Music, Body, and Stage: The Iconography of Music Theater and Opera Selected papers presented at the tenth conference of the research center for mustc iconography and the twelfth conference of the repertoire international d'lconographie musicale The Graduate Center of the City University of New York, 11-14 March 2008 Music in Art International Journal for Music Iconography Vol. XXXIV, no. 1-2 Spring-Fall 2009 Editor Zdravko Blažekovič Music in Art (ISSN 1522-7464) is the continuation of the RIdlM/RCMI Newsletter, volume I (1975) to volume XXII (1997). Thejournal is published yearly and annual subscription rates are $125 for institutions and $40 for individuals. Articles may be submitted in English, French, Italian, Spanish, or German. The journal also reviews books and exhibitions. Letters from readers are welcomed. The editor reserves the right to publish letters in excerpted form and to edit for concision and clarity. Authors are responsible for obtaining permission to publish each of their illustrations and music examples. Music in Art is abstracted in RILM Abstracts of Music Literature; Bibliography of the History of Art (BHA); International Index of Music Periodicals (IIMP); Bibliographie des Musik-schriftums (BMS); and cited in Music Index and Art Index. Printed by Imprimerie REF, Montreal, in November 2009. © MMIX Research Center for Music Iconography CUNY. All rights reserved. No part of the contents may be reproduced without the written permission of the publisher. The City University of New York, The Graduate Center Barry S. Brook Center for Music Research and Documentation Research Center for Music Iconography 365 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10016-4309 Phone(212)817-1992. Fax (212) 817-1569 zblazekovic@gc.cuny.edu web.gc.cuny.edu/rcmi Ay ana O. Smith 7 On Tupos: Iconography and Verisimilitude in Early Arcadia Desmond Hosford 21 Anthropomorphic Terror: The Bete-Machine, the Ballet de Cour, and the Tragédie en Musique Bruno Forment 31 Trimming Scenic Invention: Oblique Perspective as Poetics of Discipline Jana Spáčilová & Štěpán Vácha 44 New Insights into the Performance of Fux's Opera Costanza e Fortezza in Prague in 1723 Christine Fischer 73 Engravings of Opera Stage Settings as Festival Books: Thoughts on a New Perspective of Weil-Known Sources Berta Joncus 89 "A Likeness Where None Was to Be Found": Imagining Kitty Clive (1711-1785) Michael Burden 107 Imaging Mandane: Character, Costume, Monument Margaret R. Butler 138 "Olivero's" Painting of Turin's Teatro Regio: Toward a Reevaluation of an Operatic Emblem John A. Rice 153 Mid-Eighteenth-Century Opera Seria Evoked in a Print by Marc'Antonio dal Re Nicole Lallement 165 Iconography of Rameau's Opera: The Dardanus Example Ruth Piquer Sanclemente & Gorka Rubiales Žabařte 177 Music Representation and Ideology in the Paintings of Francisco de Goya and His Contemporaries Carol Padgham Albrecht 191 The Face of the Vienna Court Opera, 1804-1805 Theodore Albrecht 203 Picturing the Players in the Pit: The Orchestra of Vienna's Kärntnertor Theater, 1821-1822 Anita Breckbill 215 André Gill and Musicians in Paris in the 1860s and 1870s: Caricatures in La Lune and L'Eclipse Anna Maria Ioannoni Fiore 229 "Tipi... all'Opera": Personages, Situations and Events of the Operatic Life in Nineteenth-Century Naples. The Point of View of Melchiorre de Filippis Delfico Laura Citti 245 The "Messa in Scena" of the Casa Musicale Sonzogno: An Iconography of Stage Direction at the End of the Nineteenth Century Olga Jesurum 254 From Giuseppe Rossi to Primo Conti: Italian Set Designs for Verdi's Un Ballo in Maschera in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries Clair Rowden 274 Opera, Caricature and the Unconscious: Jules Massenet's Thais, a Case Study Samuel N. Dorf 291 Seeing Sappho in Paris: Operatic and Choreographic Adaptations of Sapphic Lives and Myths Holly Mathieson 311 The "True Wagnerian" and the English Imagination: The Image of Hans Richter Emile Wennekes 317 Mengelberg Conducts Oberon: The Conductor as Actor, Anno 1931 iconographic collections introduce themselves Tibetan Art Collection at the Museo d'Arte Orientale, Turin Cristina Santarelli 337 summaries of contributions Biographies of Authors 346 350 1. Anton Birkhardt after Giuseppe Galli-Bibiena, Teatro e Proscenio della festa Teatrale intitolata COSTANZA e FORTEZZA rappresentata nel Reale Castello di Praga L'anno MDCCXXIII. (1723). Engraving, 655 x 519 mm (sheet); 638 x 495 mm (print). Prague, Národní galerie, inv. no. R 234494. Music in Art XXXIV/1-2 (2009) New Insights into the Performance of Fux's Opera Costanza e Fortezza in Prague in 1723 Jana Spáčilová & Štěpán Vácha Ustav hudební vědy Filozofické fakulty Masarykovy univerzity Ústav dějin umění Akademie věd České republiky, v.v.i. In memory of Otto G. Schŕndler (f2008) The festive opera Costanza e Fortezza (Constancy and Strength), with music by Johann Joseph Fux (1660-1741) and libretto by Pietro Pariati (1665-1733), represents in many ways a unique musical theatrical piece.1 It was performed twice on an open stage of substantial dimensions on the grounds of Prague Castle on the occasion of the Emperor Charles VPs visit to Bohemia for his coronation in 1723 [fig. 1]. The unique historical background and the exceptional demands posed by the staging of this theatrical performance have attracted the interest of generations of researchers from a number of fields—theater studies, musicology and art history. The basic source for our knowledge of the opera — apart from the score and the libretto — is a collection of seven engravings depicting the appearance of the theater and the set, designed by the court theater architect Giuseppe Galli-Bibiena (1696-1756). The detailed prints were created to provide information about the appearance of the theater, which was destined to be dismantled after the performance. Although on some of them the opera is shown being performed, the cycle of prints cannot be considered as a truthful documentary record of either of the two performances. They were printed in advance and it is clear that they were distributed along with the printed libretto, although probably only to the more important members of the audience.2 The printing of the libretto and the prints was arranged for in Vienna by Johann Wolfgang Haymerle.3 He evidently did so under pressure of time, for this is the only explanation for the fact that the task of converting Galli-Bibiena's original drawings into print form was entrusted to no less than seven engravers. And yet the production of similar albums of prints accompanying important performances at the imperial court was not particularly unusual. Well-known examples are the engravings for another opera by Fux, Angelica, Vincitrice di Alcina (1716),4 and Giuseppe Galli-Bibiena published set designs for two further festive operas from the years 1719 and 1722 in his publication Architetture, eprospettive (Vienna 1740).5 Similar representations of court festivities were also made elsewhere. Here we can mention the extensive collection of drawings for an album of engravings that was never published, depicting the famous Festivities of the Planets (Planetenfeste), held at the court in Dresden in 1719 on the occasion of the wedding of the Saxon Electoral Prince Friedrich August and the Archduchess Maria Josepha.6 Galli-Bibiena's set of engravings from 1723 will aid us in our investigation into the construction of the theater in Prague and the staging of the opera Costanza e Fortezza, but we will base our conclusions on new findings as well. The aim of this study is to present an overall picture of Galli-Bibiena's Prague theater and the background to its construction, and to examine some aspects of the performance itself that have so far been overlooked. © 2009 Research Center for Music Iconography CUNY 45 Jana Spáčilová & Štěpán Vácha, The Performance of Tux's Opera Costanza e Fortezza in Prague in 1723 CostanzaeFortezza in the Context of Opera Performances at the Viennese Court. Because both performances of Fux's opera Costanza e Fortezza (28 August and 2 September 1723) took place a few days before the coronation of Charles VI as King of Bohemia on 5 September and of his consort Elisabeth Christina as Queen on 8 September, it is customary to regard this work as a festive coronation opera, and it is described in this way in one of the most frequently cited historical testimonies, the autobiography of Johann Joachim Quantz (1697-1773), who actively participated in the performance. According to Quantz, the opera was performed "bey der Krönung Carls des Sechsten".7 Since that time Costanza e Fortezza has regularly appeared in both specialist publications and popular texts with the attribute "coronation opera". On examining the sources, however, another, rarely mentioned function of this festive opera performance comes to light. On the title pages of the score and the libretto,8 in the press of the time, and in other contemporary reports the opera is referred to be performed for the celebration of the birthday of the Empress Elisabeth Christina. For example, the chronicler of the Premonstratensian monastery Strahov in Prague noted that it was performed first in honor of the Empress's birthday and then again during the period of the coronation.9 The issue of the double celebratory function of this opera — Charles's coronation and Elisabeth Christina's birthday —is quite an extensive one, and a whole series of researchers have already addressed it.10 This duality is displayed above all in the storyline of the opera, which is a combination of various dramatic and homage-paying motifs. The double purpose is also evident from the fact that there are two versions of the final homage-paying scene, known as the licenza. It is characteristic of the libretto of Baroque court operas that only in the concluding licenza the preceding elements of the plot are brought together and explained, and the overall theme of the piece is placed in a new context. Two texts for the licenza are written in the score, the first, original, one addressed to the Empress Elisabeth Christina, and the second (added in a different hand) to the Emperor Charles. The printed libretto (at least all known copies of it) contains only the first version of the text. Here we provide the full wording of both texts of the licenza, with the passages containing the most important changes marked in italics, so that the difference between the two conclusions can be clearly seen. two variants of the texts for the licenza of costanza e fortezza Aria Aria Tal tu sei, che non arriva a lodarti uman pensiero, e se il brama in vano. Ma col fingerti una Diva, piú si agguaglia a te la lode e 1' suo ardir ě men profano. Tal tu sei, che de' tuoi regni f ai la speme e sommo bene co' tuoi merti, e co'tuoi fregi. E' spiegando i vanti tuoi a gli Eroi tu gloria in segni e'il regnar tu insegni a i Regi. Coro Coro Grande Augusta, ä tuoi natali irnrnrnortali alzi Roma Archi e Trofei. Ed applaudano al ritorno di un teil Giorno i Penati amici Dei. Grande Augusta, a tue corone gia dispone lieto Mondo Archi e Trofei. Ed applaudano a l'impegno del tuo regno i Penati amici Dei. Coro e ballo - Minuet A Vesta il labbro applaude ma Elisa adora il cor. E a Roma dassi laude, ma in quella si festeggia di Praga, di sua reggia la gloria e lo splendor. CORO e BALLO — minuet A Vesta il labbro applaude ma Carlo adora il cor. E a Roma dassi laude, ma in quella si festeggia di Praga, di sua reggia la gloria e lo splendor. 46 Music in Art XXXIV/1-2 (2009) 2. Areal view of the northern part of the Prague Castle with the Royal Riding School complex marked. As the opera was performed twice, it is likely that the first version of the licenza was heard during the premiere on 28 August, and the altered version on 2 September, with a view to the forthcoming coronation of the Emperor. It is, however, also possible that the "Emperor's" licenza was earmarked for a further planned performance of the opera after the coronation, which did not take place due to unfavourable weather. Our study concentrates on specific aspects of the staging of the opera, especially on a localisation of Galli-Bibiena's theater in the grounds of Prague Castle and on a reconstruction of the performance from the point of view of historical performance practice. We would, however, like to point out one important fact. If the primary function of the Prague opera was to celebrate the Empress's birthday, then it is also necessary to take a fresh look at its performance in the open air. This way of staging Costanza e Fortezza is usually emphasised as something exceptional, but this aspect was fully in keeping with the context of operatic productions at the Viennese court. The Empress's birthday was one of the four main festivals that formed a regular rhythm for musical festivities at the court of Charles VI. Because this day (28 August) fell on the feast day of St. Augustine, the opera staged for the occasion was called the Augustini-Oper. The Augustini-Oper and the performance intended for the Emperor's name day (4 November, the feast day of St. Charles Borromeo, thus known as the Caro-lini-Oper) were the most important theatrical festivities of the entire year. The musical performances that were staged on the other two festivals, the Empress's name day (19 November) and the Emperor's birthday (1 October) were more modest in terms of staging, operatic genre and instrumentation. This calendar of festive operatic productions of the imperial court was of course also observed when the imperial couple were staying in Bohemia. 