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CRO55 SECTION THRO A B

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Originally appearing in Volume V26, Page 736 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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CRO55 See also:

SECTION THRO A B . F1c. 6.-See also:Plan and Section of Covent See also:Garden See also:Stage. drenchers above See also:fire-resisting curtains and tc so arrange the working of the See also:curtain that it can be lowered from four points, i.e. from both sides of the stage, from the prompt See also:side flies and from the stage See also:door. According to the See also:Lord See also:Chamberlain's rules, fire resisting curtains must be lowered once during a performance. This is a See also:wise measure for testing the efficiency of the appliances. Au-mom-rms.—Modern See also:Opera Houses and Theatres, 3 vols. See also:grand See also:folio, by See also:Edwin O. See also:Sachs (1896-99) ; Stage Construction, 1 vol. grand folio, by Edwin O. Sachs (1896) ; " See also:Engineering ": Articles on Stage Mechanism, by Edwin O. Sachs (1895-97) ; Fires and Public Entertainments, 1 vol. See also:quarto, by Edwin O. Sachs (1897); Le See also:Theatre, 1 vol. See also:net., by See also:Charles Gamier (1871); See also:Les Theatres The following is a detailed description of the Covent Garden See also:installation. The stage may be described as consisting of a See also:series of six See also:horizontal sections See also:running parallel with the curtain See also:line from front to back, each section being 8 ft. wide, and the whole being followed by a large back or See also:rear stage.

The first section contains nothing but a See also:

plain " See also:carpet cut," and openings to take the old-fashioned " See also:grave " See also:trap, " See also:star " trap, or other similar contrivances. The second and third sections comprise large See also:bridges, which can be raised 6 ft. above the stage or lowered 8 ft. below the stage, constructed in two levels, on the See also:lower level of which appliances can be installed for the purpose of raising See also:minor platforms above stage level or sinking traps and the like. The See also:fourth, fifth and See also:sixth sections comprise large bridges running right across the stage front, which can be raised 9 ft. above the stage or lowered 8 ft. below it. The back stage has no openings or mechanism beyond certain trap-doors to a scenery See also:store, and the necessary See also:electrical mechanism for raising and lowering scenery for storage purposes. Between the various sections of the stage, See also:long See also:longitudinal flaps, 2 ft. wide, have been formed, which can be easily opened to allow scenery to be passed through below for transformation scenes and the like. Each section is equipped with what is termed a pair of chariots, to hold " wing " See also:lights placed on so-called wing ladders. All the electrical bridges are worked from the " See also:mezzanine " level and from See also:ordinary switch-boards, and can be raised and lowered at various speeds, and take loads up to 2 tons. They can be moved without vibration or See also:noise at a cost of about id. for See also:power on a full rise when loaded. Above the stage level each section has its series of lines to take cloths, See also:borders, &c. Each section has a See also:batten, from which the electric battens are suspended, and has also a large wooden lattice girder, from which heavy pieces of scenery can be hung. There are, on the See also:average, about ten lines for ordinary battens, a girder batten, and a See also:light batten to each section; besides these lines, heavy and require See also:counter-weighting to a nicety, but if well made there are the equipments of flying apparatus and the like, whilst I and fitted may be deemed satisfactory. It is advisable to See also:fit in front there are, of course, the necessary lines for tableaux curtains, See also:act-drops and draperies.

Everything that is suspended from above can be worked at stage level or at either of the See also:

