlled by a line wound around the large section of the drum and-leading to winch F. To lower the stairs, winch F is released allowing the drum to revolve, which unwinds the rope holding the shaft and stairs in the raised position. As the shaft lowers, the upper folding section automatically unfolds. The lower folding section of stairs is lowered by a separate control line. These folding stairs are joined to the arc-shaped framework by folding the catwalks shown in Figure 117. Two sets of catwalks on each side of the stage are suspended by ropes connected to winch H. As the winch is released, the catwalks are lowered and are suspended from the deadhung support lines to rest upon the wooden supports built into the folding stairs and the arc-shaped framework. The entire effect requires the manipulation of three winches and two control ropes to coniplete the operation. The step units on the elevator and upper stage could be preset before the moment of the revelation of the display by "opening the heavens." Figure 118 shows the completed effect. 22ft A RAISED POSITION B LOWERED POSITION FIGURE 116 OPERATION OF PALATINA CELESTIAL DISPLAY MACHINE III 229 A RAISED POSITION B LOWERED POSITION FIGURE 117 OPERATION OF PALATINA CELESTIAL DISPLAY MACHINE IV » » • •- :w V '% ■ ?$Ji ,-Jfi ftii i b ' .M .Mk< j£ FIGURE H R CELESTIAL DISPLAY EFFECT FROM PALATINA MANUSCRIPT (Biblioteca Palatine* Parma, Mb . 3708; McDowell F. 2048) 231 The Archivio di Stato Manuscript includes a drawing which appears to be exactly the same machine. This drawing is shown as Figure 119. 4 The stage right half of this illustration shows the machinery in its lowered position, and the stage left half shows the machinery in its raised position. Although Figures 112 and 113 from the Palatina Manuscript and Figure 119 from the Archivio di Stato are very similar, there are several differences. Figure 119 shows six catwalks instead of four. In addition, the arrangement of steps on the innerstage and elevator are different. Finally, the folding framework which forms into an arc is missing entirely from Figure 119. It should be noted that although the arrangement of the dividing walls in Figure 119 suggests that this machine was located in the Teatro Farnese, the plan for the theatre illustrated in the Palatina Manuscript, shown in Figure 10, does not resemble the Teatro Farnese. Diderot's Encyclopedia, also presents a machine that may be 35 used to bring a display from the upstage area to the downstage area. This machine is illustrated in Diderot's plates XX, XXI, and XXII which are reproduced in this study as Figures 120 and 121. Figure 122 illustrates its operation. To bring the flying unit downstage, this 36 machine (F) uses a series of longitudinal tracks (P), attached to the grid by hangers (not shown in Figure 122.) Small sliding units with pulleys (O) are pulled downstage on the tracks by lines wrapped " 35 It should be noted that the Palais Royal drawings do not show an upper stage. 36 The letters in the description refer to the letters shown in Figures 121 and 122. 232 FIGURE 11Q CELESTIAL DISPLAY MACHINE FROM THE ARCHIVIO DI STATO MANUSCRIPT (Archivio di Stato, Parma, Mappe e Desegni, Vol. Aj McDowell F. 2A0A) 233 A (Diderot:, Encyclopedia, X, pi. XXI) I) (Diderot, Encyclopedia, X, pi. XX) FIGURE 120 ELEVATIONS OF FLYING CELESTIAL DISPLAYS FROM DIDEROT'S ENCYCLOPEDIA 234 FIGURE 121 SECTION OF FLYING CELESTIAL DISPLAY FROM DIDEROT'S ENCYCLOPEDIA (Diderot, Encyclopedia, X pi. XXII) 235 A ELEVATION 1 B SECTION FIGURE 122 OPERATION OF FLYING CELESTIAL DISPLAY FROM DIDEROT’S ENCYCLOPEDIA 236 around the small section of drum G. The rotation of the drum is controlled by a line attached to the large section of the drum and leading to a counterweight and winch. To suspend and control the height of the flying machine, ten suspension lines (M) connected to the flying machine, pass through pulleys on the sliding units (O) and through fixed pulleys (N) . mounted on the grid to the small section of the upstage graduated drum. This drum is controlled by a counterweight and winch not shown in Diderot's Plate XX (Figure 120A). Figure 121 shows the intended direction of the flight of the machine (L) which would be achieved by releasing the counterweight controlling the downstage drum, thus pulling the sliding unit down