47 Jana Spáčilová & Štěpán Vácha, The Performance ofFux's Opera Costanza e Fortezza in Prague in 1723 3. The Royal Riding School by Prague Castle, the front facing the street and the entrance to the Riding Hall (1694-1699). Photo: Martin Midi. Court operas and serenatas performed in Bohemia in 1723 28. August: Birthday of the Empress J.J. Fux / P. Pariati: Costanza e Fortezza 29. August: Birthday of the Empress (private celebration) G. Porsile / P. Pariati: 11 giomofelice 1. October: Birthday of the Emperor A. Caldara / G. Prescimonio(?): La Contesa de' Numi 4. November: Name day of the Emperor F.B. Conti / F. Fozio: II trionfo della Fama 19. November: Name day of the Empress A. Caldara / P. Pariati: La concordia de'pianeti From the point of view of musical dramatic genre, the Augustini-Oper were most often drama per musica in three or five acts, with the number of scenery sets being one or two per act. (The usual number of three scenes per act is found only in the opera in 1717.)11 In addition, less elaborate operatic works, known as festa teatrale and componimento per musica, were also performed to mark this occasion. They were in general less theatrical and more festive in character, and performed with only one stage set. The most commonly mentioned venue for performances of the Augustini-Oper was the imperial residence Favorita outside the Viennese city walls, where the imperial court normally stayed during the summer months. Although there was a theater there (in the sources it is called the Opera-Saal or the Teatro del Palazzo della Favorita), if weather permitted the opera was performed in the open air, in a garden theater which was prepared for the performance each year.12 48 Music in Art XXXIV/1-2 (2009) 4. The Summer Riding School, view from the east. Photo: Martin Madl. The direct predecessor of Costanza e Fortezza may be considered to be the exceptional operatic performance Angelica, Vincitrice di Alcina, which was staged in the Favorita garden in mid-September 1716. It was in this sense that the court commission proposed in June 1723 that the opera in Prague should be performed " vntern freyen himmel vnd wohl Kostbahrer [... ] alfi selbige, so vor einigen Jahren alhier in der Favorita auff den Teicht gehalten worden".13 Although the festa teatrale in Vienna in 1716 was composed in celebration of the birth of the heir to the throne Leopold Johann on 13 April 1716, the date of its performance (19 September) corresponded more to the usual performance of the Augustini-Oper. In this year, incidentally, no opera was performed for the Empress's birthday on 28 August. The festa teatrale Angelica, Vincitrice di Alcina was a spectacular performance, which included in the second act a naval battle played on the surface of the large pool in the residence. As with the Prague performance, reproductions of the set designs were printed and formed part of the libretto.14 Among later Augustini-Opem two stand out for their similarity with the festive Prague production. They were the "external performances" of the imperial court ensemble during Charles VI's state visits to Styria in 1728 and in Upper Austria in 1732. The premiere of the first of them, Laforza dell'amicizia, ovvero: Pilade ed Oreste by the composers Antonio Caldara and Georg Reutter the Younger, was produced in a theater specially constructed in the garden of the castle in Graz, while the second performance took place in the theater of the local Jesuit university because of a strong wind.15 The second external performance was Caldara's opera L'asilo d'amore in 1732, which was originally intended to be staged in Český Krumlov (Krumau) in southern Bohemia. This town, the site of the residence of Prince Adam Franz Schwarzenberg was supposed to provide the imperial couple with a break in their return journey from Bohemia to Linz, where the Emperor was going to receive the hereditary homage of the Upper Austrian estates. However, the planned performance in Český Krumlov was frustrated by a tragic event. On 10 June 1732, while hunting 49 Jana Spáčilová & Štěpán Vácha, The Performance ofFux's Opera Costanza e Fortezza in Prague in 1723 5. The Summer Riding School, view from the west. Photo: Martin Madl. in Brandys nad Labem (Brandeis), the Emperor, in an unfortunate accident, mortally wounded Prince Schwarzenberg and because of the subsequent mourning the operatic performance was cancelled.16 It was eventually put on in the garden of the Linz castle, where Giuseppe Galli-Bibiena built an outdoor theater and provided it with transparent decorations illuminated by several thousand lights. Some 3000 spectators were present. Only a single performance took place; others could not be staged because of the rainy weather. From what has been said we can conclude that the Augustini-Oper, as one of the two most important musical dramatic productions at the imperial court, could at the same time fulfil the function of a festive performance on the occasion of important dynastic or state events. The fact that the performance took place in the summer, at a time suitable for outdoor productions, evidently also played a role. This was the case in 1716, when the heir to the throne was born, and also at times when the imperial court was staying outside Vienna, such as during the coronation visit to Prague (1723), when the hereditary homage was paid in Graz (1728), and on the occasion of the return visit to Bohemia, combined with the hereditary homage in Linz (1732). All the operatic performances mentioned were staged on special sets prepared solely for this occasion; however, the presentation of the Augustini-Opern in the open air occurred regularly in Vienna. So far as the staging of the opera Costanza e Fortezza in this way was concerned, therefore, it was nothing unusual in the context of the operatic productions of the imperial court. Without any doubt, the series of contemporary engravings depicting the stage design and the interior of the theater contributed to the popularity of the piece, although that was nothing unusual, either (cf. the prints for the opera Angelica, Vincitrice di Alcina). What certainly made the opera exceptional, and ensured its place in the memory of contemporaries and the continuing interest of researchers in more recent times, was the connection with the coronation of Charles as King of Bohemia. This fact was reflected not only in the plot of the piece, its spectacular set, and the overall character of the performance, but also in contemporary reactions. 50 Music in Art XXXIV/1-2 (2009) " - *■ *> 6. Plan of the northern part of Prague Castle from the period around 1760 with marked the main buildings. Reproduction from Památky archeologické XXXII (1920-1921), table VI. written sources. The opera, as a court production, was commissioned by the Emperor himself and not by the representatives of the Bohemian estates. This is reflected in the preparations for the performance, which were carried out under the direction of the Viennese court. The work of preparation was arranged for by the court building office in Prague, which received instructions for all negotiations from the court building office in Vienna. The correspondence during this preparatory phase between the Director-General of Building Works (General Hofbaudirektor) Count Gundacker Althann in Vienna and the Building Clerk (Bauschreiber) Johan Heinrich Diennebier in Prague has been preserved. Thus we can read that as early as 24 January 1723 Dienne-bier requested Althann to see that "Herr Theatral Ingenier" (in other words Giuseppe Galli-Bibiena17) soon sent an exact specification of the timber that would be needed for the construction, if possible in German, so as to avoid any misunderstandings that might occur.18 It is possible that Diennebier was reacting to an order for the required quantity of beams, planks, and battens, specifying the necessary lengths, which was written in Italian, and which has also been preserved.19 In February a contract for delivery of timber was signed with Prince Schwarzenberg.20 On 15 May Diennebier informed Althann about the visit which Galli-Bibiena had just made to Prague in order to choose a site for staging the opera. He had come to Prague for the inspection accompanied by the court poet Pietro Pariati. The capacity of the castle theater was considered to be insufficient.21 Of the localities they visited, the ones that were most to their liking were the area of the Summer Riding School (dieojfene reithschuhl), and also a pleasance with a menagerie (Thier und Lust gar ten), which was not specified further; it may have been the Royal Garden near Prague Castle or the park Bubeneč.22 51 Jana Spáčilová & Štěpán Vácha, The Performance of Tux's Opera Costanza e Fortezza in Prague in 1723 Eventually the site chosen for the construction of the theater was the Summer Riding School, which was a courtyard with a slightly trapezoidal ground plan measuring 35.7 * 93.2 meters, part of the Royal Riding School complex that had been built after a design by the architect Jean-Baptiste Mathey in the northern environs of Prague Castle in the years 1694-1699 [figs. 2 & 3].23 The southern and western sides of the training area are bordered by a low wall, the covered Riding School building (i.e. Riding Hall) extends along the northern side, and the shorter eastern side is bordered by a corridor wing, the upper storey of which served as a protected gallery for spectators, enabling them to view events in the Riding School courtyard in comfort [figs. 4 & 5]. As an eighteenth-century plan shows, this viewing gallery originally extended as far as the entrance to the Powder Bridge [fig. 6].24 The Summer Riding School was used for routine dressage of the horses and on festive occasions for the operation of carousels. In addition, already at the time it was built it was planned to use it for staging "comedies".25 After the preparatory phase, organised by the building office in Prague Castle, the direction of further work and the preparation of the performance itself was taken on by the contracted impresario of the court theater in Vienna (Kays. Opern Appaltator), Johann Wolfgang Haymerle. As early as the beginning of May, together with his son Philipp Joseph, he had been granted a three-year contract to stage operatic productions at the Viennese court, starting from 1 August.26 The Court Chamber (Hofkammer) signed a separate contract with Haymerle worth 42,000 guildens for the construction of an outdoor theater and the provision of the stage sets on 28 June. Some of the costumes were brought from Vienna, while others had to be made in Prague27 Work on constructing the theater was carried out with great intensity from July onwards. An entry in the Winerisches Diarium for 7 August described the course of the work as follows: "Übrigens wurde alda [= in Prague] zu den bevorstehenden Königl. Crönungen [... ] neben der Reitschul ein grosses neue Opernhaus eifrigst aufgerichtet."28 The musicians started rehearsing as early as July.29 Apart from the premiere on 28 August, Costanza e Fortezza was performed once more on 2 September, in the presence of the Saxon Princess Maria Josepha, who had arrived in Prague on 31 August.30 The Emperor intended to have a further performance staged as well, but this was abandoned because the theater scenery and stage set had been torn by a strong wind and washed away by the rain. In addition, the September evenings were already too cold.31 The wooden structure of the uncovered theater, the flimsiness of the set, constructed of canvas, plaster, and papier-mäche, and the location in the training ground for horses, all predestined the construction to a short existence. The assertion, obstinately perpetuated in the literature, that the theater was destroyed by fire