Horseshoe-shaped theatre |
According to an architectural principle that appeared in Italy in the early 17th century, in horseshoe-shaped theatres the auditorium and the stage match each other and are physically separated by the proscenium. The auditorium consists of stalls and ground-floor boxes (baignoires), as well as boxes and dress and upper circles on several floors. All these take up three sides of the auditorium to form a horseshoe-shaped room. The audience can see and be seen, and is seated according to an economic and social hierarchy. Behind the curtain is the stage area, and, hidden from the public, the stage equipment and machinery. Many of France's historic theatres are horseshoe-shaped. That of the Comédie-Française is listed as a historic building or Monument historique. See also Proscenium, Stage structure, Boxes, Stalls, Curtain. |