stage. The counterweight controlling the upstage drum would be raised, allowing the drum to turn in a clockwise direction, slowly releasing the lines suspending the flying platform. It would be possible to create a different type of flight by a different manipulation of the two counterweights. For example, if the counterweight controlling the downstage drum was allowed to descend, the sliding platform would move downstage as in the previous descrip tion. But, if the flying machine began its flight at the grid level in the upstage area, it could descend diagonally from the grid upstage to the stage floor downstage. To accomplish this manouver, the up stage drum would have to revolve much faster than the downstage drum. Like many of the complex machines, a'change in operation or a slight change in the rigging of the machine, could produce a variety of different effects. 2 V A celestial display from the production of Cermanico sul Reno is shown in Figure 123. The machinery used to achieve this effect is shown in Figures 124 and 125. This machine covers the entire down stage area when it is fully deployed, yet is stored over the midstage elevator and the inner stage. The upstage-most frames appear to be lowered by a windlass or graduated drum. The unit located over the mid-stage elevator is the most unique part of the complete machine. The machine appears to the audience as a small cloud that is lowered into view, then is expanded to fill the entire stage with performers seated among the clouds. Figure 126 shows that the mid-stage unit consists of a series of seats for performers mounted on four lateral beams. These beams are held at the top of the mid-stage elevator shaft by a block and tackle connected to longitudinal beams that support the ends of the lateral beams, and are controlled by the winch and graduated drum located in the substage area. The seats are masked by cloud profiles. To lower the entire unit, the winch in the sub-stage area is released, allowing the drum to rotate and the beams to descend as shown in Figure 127. At this point, the sliding supports (A) are pulled to their onstage position by a winch (B) located above the grid. The sliding units support the downstage end of large beams that are pivoted near the mid-stage elevator. As Figure 128 shows, the pivoted beam provides a form of track leading directly downstage from the midstage elevator. The lateral beams supporting the seats for the performers are, then, pulled to positions over the downstage area, sliding along the 238 FIGURE 123 CELESTIAL DISPLAY FROM CERMANICO SUL RENO (Blblioteque de l’Opera, Paris, Res. G853; McDowell 1703) 239 FIGURE. 124 MACHINERY FOR CELESTIAL DISPLAY FROM GERMANTCO SUL RENO STORAGE POSITION (Bibliotheque de 1'Opera, Paris, Res. 853J McDowell F. 1703) 240 FIGURE 125 MACHINERY FOR CELESTIAL DISPLAY FROM GERMANICO SUL RENO PERFORMANCE POSITION (Blblioteque de I'Opera, Paris, ReB. 853; McDowell F. 1703) A SECTION R SECTION FIGURE 126 OPERATION OF GERMANICQ SUL RENO CELESTIAL DISPLAY I 242 A ELEVATION R SECTION FIGURE 127 OPERATION OF GERMANICO SUL RENO CELESTIAL DISPLAY II 243 t-j -sat im .1 ju. ,ir 111. miumwK W w ir »srrrrec=r- A ELEVATION B SECTION FIGURE 128 OPERATION OF GERMANICO SUL RENO CELESTIAL DISPLAY III pivoted beam, as shown in Figure 129. This operation is accomplished by a line attached to the winch-controlled graduated drum (C) lo cated on the grid. This line passes through two pulleys located on the sliding units that support the pivoted beam and is attached to each of the lateral beams. The final operation for this effect consists of turning the four winches suspended from the grid in Figure 130, which pulls each of the performers seats towards the sides of the stage. Two of the units containing performer's seats on each beam are composed of shaft and groove devices, detailed in Figure 131. As these units are pulled towards the off stage end of the lateral beams, ropes connecting the shaft to the ends of the lateral beams allow the shafts to descend as shown in Figure 130. The four planes of cloud-masked performers' seats would be ar ranged in perspective to create the cloud vistas shown in Figure 123. The machine was apparently capable of being reversed since the groove and shaft mechanisms, the sliding support for the pivoted beam and the block