during the bombardment of Prague by the Prussian army in 1757, is probably based on the mistaken information given by Josef Svätek, who confused the construction with the castle theater built in 1680, which stood next to the Small Ball-House in the Royal Garden, which today no longer exists.32 In fact, the theater was pulled down that same year. The wooden planks, iron components, and canvas were sold off to the citizens of Prague, the monasteries and the Jews.33 When the final accounts were drawn up, it became apparent that the sum originally contracted for was insufficient. The cost of timber was higher, other outgoings increased because of the expensive set design and the construction of the stage machinery; it was also necessary, for example, to pay many extras and additional musicians from Prague and abroad, for whom costumes also had to be provided. For these reasons, at the end of the year (16 December), Johann Wolfgang Haymerle asked the Court Chamber for reimbursement of a further 5497 guldens, of which he received only 2000. Including additional outgoings of 426 guldens for joiners and locksmiths, the Court Chamber computed the overall expenses as being 44,426 guldens. Furthermore, this final sum did not include the cost of night lighting, which was covered by the Chamber department responsible for lighting (Licht-Cammer-Amt) and the Court Kitchen (Kuchen-Amt). The transport of the theater movables and the artists to Prague and back was borne by the office which otherwise provided fodder for the court stables (Hoff-Fuetter-Amt).M Costanza e Fortezza, however, was far from being the most expensive musical production at the court of Charles VI, as it is usually thought to be. The costs for the opera Angelica, Vincitrice di Alcina in 1716 were much higher (80,000 guldens).35 Nevertheless, this does not alter the fact that the opera in Prague soon acquired the reputation of an exceptionally expensive performance.36 52 Music in Art XXXIV/1-2 (2009) 7. The side entrance into the Prague theater (detail of fig. 1). ICONOGRAPHIC SOURCES. For a reconstruction and localization of the theater, it is necessary first of all to become familiar with the relevant iconographic sources. In addition to the seven well-known engravings by Galli-Bibiena, of which we have selected three for an examination, there is also a so far unpublished drawing by an eye-witness of the performance, the Saxon minister Count Jakob Heirurich Flemming. The overall view of the interior of the theater is the best-known picture of the entire cycle [fig. 1]. Underneath it is the caption: "Teatro e Proscenio della festa Teatrale intitolata CoSTANZAe FORTEZZArappresentata nel Reale Castello di Praga L'anno MDCCXXIII." (Stage and auditorium for the theatrical festivity entitled CONSTANCY and STRENGTH, which was performed in the Royal Castle in Prague in the year 1723). The picture gives a basic idea of the arrangement of the interior of the theater from the viewpoint of a spectator sitting right at the back in the middle of the auditorium. On the ground level, in the middle, is a raised dais under a canopy, on which the Emperor and the Empress are seated on twin thrones. On either side of the thrones it is possible to make out the two archduchesses on stools, then some guards standing, and still further away the rest of the audience. To the right of the orchestra pit is the side entrance, which enabled the spectators to enter the ground level area [fig. 7]. Benches for the audience are arranged in tiers along the walls and in the amphitheater itself, where (in the foreground of the picture) we can see the silhouettes of seated ladies and gentlemen. Further spectators are seated in archways on the first floor level, which serve the function of loges. The proscenium is framed by a pair of huge two-storey towers. On the lower level of the right-hand one trumpeters and a timpanist can be seen. The instrumentalists are seated in three rows in the orchestra pit and also on steps at the foot of the two towers. On the stage a scene from the first act of the opera is being played, as can be deduced from another print. 53 Jana Spáčilová & Štěpán Vácha, The Performance ofFux's Opera Costanza e Fortezza in Prague in 1723 ' ...... " :i; ;řr--'ir^ 8. Johann van der Brüggen and Johann Heinrich Martin after Giuseppe Galli-Bibiena, Ground plan of the theater constructed in Prague for the opera Costanza e Fortezza (1723). Prague, Národní galerie, inv. no. R 39837. According to the poet Apostolo Zeno, the theater could hold four thousand people,37 and the Building Clerk (Bauschreiber) at the imperial court Johann Adam von Heintz likewise states that there was room in the auditorium of the theater for "many thousands of people".38 To help visualize the theater we should mention that the position of the observer in fig. 1 was at the furthest point of the auditorium, in the central loge. The auditorium has a rectangular ground plan ending in a semicircular amphitheater [fig. 8]. The circumference of the auditorium is divided into thirteen loges: seven of them are situated in the semicircular amphitheater, and three on each of the side walls. They are separated from each other by huge pillars. Also shown are the benches arranged in the semicircle in sixteen tears, continuing with four more rows in the loges above them. The ground floor area is empty apart from the imperial thrones, but from the previous illustration we know that there were eight more rows of benches arranged in tiers along the sides as well. The ground plan is provided with captions giving detailed information about the different parts of the theater, including the scenery elements, and on the shorter border is a scale in Prague feet (Piede di Praga). The entrance for the Emperor and Empress and the suite (Ingres-so delle M. M. Loro) is situated on the central axis of the auditorium, as are the twin thrones for the imperial couple (Trono pergli Augustissimi Regnanti) mentioned earlier. To the right of the thrones a side entrance is indicated. The front wall of the orchestra pit (Orchestra) curves alternately convexly and concavely, rather differently than on the previous print. The areain one of the two towers bears the legend Posti per Li cori, literally "space for the choirs", which on the basis of the way the orchestra is depicted on the previous engraving must have meant the trumpeters and timpanist. The area in the opposite tower doubtless served the same purpose. The stage proper (Teatro) is delimited by nine rows of wings at the sides, indicated in the plan Telari Laterali a Libretto, Li quali si Cambiano tre volte (Side wings in the form of a book, which are changed three times). They were most probably frames covered by canvas, hung on hinges, by means of which it was possible to turn them over like the pages in a book so as to change the scenery. It is evident that the stage narrowed slightly towards the back, ending with a painted illusory backdrop. The broken double lines in the area behind the stage indicate additional flats that completed the scenery. The graphic artist devoted special attention to the theatrical machinery. A dotted line on a level with the 54 Music in Art XXXIV/1-2 (2009) 9. Christoph Dietel after Giuseppe Galli-Bibiena, Rear (axial) and side walls of the auditorium of the Prague theater in 1723. Prague, Národní galerie, inv. no. R145630. ninth row of wings indicates the machine used for the first scene (Prima macchina della p." mutazione), which was a grotto/cave with the river god of the Tiber enthroned in it (Reggia del Tevere). This only appeared on the stage after the "subsidence" of a geyser of water, which was simulated by a painting on a moving canvas rolled round the machine (Gran massa di acaua. Prima, e poi la Reggia Sudetta).39 A no less impressive production effect came at the end of the third act with the arrival of a garden gloriette in the form of a large cabinet with benches for the singers (sedili), which moved from the furthest end of the stage as far as point C, where its doors opened to transform it into a triumphal arch (2." Macchina dell'ultima mutazione. cioe una Grottesca, che poi si Gambia in un'Arco Trionfale con molte Persone Sopra del medesimo dopo di essersi avanzata insino al Luogo Segnato C).4C The print showing design of rear (axial) and side walls of the auditorium has so far not been investigated, although it provides valuable information about the appearance of the side walls of the auditorium [fig. 9]. Like the previous print, this one is more of a technical drawing, and provides two different views of the auditorium. Underneath it is the caption: Parti Laterali del Proscenio, le quali corrispondono a tutto L'Anfiteatro (The side parts of the proscenium [i.e. auditorium], which correspond to the entire amphitheater). On the left are depicted one and a half sections of the semicircular end of the auditorium. We can see sixteen rows of benches arranged in tiers, continuing with four more rows in the loge. On the ground floor level is portrayed the magnificent imperial gateway, through which, as we have seen in the previous prints, 55 Jana Spáčilová & Štěpán Vácha, The Performance ofFux's Opera Costanza e Fortezza in Prague in 1723 passes the longitudinal axis of the theater. The right-hand side of the print shows the side wall of the auditorium with a total of three loges. The side entrance, emphasized by a segmental pediment, below the first loge on the left, indicates that it is the right-hand wall that is shown (when looking at the stage). Against the lower level of the wall are placed the six rows of benches arranged in tiers that we saw on the first print in the series [fig. 1], which are adjacent to the sixteen further rows, also arranged in tiers, in the semicircular amphitheater. An immensely interesting testimony about the premiere of the operatic performance and about the theater itself is a letter from the Saxon diplomat Count Jakob Heinrich Flemmrng addressed to his colleague, the Saxon minister Ernst Christoph Manteuffel. Flernming's report is of value primarily because, unlike the often-quoted memoirs of Johann Joachim Quantz, it was written immediately after the event. Flemming has little to say about the music and the scenery, but makes up for this with his interesting description of what happened in the auditorium and after the performance, in which he reveals more than one piquant anecdote (such as how the Prince of Hannover fell into the amphitheater). In view of the exceptional value of what this letter can tell us about the performance we have decided to provide it in its original form. To make his description clearer, Flemming attached to his letter a simple plan of the theater on which he marked various features [fig. 10]. He accompanied this sketch with details of these features which provide valuable information about the social composition of the audience and where different people were seated. In spite of the simplicity of this sketch it is an important source confirming many of the details on Galli-Bibiena's engravings and supplements them with further interesting information. The large audience was seated according to the hierarchical order that was in force at the Viennese court. It was a select company of spectators who attended the performance only by invitation/1 and consisted of members of the imperial court, the Estates of the Bohemian Lands, ambassadors, diplomats, and official foreign guests, including members of the leading souvereign families to whom were assigned loges on the upper level. The letter A in Flemming sketch indicates the stage, which, as in Galli-Bibiena's ground plan, is called le Theatre [fig. 10]. Also marked on the plan are the orchestra pit—I 'orquestre (B) — and the side entrance (C), which Flemming calls la grande entrée, and which he situates on the right-hand side. A completely new feature is the benches he draws in the ground floor area, which are not shown on Galli-Bibiena's engravings. The benches on either side of the imperial thrones (D) were intended for ambassadors and court ministers (bancs pour les Ambassadeurs etMinistres de la Cour).42 The thrones for the imperial couple (place de l'Empereur et de l Impératrice) are marked with the letter E. As Flemming comments, the Emperor and Empress "were seated on chairs, with above them a kind of tent of crimson damask [= a canopy], partly open on top", which fully corresponds with the way it was shown on Galli-Bibiena's engraving. More rows of benches were situated in the ground floor area behind the thrones (F). The front ones were intended for the ladies-in-waiting and the other ladies of the court, evidently the Empress's household (Hofstaat) and the wives of ministers and important court officials. The other courtiers evidently sat behind them, while noble-born ladies and gentlemen who did not belong to the court were allocated places on the tiers of benches that formed the semicircular amphitheater (I'amphitheatre — letter G). It was from there, for example, that Count Flemming watched the performance, and we may assume that it was there that the "ordinary" public sat, in other words the representatives of the Bohemian Estates. The entrance "through which the Emperor and the Empress entered with their court" is marked by the letter H. The loges on the upper storey were reserved for the most important foreign guests. From Flemming we know that the central loge, which was undoubtedly considered a place of honour, was where Prince Franz Stephan of Lorraine took his place with his entourage. It can be assumed that the Portuguese Infante Joseph Emmanuel and Prince Maximilian of Hannover were seated in other loges. According to Flernming's report, Prince Eugene of Savoy sat "with his company right on top in the amphitheater, a long way from the stage".43 Places of honour in the auditorium were doubtless also occupied by Prince Frederico d'Este, Friedrich and Ludwig of Württemberg, and the Princes Saxe-Coburg and Saxe-Meiningen, who were also residing in Prague at this time.44 From Flernming's account we know that the performance of the opera was preceded by a festive evening held in the presence of the courtiers in the Spanish Hall. From there the imperial couple adjourned to the 56 Music in Art XXXIV/1-2 (2009) 10. Sketch by Jakob Heinrich Flemming showing the theater constructed in Prague for the performance of the opera Costanza e Fortezza. Ink drawing. Dresden, Sächsisches Hauptstaatsarchiv, Geheimes Kabinett, Loc. 696/7, fol. 71r. theatrical arena, accompanied by ministers, ambassadors, courtiers and guards. The theater was connected to Prague Castle by the Powder Bridge, which at that time had the form of a wooden covered walkway resting on brick-lined pillars [fig. 11]. At the entrance to the bridge on the northern side of the Stag Moat there was a stairway that led up to the ground floor corridor of the viewing gallery on the level of the Summer Riding School. Roughly in the middle of this corridor was a passageway providing a link to the auditorium through the "imperial" gateway. The ideal position for seeing and hearing the performance in the open-air theater was of course the ground floor area closest to the orchestra pit. Here the Emperor and the Empress took their seats on thrones on a raised dais, surrounded by their bodyguard and protected from above by a canopy that emphasized the sacred character of their majesty. From Galli-Bibiena's engraving it can be inferred that the two little archduchesses Maria Theresa and Maria Anna were seated on either side of their imperial parents. It is recorded that they were present for the first hour of the second performance of the opera on 2 September.45 On that occasion, the Saxon Princess Maria Josepha (the niece of the Emperor) was also seated under the imperial canopy. This is shown by the sketch accompanying the report on the Princess's stay in Prague drawn up for the court in Dresden [fig. 12, letter C]. 57 Jana Spáčilová & Štěpán Vácha, The Performance of Tux's Opera Costanza e Fortezza in Prague in 1723 r Extract from a letter from the Saxon minister Jakob Heinrich Flemming to the Saxon minister Ernst Christoph Manteuffel, written in Prague on 29 August 1723, describing the celebrations of the Empress Elisabeth Christina's birthday in Prague on 28 August 1723. Sächsisches Hauptstaatsarchiv Dresden, Geheimes Kabinett, Loc. 696/7, fol. 67v-72r. [fol. 67v] Avant le diner la Cour étant de retour de la Messe, je me suis rendu ä l'Antichambre de lTmpératrice, pour luy faire un compliment de felicitation, et j'y fus admis aprěs le Nonce et 1'Ambassadeur de Venise; Je la fis bien rire, et j'en crus remar-quer que les autres n'avoient pas touché cette corde; Je luy souhaittay que ce jour luy [fol. 68r] arrivát souvent et la trouvät toujours dans 1'état oú eile étoit. Et comme je luy disois que je me faisois un plaisir d'etre son trěs humble et trěs fidel serviteur, eile me fit un compliment sur ce que je luy avois fait present ďun symbole de fidelité (de luy ayant fait present ďun chien) ä quoy je luy répondis que pour marquer la perpetuité de cette fidelité j'avois encore deux chiens que je luy offrirois pour continuer ce témoignage de fidelité. LTmpératrice alia ensuite diner avec l'Empereur en public; il y avoit une grande [fol. 68v] presse de monde dans les trois Antichambres et méme dans la gallerie devant les portes, au point qu'en entrant dans les antichambres on sentoit une chaleur étouffante. Aprěs m'etre présenté ä la table de l'Empereur je suis allé avec M. le C. de Wackerbart diner chez Mad. la Comtesse de Fuchsen; Aprěs dine j'ay joué avec Mad. ďAprémont et le B. Hansel et luy ay gagné son argent; et comme Mad. la Comtesse de Fuchsen avoit ä sortir, j'ay recu en son absence avec M, le C. de Wackerbart toutes les visites qu'on luy [fol. 69r] rendoit, dont ä son retour je luy ay rendu bon compte. Je suis alle de lä avec M. le C. Wackerbart ä la Salle d'Espagne, qui est trěs grande et pres de laquelle il y a une galerie de tableaux assez beaux, de sort qu'il y avoit assez de place pour faire sa Cour. L'Empereur soupa dans cette salle avec lTmpératrice et les deux archiduchesses, qui se conduisoient fort joliment et comme si elles étoient faites ä cela. Les Princes de Portugal et de Hanovre y firent leur Cour, mais le C. de Sinzendorff qui a soin du Prince de Lorraine le menna chez luy manger un morceau pour le mener [fol. 69v] ensuite ä l'opera. J'avois fait mener á l'opera quelques Mess. Polonois avec ceux de ma suite; et quand j'y arrivay je trouvay ä la porte un homme nommé Poidzcy[?] que j'avois connu ä Vienne, qui me fit beacoup de civilités et me dit qu'il avoit dejä fait entrer ceux de ma suite, et méme mes pages et autres gens hors de livrée, et si j'avois encore d'autres ä y faire entrer il s'y offroit. En entrant dans l'endroit oü l'opera devoit étre représenté, et qui étoit ä découvert, trois Chambellans vinrent [fol. 70r] m'offrir des places et que je n'avois qu'ä choisir celle qui me plairoit le plus. Quelqu'un vint m'offrir une place auprěs de sa femme qui étoit fille de M. Harrach, ce qui n'etoit pas de refus; c'etoit une place d'amphitheätre ou presque toutes les Dames qui n'étoient point en gala, et qui n'etoient pas de la Cour étoient placées. Le Pr. Eugěne étoit avec sa Compagnie tout en haut de 1'amphitheatre fort éloigné du Theatre. M. le C. de Sinzendorff étoit avec le Pr. de Lorraine et ceux de sa suite dans un loge [fol. 70v] de milieu au dessus de l'amphitheätre. A peine y étoient-ils entrés que le Pr. de Hanovre pas loin de lä dans l'amphitheätre a l'endroit ou le Pr. de I Ianovrc oü il s'etoit fouré, deux ou trois banes tombnrcnt d'en haut en baa et on pensa qu'il en arriveroit du malheur, mais on prevint de bonne heure ce culbutage. Je ne feray point ä V. E. une description du Theatre ni de l'amphitheätre, M. Popelman* pourra s'en acquiter mieux mais le tout m'a fort plu, et il y avoit de la place pour tout le monde; Je n'en feray icy [fol. 71r] ä V. E. qu'un dessein en petit, [fig. 10] a) le Theatre b) l'orquestre c) la grande entrée d) bancs pour les Ambassadeurs et Mínistres de la Cour e) place de l'Empereur et de lTmpératrice qui étoient assis sur des fauteuils, et au dessus ďeux une espěce de tente de damas eramoisi, entre ouvert [fol. 71 v] par en haut. f) bancs dont les premiers étoient pour les Dames d'honneur, et les autres pour les Dames et Mess, de la Cour g) ramphitheätre h) porte par oů l'Empereur et lTmpératrice sont entrés avec leur Cour. Aprěs la fin du premier acte je me suis promené de cöte et d'autres (car il y avoit assez de place pour cela dans le parterre) et je me suis mis tantöt avec des Dames de ramphitheätre, tantót avec les Dames de la Cour. La Composition de l'opera est belle, surtout les airs en sont beaux, [fol. 72r] les voix étoient passables; et la dance trěs mediocre; mais tout fut trěs bien execute, et avec un grand ordre. L'opera a dure depuis 8 h. et demie jusqu'ä une heure aprěs minuit. Je fus assez heureux pour trouver d'abord mon carosse ä la porte; mais quoy qu'il ne soit qu'ä deux je m'y suis place ä 5 avec des dames, et je comtois de faire avec elles media nox chez moy; mais comme l'homme propose et Dieu dispose je fus oblige de faire media nox avec chez les Dames que j'avois voulu mener chez moy, et nous la fimes maigrement, mais de trěs bonne humeur. * This was not the famous Saxon architect Matthäus Daniel Pöppelmann, but one of his sons, either the painter Johann Adolph (1694-1773) or the builder Carl Friedrich (1697-1750). More detailed about the Pöppelmann Junior's stay in Prague, see Jana Spáčilová & Štěpán Vácha, "Galli-Bibienovo divadlo pro slavnostní operu Costanza e Fortezza (1723) ve světle nových výzkumu", Castrum Pragense X (2010). 58 Music in Art XXX1Y/1-2 (2009) 11. Johann Joseph Dietzler, View from the bell tower of St. Vitus Cathedral of the northern environs of Prague Castle. In the foreground on the left is the Powder Bridge, behind that the Royal Riding School (1742). Ink wash drawing. Prague, Národní galerie, inv. no. K 26931. Reconstruction and Localization of the Theater. Historical reports state that the Prague theater was constructed in the grounds of the Summer Riding School. In other words, the area was delimited and shaped by the facades of the buildings that bordered the Riding School courtyard to the north and east and by the low walls that enclosed it to the south and west. The external dimensions of the theater construction would therefore have been identical with this area, which measures 35.7 x 93.2 meters. According to the scale given on Galli-Bibiena's ground plan, however, the theater should have been 129 Prague feet (Piede di Praga) wide and 374.25 Prague feet long, and that is 38.1 x 110.6 meters.46 In that case, the whole construction would have extended beyond the area of the Riding School by 2.4 metres in width and 17.4 metres (!) in length. If we reduce Galli-Bibiena's plan to 93.7% of the size given,47 the situation appears as in fig. 14: the theater completely fills the area of the Riding School courtyard widthways, and the side entrance to the auditorium exactly corresponds to the only passageway from the Riding Hall and the courtyard;48 the auditorium is directly adjacent to the wall of the viewing gallery. The orchestra pit measured 22 x 4.8 meters, the ground floor area of the auditorium formed a square of about 30.5 x 30.5 meters, and the overall length of the auditorium (from the furthest point of the central loge to the ramp of the proscenium) was around 47.5 meters [table A]. The proscenium was 15.5 meters wide and the front part of the stage (from the ramp to the last pair of wings) was some 30 meters long, which was about twice its width. This was the area where the opera was acted out (marked on the plan Teatro), and it was flanked by nine pairs of wings at distances of about 2.5 meters. In our calculations we had to shorten the back part of the stage, which with a reduction to 93.7% would have extended beyond the end of the Riding School by 10.4 meters. Its actual length could have been only 16 meters. This part of the stage was not divided up architecturally in any way, nor did it have any fixed connection to the surrounding buildings, and so it is possible that it was deliberately extended on Galli-Bibiena's plan in order that the arrangement of the parts of the set and the theatrical machinery for all three 59 Jana Spáčilová & Štěpán Vácha, The Performance of Tux's Opera Costanza e Fortezza in Prague in 1723 12. Sketch drawing of the seating for the Saxon Princess Maria Josepha near the imperial couple during the second performance of the opera. Ink drawing. Dresden, Sächsisches Hauptstaatsarchiv, Loc. 763/9, f. 172r. acts of the opera could be drawn. It was here that the River Tiber meandered during the first act, a military encampment spread out in the second one, and the royal gardens on the Janiculum unfolded in the third one. It was here, too, that the theatrical machinery described earlier was put to use — the grotto with the river god of the Tiber enthroned in it, and the garden gloriette that eventually transformed itself into a triumphal arch. The total length of the stage thus did not exceed 46 meters.49 On the basis of our knowledge of the figures for the width and length, we can also establish the height of the theater [table B]. If the span of