gallery levels, every See also:scene being counter-weighted to a nicety, so that one See also:man can easily handle it. No See also:mechanical contrivance is required, and in practice quite a number of scenes can be rapidly changed in a very See also:short See also:time. Throughout the structure and mechanism See also:steel has been used, with See also:iron pulleys and See also:wire See also:cable; and the inflammable materials have been absolutely reduced to the flooring of the gridiron and galleries and the hardwood flooring of the stage and mezzanine. In other words, an See also:absolute minimum of inflammable material replaces what was almost a maximum; and seeing Aneiais, by Georges See also:Bourdon (1902); See also:Die Theater, Wien, 2 vols. Quarto, by Josef Bayer (1894). (E. O. S.) "SPECTACLE" The See also:appeal to the See also:eye has been the essential feature of dramatic See also:production in its many stages of development from the earliest times of the See also:miracle plays and " moralities," See also:mummers and See also:morris-dancers, down through the centuries, in the See also:form of masques and ballets, to the luxuriance of scenic and See also:costume display that is lavished on the latest forms of theatrical entertainment. Considering the enormous advance that has been made in mechanical appliances, more especially in the increased See also:powers of See also:illumination supplied by See also:gas and See also:electricity' as compared with oil and candles, we must acknowledge that the See also:artistic achievement of spectacle has hardly kept See also:pace with the times. If we may See also:credit the veracity of contemporary chroniclers, the most elaborate effects and illusions were successfully at-tempted in the various courtly entertainments that are recorded under the Tudor and See also:Stuart dynasties, and found perhaps their most sumptuous expression in the courts of See also:Louis X1V. and Louis XV. It would be a difficult task for the most experienced of See also:modern stage managers to See also:rival the splendours of See also:apparel and the ingenious devices that were exploited in increasing magnificence during successive periods, as described by See also:Froissart, See also:Holinshed, See also:Cavendish, See also:Stow, See also:Pepys and other writers. The sums expended on these entertainments were prodigious, and a perusal of the extraordinarily detailed descriptions of such lavishly appointed masques as those designed by Inigo See also:Jones in particular renders credible the statement that a certain masque presented before Charles I. at the Inns of See also:Court in 1633 cost 121,000.

Spectacle in its earlier phases appears to have existed chietiy in connexion with court and civic ceremonial: as evidenced in the wonderful pageantry of the See also:

Field of the See also:Cloth of See also:Gold; in such princely entertainment as the See also:Revels at See also:Kenilworth, when the See also:Earl of See also:Leicester welcomed See also:Queen See also:Elizabeth in a series of splendid fetes; and in the more accomplished imaginings of See also:Ben See also:Jonson, decorated by Inigo Jones, such as the Inns of Court masque, already cited. The scenic effects and illusions which had evidently been brought to See also:great perfection in these masques were not devoted to the service of the See also:drama in the public theatres until See also:Davenant introduced them at the See also:period of the Restoration, although See also:simple scenery, probably See also:mere background " cloths," had been seen on the stage as See also:early as 1605. The built-up stage pictures, See also:familiar to us as " set-scenes," are said to owe their origin to See also:Philip See also:James de Loutherbourg. R.A., and to have been first used in 1777; but it is difficult to believe that some such elaborate constructions had not already enjoyed a See also:term of popularity in view of the contemporary paintings and engravings of the See also:epoch of Louis XIV., who was himself not averse from appearing (in 16J3) as " Le Roi Soleil " in the midst of an entourage combining much that was artistic and fanciful with the most pompous and most absurd incongruities of See also:character and costume. A greater measure of elegance and refinement distinguished the See also:spectacles of the reign of Louis XV., inspired by the delicate ' The See also:Savoy Theatre, See also:London, was first entirely lighted by electricity in 1882. The various methods of See also:lighting used have been an important See also:item in the production of striking effects. The old See also:system of a See also:row of " See also:foot-lights, " with their unpleasant upward See also:shadow, is now almost obsolete. See also:Dip candles were used till 1720, when moulded candles were introduced into See also:French theatres. The next improvement was the See also:lamp of M. Argand, with its circular See also:wick. In 1822 gas was first used in a Parisian theatre, next came the oxyhydrogen See also:lime-light, used for See also:special effects, and then electric lighting. The old way of producing See also:lightning was to See also:blow See also:lycopodium or powdered See also:resin with See also:bellows through a See also:flame, and this is still used in realistic effects of conflagrations.

