Abstract

As opera gained in popularity across the Italian peninsula the idea that sets should contribute to the ‘unity of place’ began to be superseded by a focus on the visual appeal of sets, and the surprise and wonder that they could induce in audiences. This demand for special effects and the fascination with aesthetics, such as ‘endless’ one-point perspectives, shaped the vision of nature presented on stage. Technical innovations meant that set designers and opera impresarios delighted in creating effects that mimicked nature, an approach that fed, and was fed by, contemporary interest in the human capacity to control and manipulate nature. This chapter looks at the phenomenon of macchine, or stage machinery, and the creation of immersive illusions of nature on stage. The role of the engineer in theatre is examined in relation to Giovanni Battista Aleotti, Francesco Guitti, and Giacomo Torelli in Venice. The way in which these techniques played into broader visual culture is examined at in relation to Bernini's work for the theatre in Rome.

Keywords: Opera, stage sets, stage machinery, engineers, Giacomo Torelli, Gianlorenzo Bernini, Giovanni Battista Aleotti, Francesco Guitti,

Of all the things which can be presented on a stage, none in my view more ravishes the minds of the spectators than the machines. This is because it is a source of great delight to witness things which are seemingly supernatural: such as an earth-bound person mounting to the sky; the appearance of a cloud filled with players and singers; seeing a temple rise up through the earth; a sudden scene-change to a wilderness or forest; seeing the ocean suddenly appear and in it tritons, gods, ships and other trompes-loeil. – Il Corago, c. 1630.