the side loges was 4 meters, then in transferring this value to the plan of the side wall of the auditorium we arrive at a figure of 21 meters for the height of the loge including the triangular pediment with a pair of putti and a flaming vase on top [fig. 13]. The "fiery" balls on the obelisks that flank the side loges reach a height of more than 23 meters. We proceeded in the same way in establishing the height of the towers on the sides of the proscenium [table C]. Here it was the span of the stage portal (15.5 meters) which served as our starting point. The huge towers on either side of it thus probably reached a height of 29 meters. The ceremonial aspect of the festive performance is also clearly evident in the way in which Giuseppe Galli-Bibiena made use of the possibilities of space and connections offered by the chosen locality when he designed the theater [fig. 14]. The "ordinary" public entered the theater from what is today the street U Prašného Mostu. These guests first entered the Riding Hall, which they then went through as far as the passageway to the Summer Riding School on the left, which corresponded to the side entrance to the auditorium. The location of the side entrance towards the front of the auditorium also had a certain ceremonial connotation. On arriving, everyone who entered the auditorium was confronted with the imperial thrones, reserved for the most important spectators attending the performance. The "princely" loges were entered from the corridor on the first floor of the viewing gallery. The performers and the backstage staff were entering the stage area along a lane in the north-western corner of the courtyard, round the corner of the Riding Hall. 60 Music in Art XXXIV/1-2 (2009) length of the auditorium 47.5 m side entrance width of the auditorium 30.5 m imperial gate 13. Estimated proportional height measurements for the theatre in the Summer Riding School grounds. Drawing: Kateřina Vytejčková and Štěpán Vácha. G alli-Bibiena's Theater in the Context of Italian Theater Architecture. Until now, no analysis has been carried out of the type of construction used for Galli-Bibiena's theater in Prague; researchers have concentrated solely on the scenery used for the production. This is no doubt related to its ephemeral nature, for as a building intended for only a few performances it is not considered to be architecture in the traditional sense. The building also fails to fit in with standard ideas about architecture in that it was a purely interior construction, built inside the courtyard of the Summer Riding School, and so did not have its own facade. In spite of this, the relatively detailed documentary plans for the material arrangement of the building allow certain conclusions to be drawn. In the context of the transformation of the social function of the theater—especially opera—during the course of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the development of theater architecture was determined by the requirement of achieving the maximum capacity of places in the auditorium while maintaining optimum audibility and visibility.50 At the same time it was necessary to allow enough space for the stage, which was designed to use flats for the scenery and needed to have considerable depth due to perspective. The result of these tendencies was the extension of the auditorium in an upwards direction by constructing further levels of loges. Another important factor was the function of the theater building. The layout of residential theaters, where places for the ruler and the court had to be taken into consideration, differed from that of municipal theaters, where in addition to the characteristic rows of loges on several levels round the periphery of the auditorium there were always salons for select groups (ridotti or camerini) and a foyer with an imposing entrance in the form of an extensive hall with staircases. In the eighteenth century the stages in large theaters were most often built on a horseshoe-shaped ground plan, although the members of the Galli- 61 Jana Spáčilová & Štěpán Vácha, The Performance ofFux's Opera Costanza e Fortezza in Prague in 1723 14. The location of the theatre within the Summer Riding School with the entrances and connections marked. Graphic presentation: Kateřina Vytejčková and Štěpán Vácha. Bibiena family favored a bell-shaped ground plan, with the side walls widening slightly towards the proscenium.51 None of these designs, however, was used for the theater in Prague, which is characterized by an unusually long auditorium ending in a semicircular amphitheater. While at that period it was usual for the walls of the auditorium to be divided up into several levels of rows of individual loges, in Prague there were tiers of benches arranged in a semi-circle, with an arcade gallery running round the periphery above the benches. These features, unusual for the time, are reminiscent of architectural designs from a considerably earlier period, the turn of the sixteenth to the seventeenth century, when the type of building used for modern theaters was taking shape. The idea of a semicircular enclosed auditorium with tiers of benches (known as a caved) has its origin in the architecture of antiquity, and was revived in the construction of the oldest Renaissance theaters at the end of the sixteenth century (especially by Andrea Palladio). One example that has been preserved is the Teatro Olimpico in Sabbioneta, which was commissioned in 1588-1589 by the local ruler Duke Vespasiano Gonzaga after a design by Vincenzo Scamozzi [fig. 15] .52 The rectangular free-standing building conceals a stage area that does not go too far back and a semicircular enclosed auditorium with five rows of benches arranged in tiers, which—as in Prague — are situated along the sides in quadrantal sections. A spacious loge (loggia) on the upper level was reserved for the duke and his courtiers, accessible through a separate entrance; the normal way into the auditorium was through a side entrance from the street. The connection between the theater in Prague and the older north Italian models becomes particularly obvious when we look at the ground plan of the famous Teatro Farnese in Parma [fig. 16].53 This covered theater of huge dimensions that are comparable to those of the Prague building (87 * 32 metres, height 22 meters) was built by Giovanni Battista Aleotti on the initiative of the Duke of Parma, Ranuccio I Farnese, on the site of the former armory and tournament hall of the ducal residence the Palazzo della Pilotta, in the years 1617-1627. As is clearly evident from its size, it was not used for ordinary productions, but only for exceptionally festive performances. Only nine took place throughout the whole period of its existence. The first of these was held on the occasion of the betrothal of Ottavio Farnese and Margherita de' Medici in 1628, and 62 Music in Art XXXIV/1-2 (2009) 15. Vincenzo Scamozzi, Sketch plan for the Teatro Olimpico building in Sabbioneta (1588). Firenze, Gabinetto Disegni e Stampe degli Uffizi. the last one to mark the accession of Charles of Bourbon to the throne of Parma in 1732.54 Even though the theater in Parma was used only rarely, its fame was considerable, aided by printed descriptions of festivities held there with pictures of the stage set and of the theater building itself. The similarities between the theaters in Prague and Parma are evident. In particular, a notable feature is the extended area of the auditorium, ending in an enclosed cavea. Other similar aspects of the design are the entrance at a point on the central axis, the position of the side entrances, and especially the arcade running round the entire periphery of the auditorium. The relative dimensions of the two buildings are almost identical. The main differences in the Prague building are the huge towers on both sides of the proscenium and the quadrantal layout of the rows of benches along the sides, perhaps following the pattern of the Teatro Olimpico in Sabbioneta. It is not surprising that Galli-Bibiena would have known the Teatro Farnese, because he was born in Parma in 1696. His father Ferdinando worked for a long time at the ducal court there in the stage architect's office.55 He was involved in the restoration of the huge theater around the year 1688, and in 1690 he and his brother Francesco created the scenery for the melodrama II Favore degli Dei.56 He worked in Parma until 1712, when he left with his son Giuseppe for the imperial court in Vienna, where he stayed until 1721. His son Giuseppe had therefore had the colossal theater in Parma before his eyes every day. It is evident that, when he was faced with the task of constructing a spacious theater in the grounds of the Summer Riding School of Prague Castle, the building in Parma served as a model for him. In view of the similar dimensions and rectangular layout of the Summer Riding School, the technical possibilities of the surrounding buildings, and 63 Jana Spáčilová & Štěpán Vácha, The Performance ofFux's Opera Costanza e Fortezza in Prague in 1723 the anticipated size of the audience, he preferred to base himself on a tried and tested type of building that he was thoroughly familiar with rather than contemporary theater architecture. The Operatic Production in Prague from the Viewpoint of Historical Performance Practice. The information we possess about the venue for Galli-Bibiena's theater in Prague enables us to consider the musical production of the opera Costanza e Fortezza. We will base our reflections on an examination of the iconographic and historical sources in the light of knowledge and experience of the performance practice of Baroque operas. Research into the historical performance practice of Baroque opera seria has been going on in the Czech Republic for more then ten years in the castle theater in Český Krumlov. This theater, dating from 1766, has been preserved in its original state to an exceptional degree in comparison with other Baroque theaters in Europe. The theater machinery, the scenery decoration, the orchestra pit with the original music stand, and the costumes, including liveries for the musicians, are unique anywhere in the world. The Nadace barokního divadla zámku Český Krumlov is responsible for preserving, restoring and revitalizing the theater, and also organizes seminars on topics relating to historical theaters and since 2002 an annual conference "The World 64 Music in Art XXXIV/1-2 (2009) of Baroque Theater" ,57 The research into historical theatrical performance has been carried out in cooperation with the Baroque ensemble Hofmusici (formerly Cappella Accademica) and its artistic director Ondřej Macek.58 During the period 1995-2000 this ensemble arranged a number of short stage rehearsals in the authentic setting of the castle theater in Český Krumlov, during which the functioning of the restored theater machinery and the way it combined with the music and the actors' performance were tested out. Since 2000 entire operas or stage oratorios have been performed here, most recently Argippo, a rediscovered opera by Antonio Vivaldi, in 2008. Parallel to their research into the functioning of the Český Krumlov theater, the members and permanent collaborators with the Hofmusici ensemble have also devoted attention to other aspects of authentic interpretation of Baroque opera, such as playing historical musical instruments, the composition, seating arrangement, and direction of the orchestra, Baroque acting delivery and gestures, and so on.59 For an investigation of the operatic production in Prague from the point of view of historical performance practice, the most important of the sources mentioned in this study is the engraving providing an overall view of the theater, which depicts the stage and the orchestra in detail [fig. 17]. The main historical musical source, apart from the score and the libretto, is the autobiography of Johann Joachim Quantz that has already been referred to, which was published in 1754. Attention is mainly focused on the fact that the opera was performed in the open air by 100 singers and 200 musicians. It should be emphasized that Quantz's memoir was written 30 years after the performance. If we compare these figures with the iconographic sources and the dimensions that we have established for the theater in Prague, we come to the conclusion that Quantz's figures are exaggerated. 