More effective lightning is now made by flashing the electric light behind a scene painted with clouds, in which a zigzag See also:

aperture has been cut out and filled with a transparent substance. See also:Thunder is made by shaking large sheets of iron. See also:Wind is imitated by a See also:machine with a cogged See also:cylinder, which revolves against coarse cloth tightly stretched. he See also:sound of See also:rain is produced by shaking parched peas in a See also:metal cylinder.See also:art of See also:Watteau, See also:Boucher and See also:Lancret, and preserved for our delectation in their delightful canvases. Under the French Revolution the spectacular See also:ballet lost much of . its See also:prestige; and its decorative features were for a time principally associated with the fetes inaugurated by the See also:Republic, and presented in the classic costume, which the severity of the new regime adopted as a reaction, or as a protest against the frivolities and furbelows of the obliterated See also:monarchy. The Festival of the Supreme Being, decreed by the See also:National See also:Convention, designed by See also:David and conducted by See also:Robespierre, was perhaps the most impressive spectacle of the See also:close of the 18th See also:century. The rgth century saw spectacle devoted almost exclusively to theatrical entertainment. In London, See also:melodrama, both of the romantic and domestic description, claimed its illustrative aid. At See also:Drury See also:Lane Theatre (which, with Covent Garden, the Adelphi and See also:Astley's, was first illuminated by gas in 1817—18) the See also:Cataract of the See also:Ganges, with its cascade of real See also:water and its prancing steeds, made a great sensation in 1823, and the same stage in 1842, under See also:Macready's management, displayed the " moving See also:wave " effect in the Sicilian views, painted by See also:William See also:Clarkson See also:Stanfield for See also:Acis and Galatea. The See also:Lyceum Theatre from 1847 to 1855 introduced a long series of elegant extravaganzas from the See also:pen of J. R. See also:Planche, elaborately illustrated by the scenery of William See also:Beverly. The See also:Golden See also:Branch, the See also:King of the Peacocks and the See also:Island of Jewels (See also:Christmas 1849) were the most remarkable of these productions, and were noteworthy as originating the fantastic See also:fairy pictures that became known as " transformation scenes," and were copied and popularized in all directions.

Beverly's skilful See also:

brush was at a later date employed at Drury Lane to enhance the attractions of a See also:succession of spectacular versions of See also:Sir See also:Walter See also:Scott's novels, Amy See also:Robsart (1870), Rob See also:Roy (with a beautiful See also:panorama of the See also:Trossachs scenery), Rebecca, See also:England in the Days of Charles II., and others. Later still, under the regime of Sir See also:Augustus See also:Harris and his successors, spectacle at Drury Lane assumed even more costly proportions, and modern melodramas, representing well-known localities with extra-ordinary fidelity and all kinds of disasters from earthquakes to avalanches, have been alternated with sumptuously mounted pantomimes (so-called), in which the nominal fairy-tales were almost smothered by the See also:paraphernalia of scenery and costume. It is remarkable that, for a " run " of ten See also:weeks only, such a sum as £16,000 each can have been profitably expended on more than one of these productions. London playgoers will recall the processional glories of A See also:Dream of See also:Fair See also:Women, designed by See also:Alfred See also:Thompson; The See also:Land of Fairy Tales, by See also:Percy See also:Anderson; and The See also:Silver See also:Wedding (Puss in Boots), The See also:Paradise of the Birds (Babes in the See also:Wood), and The Gods and Goddesses of See also:Olympus (See also:Jack and the Beanstalk), for which Mr Wil helm was responsible. The See also:Armada, a See also:historical drama (1888), also deserves to be remembered for the completeness and excellence of its spectacular features. In addition to the names of Clarkson Stanfield and Beverly, already cited as masters of scenic art, it must not be forgotten that the skill of David See also:Roberts was also devoted to the embellishment of the stage; and the names of Grieve, the Telbins (See also:father and son), See also:Hawes See also:Craven, and J. Harker have in successive years carried on the best traditions of the art. Alfred Thompson was one of the first to revise the conventionalities of fanciful stage costume, and to impart a French lightness of See also:touch and delicacy of See also:colour. A ballet, See also:Yolande, which he dressed for the See also:Alhambra in the 'sixties, was the first See also:Japanese spectacle to See also:grace the See also:English stage; arid he was also mainly responsible for the attractions of Babil and Bijou, which cost upwards of £11,000 at Covent Garden Theatre in 1872, and was at the time considered to have surpassed all former spectacular accomplishments. It achieved, however, merely a succes d'estime, and has bequeathed to a later See also:generation only the recollections of its " See also:Spring " See also:choir of boys, and of the brilliant danseuse, Henriette d'Or, who revived memories of the great days of the ballet, when See also:Taglioni, Cerito, See also:Elssler, Duvernay and other " Deesses de la Danse," appeared under Lumley's management at the old Her See also:Majesty's Theatre in the Haymarket. Since the memorable tenancy of See also:Sadler's See also:Wells Theatre by See also:Phelps (1844—62), See also:Shakespeare and spectacle have been honourably associated. Charles See also:Kean's revivals at the Princess's Theatre (1850—59) deservedly attracted considerable See also:attention for the splendour and accuracy of their See also:archaeology.