and tackle that lowered the lateral beams could be operated in both directions. Although the mechanism that pulls the lateral beams to the downstage position does not appear to be reversible, the addi tion of a few pulleys would remedy this deficiency. The most complicated of the celestial display machines considered in this study is the machine from the Palatina Manuscript shown in Figure 132. This machine is able to fly an entire stageful of per formers from the heavens over the inner stage to the floor in the A ELEVATION n m i u w r n v B SECTION FIOITRE 129 OPERATION OF RERMANICO SUL RENO CELESTIAL DISPLAY IV 246 A ELEVATION *• . j'j B SECTION FIGURE 130 OPERATION OF GERMANICO SUL RENO CELESTIAL DISPLAY V FIGURE 131 GROOVE AND SHAFT FROM GERMANICO SHL RENO CELESTIAL DISPLAY (Moynet, Trues et Decora, Fig. 47) FIGURE 132 FLYING STAGE FROM THE PALATINA MANUSCRIPT (Biblloteca Falatina, Parma, Mb . 370R; McDowell F. 2048) 249 downstage area. This machine could be used only in a theatre that would allow use of a series of longitudinal and lateral tracks and borders which could slide across the stage on the lateral tracks. Figure 133 is a detail of the lateral track and the sliding units that move towards the sides of the stage. Once the flying machine has reached the downstage area, it rests upon three pairs of longitudinal tracks. The center section remains stationary, suppor ted by hangers attached to the grid, while the two side sections are pulled to the sides of the stage, sliding along the lateral tracks. The two side sections are attached to sliding borders and are hidden by door units. Figures 134 through 139 show the progress of the flying machine from the back of the stage to its final position. Figure 134 shows the machine at the moment of its revelation suspended over the upper stage. The first movement of the machine is controlled by the winch controlling drums (L). This part of the flying machine is detailed in Figure 135. The winch is released allowing the shaft G to descend within the enclosed groove (H) resulting in the position shown in Figure 136. At this point the entire flying machine is pulled downstage . along the longitudinal tracks to the position shown in Figure 137 by a winch or winch and drum device that is not shown in the Palatina Manuscript. The flying machine is now resting upon the three pairs of lateral tracks detailed in Figure 133. At this point, the winches controlling the side sections of the longitudinal track are turned, pulling the side sections along the lateral tracks. The permanent 25n if tl ►;S fl n ji • m TlV'r.^r,'— j > ■i£.U4J ,------J------1 F ------:— u V ' M ’U 1' in II H II or li A TRACK PLAN f W r ' t t t / /. / ' / • of /. i'n-r w v . "X./: U<- 'r t S '/W /t : ------J R ELEVATION OF TRACKS FIGURE 133 TRACK I1ETAIL FLYING STAGE FROM THE PALATINA MANUSCRIPT A ELEVATION B SECTION FIGURE 134 OPERATION OF FLYING STAGE FROM THE PALATINA MANUSCRIPT I 7 FIGURE 135 GROOVE AND SHAFT MECHANISM FOR FLYING STAGE FROM THE PALATINA MANUSCRIPT 253 “ t f~l t ~ r f u t c r j A ELEVATION B SECTION FIGURE 136 OPERATION OF FLYING STAGE FROM THE PALATINA MANUSCRIPT II 255 borders are also hung from sliding devices on the lateral track and gather at the sides of the stage as shown in Figure 133. As the units are pulled towards the sides of the stage, the suspended platform unit expands by unrolling the flooring shown in Figure 138. At this point, the performers standing on the catwalks attached to shaft G are able to walk out upon the unrolled flooring. The final operation consists of lowering the machine to the stage floor by allowing the drums (L) to revolve, thus lowering shaft E from its position within the enclosed groove G. The final position of the machine is shown in Figure 139. Summary If the eyewitness reports of the productions on the illusionistic stage are to be believed, the most amazing effects were those that emanated from above the stage. Although cloud effects and simple displays were presented on the early illusionistic stage, the develop ment of the free-hanging counterweight in the seventeenth century provided the mechanical means to create the legendary effects of the illusionistic stage. Simple cloud units were used to provide interest against the sky on the illusionistic stage. This simple effect was very important during the late sixteenth and early seventeenth century since the only overhead decoration was the sky. Even in the middle and late seven teenth century when architectural borders supplemented the sky borders, simple clouds were important to mask the supporting ropes and other units of the complex flying machines. 