65 Jana Spáčilová & Štěpán Vácha, The Performance of Tux's Opera Costanza e Fortezza in Prague in 1723 18. View of the stage and orchestra pit of the theatre in Český Krumlov during a performance of Antonio Caldara's Scipione Africano il Maggiore by the Hofmusici ensemble, on 2 June 2006. Photo: Libor Sváček. On the engraving only 102 musicians can be counted, to which should be added eight trumpeters and two timpanists in the two side towers. As we have already said at the beginning, the engraving does not portray the actual course of a performance, as it was printed in advance. We can find a number of discrepancies on it, such as the disproportionate number of wind players in relation to the violinists (67:28), or the representation of horn players, who do not appear in the score of the opera. Nor does the numerical composition of the basso continuo group correspond to the reality: only one harpsichord, double-bass and theorbo are shown, whereas in fact violoncellos also played (in the score the plural form Violoncelli is used), and the number of instruments was greater (we know the names of at least two theorbo players —Silvius Leopold Weiss and Francesco Bartolomeo Conti). Nevertheless, we can assume that the number of musicians is approximately correct. This is supported by the fact that the dimensions of the orchestra pit would not have allowed more than about a hundred people to sit in it. The orchestra pit had a roughly rectangular shape measuring 22 x 4.8 metres. It was extended on each side by three raised levels reaching as far as the balustrades of the balconies intended for the trumpeters and timpanists. Inside the orchestra pit the instrumentalists were seated in three lengthwise rows. In the row along the partition separating them from the auditorium they had their backs to the public and in the other two rows they were facing them. This seating arrangement corresponds to the usual pattern for opera orchestras of the Italian type at that time and also to that of the musicians in the authentic setting of the theater in Český Krumlov [fig. 18]. In the latter case, because of the uniquely preserved long music stand, seating in rows is the only possible arrangement. The orchestra pit in Český Krumlov measures 13 * 2.8 66 Music in Art XXXIV/1-2 (2009) 19. Virtual view into the auditorium of the Prague theatre. Graphic presentation: Martin Mádl and Štěpán Vácha. meters, and the music stand is 4.7 meters long. Six or seven musicians can sit in each row (depending on the way the instruments are held), and if two harpsichords are used, a total of around 30 people can fit into the orchestra pit. On the basis of the information given above it can be roughly established that there were around 110 musicians in the orchestra for the performance of Costanza e Fortezza. The orchestra probably consisted of 40 members of the imperial orchestra,60 with the other hired musicians, according to Quantz, being mostly students, members of aristocrats' and church orchestras, and musicians from other countries (who included the author of this testimony himself). It is interesting that what was for the time a huge performing ensemble is by no means reflected in the score of Costanza e Fortezza. The instrumentation and manner of leading the voices in the arias are the same as in Fux's other musical dramatic works.61 Furthermore, the score contains several arias with a surprisingly sparse instrumentation — four arias have only a basso continuo accompaniment and two more are accompanied only by solo instruments (violoncello in one case and oboe in the other) and basso continuo. The other arias, too, have a normal instrumental accompaniment: the solo voice is accompanied by a basso continuo group or by the orchestra playing "piano", in other words without the oboes. Thus the entire orchestral tutti was not used for solo singing, but only for the sinfonia, the ritorneflos of the arias, and choral pieces, where the instruments play normally with the singers ("colla parte"). On the other hand, no matter what the number of instruments accompanying the arias may have been, during the recitatives the singer could have been accompanied only by the usual basso continuo group (harpsichord, violoncello, double bass). The acoustics of the theater must therefore have been so well calculated that it would have been possible to hear both vocal soloists and accompanying or solo instruments from every seat. Here we can recall once 67 Jana Spáčilová & Štěpán Vácha, The Performance of Tux's Opera Costanza e Fortezza in Prague in 1723 again Galli-Bibiena's experience of the court theater in Parma. From Flemming's report we know that Prince Franz Stephan of Lorraine — as one of the most honored guests at the performance—was seated in the central loge, which was consequently the one farthest away from the stage [fig. 19]. In spite of this, he must surely have been able to see and hear properly. It is clear that the unusually large size of the orchestra was not due to acoustic reasons, but mainly in order to increase the splendor of the festive performance. There is no doubt that the very high walls of the auditorium and the fact that wood was used as the building material helped to optimize the transmission of the sound in the uncovered theater. We make no claim to have exhausted this topic with the study. On the contrary, while it was being written more and more questions arose, the answers to which would have required further study. However, we hope that the information we have published here will stimulate new discussion on this issue and at the same time open up new themes. Perhaps this will one day lead to a historically informed new performance of the opera in a reconstruction of Galli-Bibiena's theater in Prague. The three hundredth anniversary of the original staging of the opera approaching in 2023 might be an appropriate occasion. Notes This study originated as a revision of our article "Galli-Bibienovo divadlo pro slavnostní operu Costanza e Fortezza (1723) ve světle nových výzkumů", Castrum Pragense X (2010) (in print). It is one of the outcomes of the research projects funded by the grant agency of the Akademie Věd České Republiky, Korunovační cesta Karla VI. do Prahy 1723 [The coronation journey of Charles VI to Prague in 1723] (project no. KJB 8164401) and by the grant agency of the Czech Republic, Výzkum operního repertoáru v českých zemích v době baroka [Research into opera repertoire in the Czech lands during the Baroque period] (project no. GA 408/09/0334). The authors are grateful to the Nadace barokního divadla zámku Český Krumlov and the Josef, Marie and Zdeňka Hlávka Foundation for enabling them to present their research at the New York conference Music, Body and Stage: The Iconography of Music Theater and Opera. Our special thanks go to Pierliugi Petrobelli for his valuable advice given in New York. 1 Basic information about the opera, including the bibliography so far, is given under the entry Johann Joseph Fux, in: Starší divadlo v českých zemích do konce 18. století: Osobnosti a díla. Česká divadelní encyklopedie. Ed. by Alena Jakubcová et al. (Praha: Academia, 2007), 181-183. The most recent analytical study of this opera was presented by Irena Veselá, Císařský styl v hudebně-dramatických dílech provedených za pobytu Karla VI. v českých zemích roku 1723 ["Kaiserstil" in the music-dramatic works performed during the stay of the Emperor Charles VI in the Bohemian Lands (1723)] (thesis of Masarykova univerzita, Brno, 2007). Further aspects of the performance of the opera will be presented in the publication Štěpán Vácha, Irena Veselá, Vít Vlnas, Petra Vokáčo-vá, Karel VI. a Alžběta Kristýna: Česká korunovace roku 1723 (Praha; Litomyšl: Paseka, 2009) (in print). 2 Examples of the libretto with the prints bound with it are given by Otto G. Schindler, "Kaiserliche Augustini-Oper zwischen Hofjagd und Huldigung: Die Verlegung von Caldaras L'asilo ďAmore von Böhmisch Krumau nach Linz", Studien zur Musikwissenschaft: Beihefte der Denkmäler der Tonkunst in Österreich XLIV (1995), 135, note 15. 3 Ibid., 134. 4 See I Bibiena: Una famiglia europea. Ed. by Deanna Lenzi (Venezia: Marsilio, 2000), 254-257, catalogue entries no. 22a-e (author of entries Martina Frank). 5 These were operas staged on the occasion of the weddings of two archduchesses, daughters of the deceased Emperor Joseph I. The first opera was Sirita, marking the wedding of Maria Jose-pha in 1719 (four sets, 1-7,1-9, II-6, II-9), and the second was he nozze di Aurora, for the wedding of Maria Amalia in 1722 (two sets, rV-6, IV-9). 6 For more details about them, see Monika Schlechte, Die Kunst der Repräsentation — repräsentative Kunst: Ceremoniell und Fest am Beispiel von Julius Bernliard von Rohrs "Einleitung zur Ceremoniel-Wissenschafft" und der Festlichkeiten am Dresdner Hof im jähre 1719 (diss., Technischen Universität Dresden, 1990), 121-135. 7 Herrn Johann Joachim Quantzens Lebenslauf, von ihm selbst entworfen, Historisch-Kritische Beyträge zur Aufnahme der Musik. Ed. by Friedrich Wilhelm Marpurg (Berlin: Lange, 1754), vol. 1,197-250, here see 216. 8 Costanza e Fortezza. Festa Teatrale per Musica, Da Rappre-sentarsi nel Reale Castello di Praga. Per il felicissimo giorno Natalizio della Sac. Ces. Catt. Reale Maestä di Elisabetta Cristina, Imperadrice Regnante, per comando della Sac. Ces. Catt. Reale Maestä di Carlo VI., Imperadore de' Romani Sempře Augusto V Anno 1723. The score is kept in the Österreichische Nationalbibliothek in Vienna, Mus. Hs.17.266.1-3 Mus. The libretto is preserved in the archive of the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Vienna, Suppl. Op. Car. 22/19 /IV. 9 The library of the Strahovský klášter (Prague), Annales Strahovienses 1716-1738, sign. DJ III 6, fol. 184v: "[1723] Augusti 28. Suae Majestatis Imperatricis die genethliaca, instructó in loco Scholae Equestris Caesareae, impensis Caesareis sumptuoso juxta ac artificioso theatro, lusa fuit in veneratione altissime fatae Suae Majestatis Imperatricis natalizantis, et diebus coronationum, de quibus infra, reproducta, sub alio congregate) copioso musicorum numero, omnique musices genere hunc in finem adhibito, hie dicta opera, expugnationem romanae urbis repraesentans, coepta hora nona vespertina et durans ultra noctis medium, cuius musices sonus laté diffundebatur ob auram pacatam in illam noctem incidentem. Dicebatur opera ista constitisse septuaginta plus millia florenorum." 10 A detailed analysis of this question is provided by Irena Veselá, Císařský styl. See also Reinhard Strohm, "Costanza e Fortezza: Investigation of the Baroque Ideology", I Bibiena: Una famiglia in scena: Da Bologna all'Europa. Ed by Daniela Gallingani (Fi-renze: Alinea, 2002), 75-91; Andreas Gugler, "Constantia et For-Htudine: Bankette und Schauessen im Zusammenhang der Krö- 68 Music in Art XXXIV/1-2 (2009) nungsfeierlichkeiten in Prag 1723", Život na dvorech barokní šlechty (1600-1750). Ed. by Václav Bůžek (České Budějovice: Jihočeská univerzita, 1996), 267-292, especially 285-286. Among other authors who have considered this issue we should mention at least Herbert Seifert, Otto G. Schindler and Tomislav Volek. 11 Franz Hadamowsky, Die Familie Gaüi-Bibiena in Wien: Leben und Werk für das Theater (Wien: Prachner, 1962), 23-35. 12 The most recent study of the garden theater in the imperial residence Favorita was presented by Štěpán Vácha, "Pražské divadlo pro operu Costanza e Fortezza (1723) v kontextu evropské divadelní architektury 17.-18. století", Divadelní revue XX (2009), 13-31. 13 Quoted by Otto G. Schindler, "Kaiserliche Augustini-Oper", 134. 14 On its staging see Herbert Seifert," Die Aufführungen der Opern und Serenate mit Musik von Johann Joseph Fux", Studien zur Musikwissenschaft: Beihefle der Denkmäler der Tonkunstin Österreich XXIX (1978), 19-20. See also note 4 in this study. 15 See Friedrich Wilhelm Riedel, "Die Musik bei der Erbhul-digungsreise Kaiser Karls VI. nach Innenösterreich 1728", Florile-gium muskologicum: Hellmut Federhofer zum 75. Geburtstag. Ed. by Christoph-Hellmut Mahling (Tutzing: Schneider, 1988), 275-286. Here can be found a detailed itinerary of the journey and a description of the musical activities, including the repertoire for the church music. 16 See O.G. Schindler, "Kaiserliche Augustini-Oper". Calda-ra evidently only learned about the cancellation of the performance later on, for on the title page of his autograph score he still gives the original venue planned for the production: "Festa Teatra-le da cantarsi nell'Anno 1732 U28 Agostoin Cromaur (!)". The piece is dated "In Casal Maggiore in Italia. Fine a di 7 Luglio 1732". The score is kept in the archives of the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Vienna. 17 Giuseppe Galli-Bibiena had been appointed First Master-Builder and Theatrical Engineer (Erster Architect und Theaterbau Ingenieur) on 13 January of the same year. See Franz Hadamowsky, Die Familie Galli-Bibiena, 13-14, no. 3. 