Palladio's Teatro Olimpico . . .
Perspective stage ...
The Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza
UNESCO World Heritage Site and marvel: The Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza.
The Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza in northeastern Italy is definitely worth a visit! It is the first free-standing theater building in Europe since ancient times and the oldest covered theater in the world.
It was built by the architect Andrea Palladio between 1580 and 1585 in the style of a Roman theater and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Theater and music productions take place in the Teatro Olimpico.
The members of the Olympic Academy of Vicenza, of which Palladio was a member, were particularly interested in the stage arts and commissioned him to build a theater hall.
The stage architecture was designed by his student Vincenzo Scamozzi after his sudden death.
At the opening in 1585, the play "King Oedipus" by Sophocles was performed. Palladio did not live to see it.
The Teatro Olimpico was initially a great success, but operations were stopped during the Counter-Reformation. From the middle of the 19th century, occasional performances were held again, but it was not until the post-war period that the theater regained its former fame.
The Teatro Olimpico can also be visited independently of the performances.
Palladio modified the ancient specifications that he had studied in detail in Rome. The auditorium is a semi-oval with 14 ascending rows of seats, which are closed off by a colonnade. The stage wall offers a view of a palace, a city that is supposed to represent Thebes.
Since the houses are smaller towards the back and the stage floor rises towards the back, the scene appears much deeper - a perspective stage.
The stage design is unchangeable.
Goethe was also impressed by Palladio's architecture at the beginning of his trip to Italy in 1786.
The Teatro Olimpico is now only allowed to accommodate 400 spectators (it used to be allowed to accommodate 800 spectators). Depending on the performance, the concert pit is also set up for theatergoers.
The series of events begins in spring with classical music concerts and evenings as part of the Vicenza Jazz Festival.
Classical plays are then performed in autumn. Since the theater cannot be heated or air-conditioned, performances are not possible in summer or winter.
In 1986, director Jean-Pierre Ponnelle filmed the opera "Mitridate, re di Ponto" by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in the Teatro Olimpico.
Al Roker, an American producer and actor, released the documentary "Empire of the Eye: The Magic of Illusion" in 2003, in which he describes the spectacular illusions that Palladio created behind the scenes of the Teatro Olimpico.
And if you haven't experienced enough culture yet: From Vicenza you can quickly reach three other UNESCO cultural sites: Venice, Verona, and Padua!
_V0A0432_34_pa2
Palladio's Teatro Olimpico . . .
Perspective stage ...
The Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza
UNESCO World Heritage Site and marvel: The Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza.
The Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza in northeastern Italy is definitely worth a visit! It is the first free-standing theater building in Europe since ancient times and the oldest covered theater in the world.
It was built by the architect Andrea Palladio between 1580 and 1585 in the style of a Roman theater and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Theater and music productions take place in the Teatro Olimpico.
The members of the Olympic Academy of Vicenza, of which Palladio was a member, were particularly interested in the stage arts and commissioned him to build a theater hall.
The stage architecture was designed by his student Vincenzo Scamozzi after his sudden death.
At the opening in 1585, the play "King Oedipus" by Sophocles was performed. Palladio did not live to see it.
The Teatro Olimpico was initially a great success, but operations were stopped during the Counter-Reformation. From the middle of the 19th century, occasional performances were held again, but it was not until the post-war period that the theater regained its former fame.
The Teatro Olimpico can also be visited independently of the performances.
Palladio modified the ancient specifications that he had studied in detail in Rome. The auditorium is a semi-oval with 14 ascending rows of seats, which are closed off by a colonnade. The stage wall offers a view of a palace, a city that is supposed to represent Thebes.
Since the houses are smaller towards the back and the stage floor rises towards the back, the scene appears much deeper - a perspective stage.
The stage design is unchangeable.
Goethe was also impressed by Palladio's architecture at the beginning of his trip to Italy in 1786.
The Teatro Olimpico is now only allowed to accommodate 400 spectators (it used to be allowed to accommodate 800 spectators). Depending on the performance, the concert pit is also set up for theatergoers.
The series of events begins in spring with classical music concerts and evenings as part of the Vicenza Jazz Festival.
Classical plays are then performed in autumn. Since the theater cannot be heated or air-conditioned, performances are not possible in summer or winter.
In 1986, director Jean-Pierre Ponnelle filmed the opera "Mitridate, re di Ponto" by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in the Teatro Olimpico.
Al Roker, an American producer and actor, released the documentary "Empire of the Eye: The Magic of Illusion" in 2003, in which he describes the spectacular illusions that Palladio created behind the scenes of the Teatro Olimpico.
And if you haven't experienced enough culture yet: From Vicenza you can quickly reach three other UNESCO cultural sites: Venice, Verona, and Padua!
_V0A0432_34_pa2