256 [im j w A ELEVATION B SECTION FIGURE 138 OPERATION OF FLYING STAGE FROM THE PALATINA MANUSCRIPT IV a— *' Jli.g « flit 10 » ^ M xeIdeI \IL A ELEVATION B SECTION FIGURE 139 OPERATION OF FLYING STAGE FROM THE PALATINA MANUSCRIPT V The appearance of performers flying through the sky epitomizes the illusionistic stage. The early machines utilized cloud and chariot profiles to mask the mechanisms required to move the performer across the sky. These early machines were simple devices based upon mecha** nisms such as the lever, but the later machines utilized free-hanging counterweights and suspension lines to provide the effect of a per former flying through the sky without the aid of clouds or sky chariots. As the complexity of the machinery increased, the flights became more conplicated. Performers could fly along vertical, horizontal, diagonal and arc-shaped paths across the sky. By the early seven teenth century audiences were amazed to see performers flying up and downstage. One feature of the sixteenth and seventeenth century stage that apparently fell into disuse was the upper stage area. The libretti, some scene designs and machinery drawings indicate the use of the upper stage to create celestial displays, but the eighteenth century theatre plans omit an upper level. The upper stage could be used to preset a large celestial display which could be revealed to the audience at the proper moment by removing the rear closure element of the main set. Other celestial displays were created by lowering large machines from the grid. These machines were highly varied in their appearance and operation. Some machines merely lowered into view as a mass of clouds, then opened to reveal the performers. Other machines could appear far upstage, travel downstage, lower, and increase in size. One such machine ended its flight by covering most of the main 259 performance area. • Most of the effective flying machines were developed in the seven teenth century. One probable reason for the later development of the flying machines was the temporary nature of most of the early illusion istic theatres. The flying machines, performers, and complicated rigging with counterweights would require a structurally sound grid and catwalk complex over the stage. It would obviously be easier to provide grids and catwalks of greater strength in the permanent theatres of the seventeenth century. ** CHAPTER VI CONCLUSION The main value of this study lies in the identification and description of the operation of the machinery drawings from the illu sionistic theatre. These machines were important theatrically and mechanically. Theatrically, although the use of scenery and special effects was not unique to the seventeenth century, it was during this period that it became an end in itself. Mechanically, the production of intermezzi and opera on the illusionistic stage encouraged the development of highly efficient methods of changing scenery and creating spectacular effects. Significant Developments on the Illusionistic Stage The early spectacular productions were rather crudely produced. The temporary nature of the theatres restricted the early develop ment of effective stage machinery. The designers tried to develop methods of changing the decoration of the side wings used for pro ductions of regular drama, but the three-dimensional nature of the units hampered the scenic change. Most of the special effects emanated from below the stage floor, since the sub-stage area was structurally sound, resting upon the permanent floor of the building containing the theatre. The few effects utilizing the area above the stage were very simple mechanically. The sky borders could not be changed 260 261 except for the addition of clouds. Most of the flying devices were supported by the back wall of the theatre or by posts resting on the floor of the sub-stage area. The most highly developed effects were those used in the marine scenes. These effects were located far from the audience on the inner