18 Diennebier writing to Althann from Prague, 24 January 1723 (draft), Archiv Pražského hradu (hereafter APH), Dvorní stavební úřad (Hofbauamt, hereafter HB A), inv. no. 1975, box 103 (not folioed). 19 See Notta de legnami che si dovrano provedere per la festa teatrale di Praga, undated, unsigned, ibid. Legni grossi di Altezza alia piu si potrano avere per il numero: 85 Tavolle grosse: 1300 Tavole sorili dette Istrument laden: 1000 Continelle ma che siano grosse forte e lunge pi[ed]i 28 per il numero di 1500 Legni grossi di lungezza piedi 50 Continelle lunghe piedi 26 20 Diennebier writing to Althann from Prague, February 1723 (draft), ibid. 21 For the castle theater in the 17th century, see Marc Niubö, "Leopold I. a hudba císařského dvora v Praze v letech 1679-1680", Barokní Praha - barokní Čechie, 1620-1740: Sborník příspěvků z vědecké konference o fenoménu baroka v Čechách, Praha, Anežský kláštera Clam-Gallasův palác, 24.-27. zán2001. Ed. by Olga Fejtová, Václav Ledvinka, Jiří Pešek, Vít Vlnas (Praha: Scriptorium, 2004), 95-131. 22 Diennebier writing to Althann from Prague, 15 May 1723 (draft), APH, HB A, inv. no. 1975, box 103:"[...] der Theatral Inge-nier oder Architect hat alhie alle Gelegenheiten bey dem schloss, als auch in denen 2 thiergarthen besichtiget, und ist solcher anhmuth[?] wird von hier nach Wien abgereysset, welcher von allen Müntlicher Relation abstatten wirdt; diesser fünth des Comedi Haus zu klein, hingegen aber die offene reithschuhl und andere gelegenheith in Thier und Lust garten sehr wohl, was selbe aber an holtz und laden verlangen, und was solches unge-fehr an Geldt betragen wirdt, lege unterthenigst bey; in [...?] wegen des fehlehrs wirdt alles noch höher lauffen, und zu Verhüttung alles Unglücks muss man doch starek laden haben, so ich allen fleisses bestellen muss, und absonderl. die Latten, so man hier von der verlangen Langen nicht bekommen kan; die Instrument laden muss ich auch bestellen und aigens machen lassen, weilen man selbe hier Landes nicht in brauch hat." About the stay of Pietro Pariati in Prague see the reply from Althann to Diennebier written in Laxenburg, 22 May 1723 (draft), ibid.: "Der Theatral Ingenieur und Kays. Poet können nicht genugsamb den guten Stande des Schlosses loben, welches mich so wohl wegen meiner Selbsten als wegen der selben zu Ihro May. diensten erfreyet." 23 See Jan Morávek, "Jean Baptisté Mathey a Pražský hrad", Umění VI (1958), 166-177; Pavel Vlček et al, Umělecké památky Prahy: Pražský hrad a Hradčany (Praha: Academia, 2000), 250-253. In the 1950s the original terrace was replaced by an exact copy, underneath which were constructed garages. The plans have been preserved in APH, collection of designs, no. 11001. 24 Published by Antonín Podlaha, "Plány a kresby chované v kanceláři správy Hradu Pražského", Památky archeologickéXXXII (1920-1921), 89-97, č. 13, tab. VI. The plan dates from around 1760. 25 J. Morávek, "Jean Baptisté Mathey", 168. 26 O.G. Schindler, "Kaiserliche Augustini-Oper", 134; Herbert Haupt, Kunst und Kultur in den Kammerzahlamtsbüchern Kaiser Karls VI. 1: Die fahre 1715 bisl727 (Horn; Wien: Berger, 1993), 103, Reg. 1151. 27 See Johann Adam von Heintz, Ausführliche Beschreibung der Anno 1723, Österreichisches Staatsarchiv Wien (hereafter ÖStA Wien), Haus-, Hof- und Staatsarchiv (hereafter HHStA), sign. 525 (Handschrift Weiss, Cod. Böhm 1043), fol. 86r-86v. A brief biography of Johann Wolfgang Haymerle, who was born in Planá near Mariánské Lázně (Plan near Marienbad in Western Bohemia), is provided by O.G. Schindler, Starší divadlo, 237-239. 28 Wienerisches Diarium 63 (7 August 1723). 29 The composer Johann Joachim Quantz, who played the oboe in the orchestra at the time, mentions in his memoirs that he travelled to Prague with other musicians in July 1723. See Herrn Johann Joachim Quantzens Lebenslauf, 216. 30 See Johann Adam von Heintz, Ausführliche Beschreibung der Anno 1723, ÖStA Wien, HHStA, sign. 525, fol. 87v. 31 Ibid., fol. 87v-88r. 32 Josef Svátek, Panování císaře Josefa I. a Karla VI. (Praha: I.L. Kober, 1896), 241. His version was followed by others. For example, Martina Frank, I Bibiena: Unafamiglia europea, 314, gives the date the theater ceased to exist as 1753; also Guido Carrai, "Giuseppe Galli Bibiena e la messa in scéna della festa teatrale per musica Costanza e Fortezza a Praga nel 1723", Rivista dell' Istituto Italiano di Cultura di Praga VII (2002), 68-75, here 75. On the castle theater built in 1680, see note 21 of this study. 33 Diennebier writing to the Chamber Councillor {Cammerrat) Wanner from Prague on 29 December 1723 (draft), APH, HBA, inv. no. 1975, box 103; also Jan Port, "Divadelní výtvarníci staré Prahy", Kniha o Praze (Pražský almanach) III (1932), 82; Antonín Novotný, Prate "Temna", 1719-1729 (Praha: Atlas,1946), 304. 34 See Johann Adam von Heintz, Ausführliche Beschreibung der Anno 1723, ÖStA Wien, HHStA, sign. 525, fol. 87r-87v. Cf. Herbert Haupt, Kunst und Kultur, 104, Reg. 1162; Otto G. Schindler, "Kaiserliche Augustini-Oper", 134, note 14; also Antonín Novotný, Staropražská theatralia: Materialie k dějinám pražského diva- 69 Jana Spáčilová & Štěpán Vácha, The Performance oj Tux's Opera Costanza e Fortezza in Prague in 1723 delnictví(Praha: Československé divadelní a literární jednatelství, 1955), 18. 35 O.G. Schindler, "Kaiserliche Augustini-Oper", 134. 36 The Strahov annalist, for example, states that the opera in Prague cost more than 70,000 guldens. See note 9. 37 The poet Apostolo Zeno wrote in a letter from Prague to his brother Piero Caterino Zeno dated 10 August 1723: "ii luogo sará capace di piu di quattro milia persone". Lettere di Apostolo Zeno Cittadino Venezia.no. Istorico e Poeta Cesareo (2nd ed., Venezia 1785), vol. 3,379. 38 OStA Wien, HHStA, Sign. 525, fol. 160v: "Abends aber wurde auf dem grossen Plaz, gleich neben der Kays. Reith-Schull, unter freyem Himmel, auf einem daselbst aigens errichteten Theatro, worbey auch die Sessiones des Auditorii auf vill 1000 Persohnen in der Halbrundung ordentlich errichtet waren." Cf. A. Gugler, Constantia et Fortitudine, 272. 39 In the libretto of the opera this scenic effect is described as follows: "Si alzerä dal fiume una Macchina, che alia prima vista rappresenterä una gran massa di aqua lucidissima." The transformation into a shrine is recorded in the libretto as follows: "Cade tutta 1'acqua nel fiume, e comparrisce la Reggia del Teve-re." See the libretto Costanza e Fortezza: Festa teatrale per musica (Wien 1723), 5. 40 In the libretto this whole scenic effect is described as follows: "Si avanza la machina che rappresenta una magnifica Grot-tesca. —Si trasforma la Grottesca in un grand'Arco Trionfale, sopra di cui si vedono gli Dei Penati con Genio di Roma. — Discende dalla macchina il Genio di Roma e quelli che sono con esso." Ibid., 49,50, 51. 41 Cf. note by Quantz: "Weil nun wegen Menge der anwesenden Menschen, vielen, auch so gar Personen von vornehmen Stande, der Eingang in die Oper versperretf!] war; so ließen meine beyden Geföhrten, und ich, uns auch mit zum Orchester anwerben." Herrn Johann Joachim Quantzens Lebenslauf, 220. 42 The ambassadors were the papal legate Girolamo Grimal-di and the Venetian ambassador Francesco Donado. 43 See the edition here, fol. 70r. 44 For more details on the visits by the foreign princes to Prague and their attendance at the performance, see Š.Vácha, I. Veselá, V. Vlnas, and P. Vokáčová, Karel VI. a Alžběta Kristýna. 45 H. Seifert, "Die Aufführungen", 24. 46 A Prague foot = 0.2957 meters. See Ivan Hlaváček, Jaroslav Kašpar, Rostislav Nový, Vademecum pomocných věd historických (Jinočany: H & H, 2002), 172. The use of a scale in Prague feet shows that this engraving was based on a technical drawing intended for local craftsmen. 47 In other words, we have divided the width of the theater, which according to the scale on Galli-Bibiena's plan was 38.1 meters, by the width of the Riding School (35.7 meters), and arrived at a reduction coefficient of 1,06723. More details on this in Table A. 48 On the ground plan of the theater [fig. 8], the side entrance is wrongly shown as being on a level with the pillar between the first and second loges on the right. Its correct location beneath the first loge is depicted on the engraving of the side wall of the auditorium [fig. 9] and the overall view of the theater [figs. 1 & 7]. 49 Simply for purposes of comparison we will mention that Jiří Hilmera, "Costanza e Fortezza: Eine festliche Barockvorstellung", Zelenka Studien. II: Referate und Materialien der 2. Internationalen Fachkonferenz Jan Dismas Zelenka (Dresden und Prag 1995). Ed. by Günter Gattermann (Sankt Augustin: Academia-Verlag, 1997), 471-476, here 473, estimated the total length of the stage as around 63 metres. 50 An overview of the architectural history of Italian theater is provided in Teatro: Eine Reise zu den oberitalienischen Theatern des 16.-19. Jahrhunderts. Contributions by Siegfried Albrecht, Ulricke Dembski, et al. (Marburg: Jonas Verlag, 2001); also Opernbauten des Barock: Eine internationale Tagung des Deutschen Nationalkomitees vonICOMOS und der Bayerischen Verwaltung der Staatlichen Schlösser, Gärten und Seen, Bayreuth, 25.-26. September 1998. Ed. by Florian Fiedler (München: Lipp, 1999). Especially for the situation in Germany see Harald Zielske, "Die Anfänge einer Theaterbautheo-rie in Deutschland im 17. und 18. Jahrhundert", Bühnenfo-men-Bühnenräum-Bühnendekorationen:BeiträgezurEntwicklungdes Spielorts. Herbert A. Frenzel zum 65. Geburstag von Freuden und wissenschaftlichen Mitstreitern. Ed. by Rolf Badenhausen und Harald Zielske (Berlin: Schmidt, 1974), 28-63. 51 Teatro, 24-25. 52 Susanne Grötz, Ursula Quecke, "Das Teatro Olimpico in Sabbioneta", Teatro, 61-67; Maria Elisa Avagnina, II Teatro Olimpico (Venezia: Marsilio, 2005); Stefano Mazzoni, "Vincenzo Sca-mozzi architetto-scenografo", Vincenzo Scamozzi (1548-1616). Ed. by Franco Barbieri e Guido Beltramini (Venezia: Marsilio, 2003), 70-87. 53 Susanne Grötz, Ursula Quecke, "Das Teatro Farnese in Parma", Teatro, 69-76; also II Palazzo delia Pilotta a Parma: Dai ser-vizi della carte alle moderne istituzioni culturali. Ed. by Lucia Fornari Schianchi (Parma: Cassa di Risparmio di Parma e Piacenza, 1996); Gianni Capelli, II Teatro Farnese di Parma: Architettura, scene, spettacoli (Parma: Public Promo Service Editrice, 1990). 54 The ground floor area of the auditorium was also used for holding tournaments and horse ballets. The theater was destroyed during the Second World War and restored in a reduced form. 55 Giuseppe Cirillo, "Vicende e opere dei Bibiena nel Ducato farnesiano", idem, Architettura dipinta: Le decorazioni parmensi dei Galli Bibiena (Parma: STEP, 2007), 13-58. 56 Ibid., 21-23, 25. 57 Cf. conference proceedings The World of Baroque Theatre: A Compilation of Essays from the Český Krumlov Conferences 2002, 2003. Ed. by Jarmila Musilová (Český Krumlov: Nadace barokního divadla, 2003); The World of Baroque Theatre: A compilation cf Essays from the Český Krumlov Conferences 2004,2005, 2006. Ed. by Pavel Slávko & Hana Srbová (Český Krumlov: Nadace barokního divadla, 2007). 58 The ensemble was established in Prague in 1995, and since the beginning it has focused on Baroque vocal dramatic music. Since its founding it has staged more than fifteen Baroque operas and oratorios, more than half of which have been modern world premieres, . The authors of this article are involved in the activities of this ensemble: Jana Spáčilová was leader of the orchestra from 1998 to 2007 and Štěpán Vácha has taken part in several operatic productions as a member of the chorus. 59 Jana Spáčilová, Houslová hra v 17. a 18. století aneb Pokus o návod jak hrát na barokní housle (Český Krumlov: Nadace barokního divadla, 1999); Ondřej Macek, "Die Besonderheiten der Besetzung der Italienischen Opernorchester im 18. Jahrhundert und ihre mögliche Einflüsse in Böhmischen Länder", Sborník prací filozofické fakulty brněnské univerzity H:XXXI (1996), 44-47. 60 We arrived at this number on the basis of a comparison of a provisional list of the members of the Viennese orchestra (cf. Lista deren zur Kays. Music gehörig und mit nach Prag gehende Persohnen, published in the series Johann Joseph Fux, Costanza e Fortezza), with the information about the court musicians accommodated in Prague published by Paul Nettl, "Das Prager Quartierbuch des Personals der Krönungsoper 1723", Mitteilungen der Komission für Musikforschung VIII (1957), 1-7. According to J.J. Quantz, only about twenty members of the imperial orchestra played at the performance in Prague ("von dem wienerischen Orchester aber waren nur etliche zwanzig Personen mitgebracht 70 Music in Art xxxiv/1-2 (2009) worden"). Herrn Johann Joachim Quantzens Lebenslauf, 219. 