See also:

Byron's See also:Sardanapalus was also a See also:triumph for the same management in 1853; and the same theatre three deca-les later witnessed the production (See also:December 1883) by See also:Wilson See also:Barrett of Claudian, a romantic poetic drama of classic days, mounted so exquisitely as to gain See also:Ruskin's enthusiastic praise But undoubtedly the earliest noteworthy See also:alliance of spectacle with Shakespeare was made by Sir See also:Henry See also:Irving at the Lyceum. The art of Royal Academicians was happily enlisted to add lustre and distinction to his productions. . Ravenswood and the sumptuously presented Henry VIII. (1892) owed much to the co-operation of Mr See also:Seymour See also:Lucas. Sir See also:Lawrence See also:Alma-Tadema supervised Cymbeline and See also:Coriolanus (1901), whilst Sir See also:Edward Burne-Jones inspired the decoration of King See also:Arthur (1895). In See also:Tennyson's See also:Cup (produced in See also:January 1881) and in the beautiful revival of Romeo and Juliet it was See also:felt that perfection of stage illusion could scarcely go farther, but the next production, Much See also:Ado about Nothing, with its superb See also:church scene by Telbin, was admittedly Irving's crowning success, alike from the artistic, the dramatic, the spectacular and the See also:financial standpoints. Great praise was equally won by the version of See also:Faust, which was frankly spectacular, and by the more See also:recent Robespierre by See also:Sardou. Shakespeare and the poetic drama were also finely illustrated by Mr Beerbohm See also:Tree, who secured Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema's See also:interest for See also:Hypatia at the Haymarket, and See also:Julius See also:Caesar at the new His Majesty's; whilst for his later productions, King See also:John, A Midsummer See also:Night's Dream, See also:Herod (by See also:Stephen See also:Phillips), Twelfth Night (1901), and such later plays as his revival of Antony and See also:Cleopatra (1907), he was assisted by the designs of Percy Anderson, an artist who made his See also:mark in the costumes for a series of the operas at the Savoy Theatre, notably the 15th-century dresses for the Beauty See also:Stone. Spectacular features of exceptional refinement distinguished the See also:pantomime of See also:Cinderella, presented by Mr Oscar Barrett at the Lyceum Theatre in Christmas 1893, and designed by Mr Wilhelm. This production also enjoyed a prosperous See also:season in New See also:York. The system of See also:international See also:exchange seems to hold See also:good in stage spectacle as in other cases, and in return for English successes that have been welcomed in See also:America, Augustin See also:Daly's Shakespearean productions were greatly admired in London. Other entertainments of a more absolutely spectacular See also:order found See also:acceptance in London.

In connexion with See also:

Barnum and See also:Bailey's See also:Hippodrome, Imre Kiralfy's show, See also:Nero, constituted a "See also:mammoth See also:combination," and attracted crowds to " See also:Olympia " in 1890. The success of this latter spectacle of colour and See also:movement, which was also designed by Mr Wilhelm, induced Mr Kiralfy to produce a still more ambitious entertainment the following season, See also:Venice, designed by the same artist. A spectacle on these lines may be regarded as the outcome of such ballets as have long been popular on the See also:continent of Europe—especially in See also:Italy, where grace of movement and spontaneity of gesture are natural to the See also:people, and greatly facilitate such an enterprise as the famous Excelsior ballet of AMIanzotti, which lasted a whole evening, in several acts, and required the services of hundreds of figurantes. Excelsior was originally produced at La Scala, See also:Milan, in January 1881, and was subsequently given with great success at the See also:Eden Theatre, See also:Paris, in 1883. The revived popularity of the modern ballet, as at the See also:Empire Theatre, London, has also been associated with some memorable triumphs of spectacle with which the name of Mr Wilhelm was closely identified as designer. (C.

End of Article: CRO55 SECTION THRO A B

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