stage. Neither the wave machines nor the various vehicles that moved between the waves required unusual support or complicated rigging. That these effects did not require advanced types of ma chinery is indicated by the fact that the marine effects did not show mechanical innovations through the nineteenth century. It is not presently possible to determine when or where the simple machines of the early illusionistic theatre were replaced by the more advanced mechanisms. However* two important changes were made in the last part of the sixteenth century or the first part of the seventeenth century. First* the temporary theatres were re placed by larger* permanent theatres* and as a result, more space and more substantial support was provided for the spectacular effects. Second* the cumbersome three-dimensional wing units were replaced by easily shifted flat wings. The major innovations in stage machinery began to appear during the same period. The basic machinery may have been developed to accomplish the a_vista scenic change and, then* adapted for the special effect effects or visa versa. The most important single ma chinery development was the free-hanging counterweight. Although some of the early effects were created with the aid of a counterweight on the offstage end of a lever-operated machine* these early 262 counterweighted machines were limited to simple vertical movements. The free-hanging counterweight could be adapted to almost any type of effect that used machinery to raise heavy objects or control a large number of unitB simultaneously. The free-hanging counterweights were used to achieve the following movements: a. Lateral movement. The side wings of the a vista scenic change were moved by the revolution of a central drum connected to a falling counterweight. Many of the laterally-moving flying machines were pulled across the stage by a counterweight. b. Vertical movement from below the stage. The seventeenth century development of the groove and shaft mechanism, which could • reverse the direction of the motion imparted by a falling counter weight, allowed objects to be raised from below the stage floor. c. Vertical movement from above the stage. The impressive flying chariots and performers of the seventeenth century illusionis- tic theatre were balanced by counterweights attached to the suspension lines. In the middle of the seventeenth century the borders began to be changed by falling counterweights. d. Complicated movements. A wide variety of movements could be accomplished by using two counterweights to control the movement of a single unit. By the end of the seventeenth century most of the effects had been standardized. The main exception to standardization appears to have been the complicated celestial display machines. Since these machines could be built to achieve a variety of effects, and since a single display machine occupied a great amount of space in the 263 Btagehouse, these machines may have been specially designed or in stalled for each production. The major feature of the seventeenth century theatre that seems to have been discarded is the upper stage. Although this location was used to display impressive celestial effects, it restricted the depth of the main performance area. The Palais Royal drawings and the extant eighteenth century theatres omit this feature. The Legacy of the Seventeenth Century Mechanized Stage Spectacle on the scale of that produced on the seventeenth century stage is seldom produced today, however many of the features of the modem stagehouse were developed for the illusionistic theatre. Although the raked stage disappeared with the abandonment of per spective scenery, the division of the stage floor into removable sec tions remains in the modem trapped stage. The grid and pinrail levels of the modern theatres are direct descendants of those used in the early permanent theatres. The main improvement has been the substitution of metal for the original wooden beams. The counter weight system has undergone only minor changes, such as connecting the counterweight carriages to tracks mounted on the walls of the stage house. Only recently has the counterweight system begun to be replaced by synchronous winches and hydraulic systems. Suggestions for Further Studies Although most of the significant seventeenth