61 Johann Joachim Quantz himself characterises the music of the opera as more church music than theatrical ("mehr kirchenmäßig, als theatralisch"), but he did not intend this assessment as a negative one. On the contrary, he stresses that in such a large space and with such a large number of musicians a contrapuntal and monumental type of arrangement sounded much better than a galant style full of ornaments and miniature figures. See ibid., 216. This judgement of taste is a little surprising coming from Quantz, who was known as a supporter and advocate of the modern style, but it shows that as an experienced musician he was capable of an objective aesthetic opinion. Technical parameters of the theater built in Prague for the 1723 performance of the opera costanza e fortezza The data on the basis of which the calculations were made are approximate, and it is therefore necessary to treat the results with a caution, in spite of the fact that they are expressed to two decimal places. a. Ground plan [fig. 8] The scale follows Bibiena's plan. 30 Prague feet correspond to 40 mm, thus 1 Prague foot is 1.33 mm on the plan; 1 Prague foot is 0.2957 m. Dimensions of theater according to Bibiena's plan (Prague feet / m) Dimensions of Summer Riding Reduction coefficient School (m) True dimensions of the theater (m) Width of theater (from the innermost border on the engraving) 129.0 / 38.1 „„, 38.1-35.7 = 1.06723 35.7 (width) (i.e.reducHonto93.7%) 35.7 Width of auditorium 110.25 / 32.6 30.54 Width of orchestra pit, from column to column 78.75 / 23.3 21.88 Span of proscenium 56.25 / 16.6 15.55 First flat (span), first change 55.12 / 16.3 15.27 Last flat (span) 46.87 / 13.8 12.98 Length of the theater along the central axis (from the innermost border on the left of the engraving, to the furthest point of the semicircular rounding of the auditorium) 374.25 / 110.6 93.2 (length) 93.2 (+ overlap 10.43 m) Position of the side entrance (from the furthest point in the central loge) 147.75 / 43.7 40.7 (position of passageway, from the viewing gallery) 40.93 (divergence 0.23 m) Length of auditorium (from the imperial entrance to the beginning of the orchestra pit, ground floor area) 111.75 / 33.0 30.92 Depth of orchestra pit 17.25 / 5.1 4.77 Throne to orchestra pit (from the center of the throne to the beginning oř the orchestra pit) 18.75 / 5.5 5.15 Throne to ramp 37.12 / 10.97 10.27 Depth of stage (from the ramp to the first backdrop) 108.0/31.93 29.91 71 Jana Spáčilová & Štěpán Vácha, The Performance ofFux's Opera Costanza e Fortezza in Prague in 1723 Maximum depth of stage (from the ramp to the innermost border on the engraving) 204.0 / 60.32 46.09 (+ overlap 10.43 m) Distance between flats 9.03 / 2.67 2.5 Span of side loge (the length of the balustrade in the loge) 14.62 / 4.32 4.04 Area for musicians / orchestra pit Length of tower for trumpeters (inner area) 15 / 4.43 4.15 Width of tower for trumpeters (inner area) 15 / 4.43 4.15 Upper side level (diagonally) 8.62 / 2.55 2.39 Lower side level (diagonally) 17.25 / 5.1 4.77 Grotto in third act Dimensions (length x depth) 28.50 x 10.5 / 8.42 x 3.1 7.89 x 2.90 Seats (sedili) for singers 12.75 x 7.12 / 3.77 x 2.1 3.53 x 1.96 B. Design of walls of the auditorium [fig. 9] Size on Bibiena's plan (cm) True dimensions of the theater (m) Span of side loge (the length of the balustrade in the loge) 5.7 4.04 (see above) Using this ratio of 5.7 cm to 4.04 m (a coefficient of 1.41089) it is possible to derive other height measurements for the auditorium. Height of loge to the top of the pediment, without the flaming vase and putti 28 19.84 Maximum height with obelisk, including the "fiery" balls 32.8 23.24 From floor to first floor cornice 8.8 6.23 From first floor cornice to obelisk 24 17.01 C. Overall view of the interior of the theater [fig. 1] Size on Bibiena's plan (cm) True dimensions of the theater (m) Span of proscenium: ^ Using this ratio of 18.2 cm to 15.55 m (a coefficient of 1.17141) we can 15.55 (see above) derive the following measurements: Height of tower without vase (ca.) 31.5 26.91 Height of tower with vase (ca.) 34 29.04 Height of partition round orchestra pit 1.3 1.11 72 Music in Art XXXIV/1-2 (2009) AzanaO. smith, On Tupos: Iconography and Verisimilitude in Early Arcadia. Gianvincenzo Gravina's Discorso sopra I'Endimione (1691) teaches us three important concepts about the creation and perception of verisimilitude within the literary society of the Arcadian Academy in Rome: (1) representations in poetry and musical drama should accord with the audience's "commonly held beliefs"; (2) images which portray such beliefs are the most effective means of representing truth; and (3) mythology is the most important literary source of truth. After establishing this theoretical construct, Gravina applies it to a music-dramatic text—Alessandro Guidi's L'Endimione (1688) — a work upheld as an exemplar of stylistic purity, poetic novelty and representational verisimilitude. L'Endimione narrates the shepherd Endymion's love for the moon goddess Cynthia. Surprisingly, though, the plot seems to contradict Gravina's theories of verisimilitude; at the most iconic and central moment of the narrative, Guidi reverses the traditional mythological narrative and subverts the gender roles of the two main characters. This essay seeks to understand the fundamental conflict posed by Gravina's theory and his analysis. Using sources drawn from art, mythography and literature, spanning the ancient and early modern eras, this essay provides a narrative paradigm, based on the iconography of the subject Endymion, against which Guidi's text can be read. The result is a broader historical and intellectual context both for Gravina's theory and for the values of Arcadian verisimilitude, and a practical model for analyzing late seventeenth- and early eighteenth-century musical drama. aosmith@indiana.edu Jana Spáčilová & Štěpán Vácha, New Insights into the Performance of Tux's Opera Costanza e Fortezza in Prague in 1723. The festa teatrale Costanza e Fortezza of Johann Joseph Fux, performed in Prague in September 1723 during the coronation visit of emperor Charles vi on the occasion of the birthday of his wife, Elisabeth Christine, attracts attention not only for its importance in music history, but also from the point of view of historical performance practice. The main iconographic sources are engravings of scenic projects of Galli-Bibiena. These pictures provide various views of the colossal building of the open-air theater, built for this occasion near Prague Castle. The task of our study is the reconstruction of the opera theater at Prague Castle and the analysis of its spatial and acoustic conditions. Bibiena's engravings are discussed with regard to the performance practice of Baroque opera (distribution of musicians within orchestra pit, the position of singers within the scene) and confronted especially with our own experiences of the period-style opera performances. The hitherto unknown archival documents concerning the Prague performance are published here, too. vacha@udu.cas.cz & janasp@seznam.cz EmileWennekes, Mengelberg Conducts Oberon; The Conductor as Actor, Anno 1931. Early moving pictures of orchestras in performance are often considered neither chalk nor cheese. They have been only marginally studied to date as an independent phenomenon both in musi-cology and in film studies. In the spring of 1931, in the Films So-nores Tobis studio at Epinay-sur-Seine, on the outskirts of Paris, was made an intriguing film wherein Willem Mengelberg (1871-1951) is seen (and heard) conducting the Concertgebouw Orchestra in segments of Weber's Oberon. The concept, context, studio decor as well as the performance are analyzed. Besides questions about the historical backdrop of this production, the circumstances that made the initially sceptical Mengelberg to "play himself" are described, clarifying his surprising decision to undertake the theatrics required. Several questions of definition are prominent in the article. How does one, in terms of genre, for example, even define the film in question? e.wennekes@uu.nl Biographies of Authors Carol Padgham Albrecht is Associate Professor of Music History and Oboe at the Lionel Hampton School of Music, University of Idaho. She has published articles on early nineteenth-century opera and music journalism, as well as woodwind pedagogy and literature. Theodore Albrecht is Professor of Musicology at Kent State University in Ohio, and the author of over three dozen articles ranging from Mozart and Haydn to Hans Pf itzner and Scott Joplin. He has edited Alexander Wheelock Thayer's Salieri, Rival of Mozart (1989), and translated Beethoven im Gespräch, Konversationsheft 95 for the Beethoven-Archiv in Bonn (2002). His Letters to Beethoven, and Other Correspondence (3 vols., 1996) won an ASCAP—Deems Taylor Award in 1997. He is presently working on a book-length study of Beethoven's interactions with the orchestral musicians of Vienna. Anita Breckbill is the head of the Music Library at the University of Nebraska—Lincoln, where she curates the Rokahr Family Ar- chive, an archive of opera scores, books, and posters with a concentration on French nineteenth-century opera. Her recent publications include article "Music circulating libraries in France: An overview and a preliminary list" (2007). She holds degrees from Goshen College, the University of Iowa and the University of California at Berkeley. Michael Burden is Reader in Music at Oxford University, and is Fellow in Music in Opera Studies at New College, Oxford, where he is also Dean. His published research is on the stage music of Henry Purcell, and aspects of dance and theater in London in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries; it includes an analytical catalogue of Metastasio's operas as performed in London. He is currently completing books on the staging of opera in London from 1660 to 1860, and on the London years of the soprano Regina Mingotti. He is Vice President of the British Society for 18th-Century Studies, a Visitor to the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, and director of productions of New Chamber Opera. 350 Music in Art XXXIV/1-2 (2009) cristina Santarelli, formerly lecturer in medieval and Renaissance music at the Turin University, is now an independent scholar affiliated with the Istituto per i Beni Musicali in Piemonte (responsible for its music-iconographical archive). In 2003 she has founded summer courses in Saluzzo (from 2007 held in Turin). She is member of the TMS Study Group on Musical Iconography. Her research is focused on twentieth-century visual art and on Savoy court. Ayana O. Smith is an assistant professor in the musicology department at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. Her research interests involve the intersection of literary criticism and vocal music in the Baroque era. Her current projects investigate how the shifting views of Aristotle's Poetics in the eighteenth century can inform new strategies for analyzing opera. She is a recent recipient of the Woodrow Wilson Junior Faculty Career Enhancement Fellowship, and has an article forthcoming in Eighteenth-Century Music. J an a SPÁČILOVÁ is a lecturer at the Institute of Musicology, Masaryk University in Brno, and a curator of at the Department of Music History of the Moravian Museum in Brno. She works on seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Austrian and Czech music, reception of Italian Baroque opera and oratorio in the Bohemian lands, history of the Baroque violin, and she is also music editor. She plays and teaches the Baroque violin. Štěpán Vácha is a scientific assistant at the Institute of Art History of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, specializing in the Renaissance and Baroque art, particularly the sacral art and representations related to the Habsburg court. His thesis Der Herrscher aufdem Sakralbild zur Zeit der Gegenreformation una des Barock is in press. He is also a co-author of a monography on the Czech coronation of the emperor Charles VI in 1723 (in print). Emile Wennekes is Chair Professor of Post-1800 Music History and Head of School for Media and Culture Studies at Utrecht University, where he was previously part time professor of Dutch music history. In 1999 he published his Ph.D. dissertation about the Amsterdam Crystal Palace. Before he made his switch to the university, Wennekes worked as a music journalist for leading Dutch daily newspapers, was artistic advisor for MuziekGroep Nederland and worked as an orchestral programmer for a public broadcasting company. 352