century spectacular machinery has been analyzed in this study, many drawings of the minor 264 machines have not been included. An analysis of these, often unique, machines would add greater depth to our knowledge of spectacular staging. Drawings of these machines are available in many of the manuscripts held on microfilm in the McDowell Archives. In addition, no comprehensive study of the different types of wing-changing machinery used in the late seventeenth and the eighteenth centuries has been attempted. Although the effect of the scenic change remained relatively constant during this period, the machinery used to achieve the effect varied from theatre to theatre. Extant theatre plans and comparative studies of theatre buildings include adequate information for such a study. The development, use, and eventual abandonment of the upper stage needs further study. This important element of the illusionistic theatre is largely undocumented. Perhaps a comparison of the require ments of libretti and the theatre plans available for the late seven teenth and early eighteenth century stage could shed more light upon this subject. Finally, reconstruction studies could be made combining the music, libretti, and the production machinery. Although the libretti are not as complete as some nineteenth century promptbooks, an attenipt to reconstruct the total theatrical experience of an illu sionistic production could be a valuable aid to the teaching of theatre history. APPENDIX APPENDIX A The following productions have been utilized to compile Tables 2, 3 and 4: Florence 1565. The intermezzi for the production of La Cofanaria was produced in a hall in the Palazzo Vecchio on December 25, 1565 for the wedding of Francesco dfMedici and Joanna of Austria. Vasari de signed the settings and Bernardo Timante was responsible for the 1 machinery. Florence 156B. The intermezzi for the production of I_ Fabii was produced in a hall in Palazzo Vecchio in 1568 for the baptism of the daughter of Frances-o and Joanna d*Medici. Baldssare Lanci was re- 2 sponsible for the settings. Florence 1586. The intermezzi for the production of L'Amico Fido produced on February 6, 1586 in the Teatro Medici for the wedding of I Virginia d'Medici to Cesare d'Este. Bernardo Buontalenti was re- 3 sponsible for the settings. Florence 1589. The intermezzi for the production of La Pelleqrina was produced in the Uffizzi Theatre on May 2, 1589 for the wedding of Duke Ferdinando I and Christine of Lorraine. Bernardo 1 Alois M. Nagler, Theatre Festivals of the Medici, 1539-1637 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1964), pp. 38-40. 2 267 4 Buontalenti was the designer. Florence 1600. 11 Raplmento di Cafalo produced in the Uffizzi Palace on October 9, 1600 for the wedding of Maria d*Medici and 5 Henri IV of France. Mantua 1608 #1. Arianna was produced in the court theatre in Mantua on May 28, 1608 for the wedding of Francesco Gonza and 6 Margherita of Savoia. Mantua 1608 #2. The intermezzi for the production of L 1Idropica was produced at the Ducal Theatre on June 2, 1608 for the wedding of Francesco Gonza and Margherita of Savoia. Viaini was responsible 7 for the settings. Florence 1608 #1. Hotte d'aroore was produced in a hall in the Pitti Palace on October 22, 1608 for the wedding of Cosimo de*Medici 8 and Maria Magdalena. Florence 1608 #2. The intermezzi for the production of II Giudizzio di Paride was produced in the Uffizzi Theatre on October 25 and November 19, 160B for the wedding of Cosimo de1Medici and Maria 9 Magdalena. Giulio Parigi was responsible for the settings. Florence 1611. A mascherata was produced in the Pitti Palace in February as part of a carnival. Parigi was responsible for the 4 ibid., pp. 73-89. 5 ibid., pp. 96-100. 6 ibid., pp. 178-79. 7 ibid., pp. 180-185. 8 ibid., pp. 102-103. 9, ibid., pp. 104-110. 10 settings. Florence 1613. A barriers was produced in the Uffizzi Theatre 11 on February 13, 1613. Giulio Parigi was responsible for the settings. Florence 1624. La Regina Sant*orsola was produced in the Uffizzi Theatre on October 6, 1924 for the state visit of Archduke Karl of 12 Austria. Giulio Parigi was responsible for the settings. Florence 1625. La Liberazlone di Ruggiero dall’lsola d*Alcina was produced in Florence on February 2, 1625 for the state visit of Prince Ladislaus Sigismund of Poland. Giulio Parigi was responsible 13 for the settings. Parma 1628 #1. Aminta was produced in a temporary theatre built in the courtyard of San Pietro Martire on December 13, 1628 for the wedding of Oloardo Farnese and Margherita de1Medici. Francesco Guitti and Alfonso Rovarolo were responsible for the 14 settings. Parma 1628 #2. Mercurio e, Marte was produced as the grand opening of the Teatro Farnese on December 14, 1628 for the wedding of Oloardo Farnese and Margherita de'Medici. This production used some of the machinery designed by Giovanni Baptista Aleotti for the pro duction of La Differesa della Bellezza which waB to have opened the Teatro Farnese in 1618. Francesco Guitti was responsible for the 15 spectacle for Mercurlo e Marte. Florence 1637. La Nozze degli del was produced in the courtyard of the Pitti Palace on July 8, 1637 for the wedding of Ferdinando II and Vittoria della Rovere of Urbino. Alfonso Parigi was responsible 16 for the settings. Venice 1637. Andromeda was produced at the Teatro San Cassiano in 1637. Giuseppe Alabardi may have been responsible for the 17 settings. Venice 1641. La Finta Pazza was produced as the first pro duction in the Teatro Movissimo in 1641. Giacomo Torelli was re- 18 sponsible for the spectacle. Venice 1642. Bellerofonte was produced at the Teatro Movissimo 19 in 1642. Giacomo Torelli was responsible for the spectacle. Paris 1650. Andromeda was produced in the Petit Bourbon on February 26, 1650. Giacomo Torelli was responsible for the spec- 20 tacle. 15 ibid., pp. 153-161. 16 ibid., pp. 164-173. 17 Simon T. Worsthorne, Venetian Opera in the Seventeenth Century (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1954), p. 2*. 18 Per Bjurstrom, Giacomo Torelli and Baroque Stage Design (Stockholm: Almquist and Wicksell, 1961), pp. 53-57. 19 Worsthorne, pp. 176-172. 20 Alois M. Nagler (ed.), A Source Book in Theatrical History (New York: Dover Publications, 1952), pp. 167-172. Pano 1677. II Trlonfo della contlnenza was produced as the opening production at the Teatro della Fortuna in 1677. Giacomo 21 Torelli was responsible for the spectacle. 21 Bjurstrom, pp. 216-230. BIBLIOGRAPHY Primary Sources I. Unpublished Materials Archives Nationales, Paris. Vol. ol.3238-42. McDowell Archives F. 2634. Archivio di Stato, Parma. Mappe e Dlsegni, Vol. 4. McDowell Archives F. 2404. Biblioteca Communale Ariostea, Ferrara. Ms. Cl. 1. N. 763. McDowell Archives F. 2424. Biblioteca Oliveriani di Pesaro. Ms. Oliveriani 312. McDowell Archives F. 2653. Biblioteca Palatina, Parma. Ms. 3708. McDowell Archives F. 2048. Bibliotheque de l'Opera, Paris. Res. C853. McDowell Archives F. 1703. Nationalmuseum, Stockholm. Tessin Collection, Vol. S7. McDowell Archives F. 2425. 2. Published Materials Atlas; Van de stad Amsterdam. Amsterdam, 1767-75 McDowell Archives F. 2229. Beijer, Agne. Slottsteatratna pa Drottningholro och Gripsholm. Malmo: Ljustrycksaustalt, 1937. Diderot, DeniB. Recueil de Planches aur les arts Mechaniques avec leur explication. Vol. X of Encyclopedia. 10 Vols. Paris: Chez Brisson, 1777. Dubreuil, Jean. La Perspective Pratique. Paris, 1642-49. McDowell Archives F. 32. Dumont, Gabriel Pierre Martin. Parallele de plans des plus belles salles de spectacles d*Italic et de France avec details de machines theatrale. Paris, 1774 McDowell Archives F. fifi, 271 272 Fabris# Jacopo. Instruction In der Teatralischen Archltectur and Hechanlgue. Ed. Torben Krogh. Copenhagen! Leven and Mronksgaarel, 1930. Secondary Sources. Baur-Heinhold, Margarete. The Baroque Theatre. New York: McGraw- Hill Book Company, 1967. Bleber, Margarete. The History of the Greek and Roman Theatre. Princetont Princeton University Press, 1961. Beijer, Agne. "An Early 16th Century Scenic Design in the National Museum, Stockholm, and its Historical Background," Theatre Research, IV, 2, 85-155. . "Le Theatre de Charles XII et la Mise en Scene de Theatre parle au XVII siecle," Revue d*Histoire du Theatre, 1956, 197- 214 ______. Les Theatre de Drottningholm et de Gripsholm," Revue d’Histoire du Theatre. 1956, 215-227. ______. "Vigarani et Berain au Palais Royal," Revue d'Histoire du Theatre, 1956, 1B4-196. Bjurstrom, Per. Giacomo Torelli and Baroque Stage Design. Stockholm: Almquist and Wiksell, 1961. Campbell, Lily Bess. Scenes and Machines on the English Stage during the Renaissance. Cambridge: The University Press, 1923. Carrick, Edward. "An Astounding Discovery Made by a Subscriber to the Mask," Mask Magazine, Vol. 13 (1927), 87-88. . "Some Old Theatre Plans." Mask Maqazine, Vol. 13 (1927), 132^147. . "Theatre Machines in Italy, 1400-1800," The Architectural Review, 70 (July, 1931), 9-16; 70 (August, 1931), 34-38. Cobes, Jon P. "The Court Theatres of the Farnese from 1618-1690." Unpublished PhD Thesis, The Ohio State University, 1967. Cole, Doriece Burritt. "A Record of Men in the Baroque Physical Theatre." Unpublished M. A. Thesis, University of Washington, 1943. 273 Gamble, William Bert. The Development of Scenic Art and Stage Machinery. Mew Yorkt The Mew York Public Library, 1928. Gascoigne, Bamber. World Theatrei An Illustrated History. Bostont Little, Brown and Company, 1968. Hawley, James, and Allen S. Jackson. "Scene-changing at the Palais Royale (1770-1781)," The Ohio State University Theatre Collection Bulletin, 8 (1961), 9-23. Hewitt, Bernard (ed.). The Renaissance Stager Documents of Serllo, Sabbattini and Furttenbach. Miamii University of Miami Press, 1958. Hom-Monvall, M. "La Grande Machlnerle Theatrale et ses Origins," Revue d'Hlstolre du Theatre, 1957, 292-308. Keller, A. G. A Theatre of Machines. Mew York: The Macmillan Company, 1964. Kernodle, George R. From Art to Theatre. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1964. ______. "Perspective in the Renaissance: The Pictorial Sources and the Development of Scenic Forms." Unpublished PhD Thesis, Yale University, 1937. Klemm, Friedrich. A History of Western Technology. Trans. Waley Singer. Cambridge: The M. I. T. Press, 1964. Larson, Orville K. "Italian Stage Machinery, 1500-1700." Unpublished PHD Thesis, University of Illinois, 1956. . "Nicola Sabbattini's Description of Stage Machinery from Pratica di fabricar scene £ Machine ne teatri (Ravenna 1638): An Explanation and Commentary," Players Magazine, October 1962, 13-20; and November 1962, 47 ff. Lauman, E. M. La Machinerie au Theatre depuis les Grecs Jusqu'a nos jours. Paris: Maison Didot, n/d. Lawrenson, T. E. The French Stage in the XVIIth Century: A Study of the Advent of the Italian Order. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1957. Leclerc, Helene, Les Orlglnes Italiennes de 11 architecture theatrale modeme. Paris: Bibliotheque de la Societie des Historiens du Theatre, 22 (1946). 274 Mayer, Ralph. The Artist^ Handbook of Materials and Techniques. New Yorkt The Viking Press, 1970. Mohler, Prank C. II. "An Analysis of the Plans for the Seminary of the Collegio Romano," The Ohio State University Theatre Collection Bulletin, 16 (1969), 39-53. . "Architectural Observations on the Theatre in the Collegio Romano and the Seminario Romano," The Ohio State University Theatre Collection Bulletin, 16 (1969), 54-64. ^ • Morgan, Morris Hickey (trans.). Vitruvius: The Ten Books on Architecture. New York: Dover Publications, 1960. Moynet, Georges. Trues et Decors: La Machinerle Theatrale. Paris: La Llhrairie Illustree, 1893. Moynet, M. J. L*Envers du Theatre: Machines et Decorations. Paris: Librairie Hachette et Cfe., 1873. Nagler, A. M. Theatre Festivals of the Medici, 1539-1637. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1964. ______. A Source Book in Theatrical History. New York: Dover Publications, 1952. Niemeyer, Grover Charles. "The Renaissance and Baroque Theatre in France: The Playhouses and the Mise-en-Scene. Unpublished PhD Thesis, Yale University, 1942. Nicoll, Allardyce. Development of the Theatre. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1957. ______. Stuart Masques and the Renaissance Stage. New York: Benjamin Bloom, Inc., 1963. Povoledo, Elena. "Macchine e ingegni del teatro Farnese," Prospettiva, IX (1929), 49- 60. Scholz, Janos. Baroque and Romantic Stage Design. New York: E. P. Dutton and Company, Inc., 1962. Sonrel, Pierre. Traite de Scenographie. Paris: Odette Lieutier, 1943. South, I. Jay. "The Mechaniques of Sabbattini." Unpublished M. A. Thesis, Carnegie Institute of Technology, 1959. 275 Southern, Richard. Changeable Scenery: Its Origin and Development in the British Theatre. London* Faber and Faber, Limited, 1951. Worsthorne, Simon T. Venetian Opera in the Seventeenth Century. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1954.