Patrizio Barbieri The acoustics of Italian opera houses and auditoriums (ca. 1450-1900) Except in § 1, the present study focuses mainly on opera houses.’ Their development will be illustrated from the surviving documentary evidence; it does not attempt, therefore, to use acoustic trials or subjective assessments based on analyses of the structure of individual halls. In this way I hope to give an idea of the forma mentis with which this difficult problem was viewed over the ages. (As is well known, the acoustic planning of auditoriums based on solid, quantitative foundations dates only from the early years of the twentieth cen- tury.) Although the present article is mainly dealing with scientific topics, the musician will notice that room acoustics and performance practice were more serictly related in the past than today, also because of the lack of electroacoustic devices. ‘The material is divided into the following ten sections: The Vitruvian heritage: “wave” acoustics (ca. 1450-1600) . Beyond Vitruvius: geometrical acoustics ‘The “circulation” of sound ‘The reflection of sound The dilemma of the extended proscenium stage . The acoustic properties of the three classes of construction material ‘The so-called “resonance” devices . “Enlightened” expedients aimed to facilitate the propagation of sound in the air g. The orchestra 10.The size of the auditorium and its repercussions on musical practice. SPYAYVAYP "The present article isa revised and greatly expanded version of a paper, “L’acustica delle sale d'opera in ale lame moro (1690-1890) peseel on 14 Ocrobe 1996 the Lneernadonal Symposium “Lacustica come bene culturale. La progecszione acustica del reztro d opera: conservazione e innovazione” (“The cultural herizage of acoustics. Acoustic design of apera houses: protection and research”), held at the Teatro Regio of Turin. RECERCARE 21998264 PATRIZIO BARBIERI 1. The Vitruvian heritage: “wave” acoustics (ca. 1450-1600) 11. Up until the late sixteenth century, the propagation of sound was lik- cned to that of the circular waves generated by bi a pebble into a pool.’ This theoretical framework is fist mentioned by Vitruvius (late first century 3.c), though the circular propagation of sound can be traced back to the time of Atistode? Vitruvius adel that since sound is also propagated upwards, chese ‘waves are in fact spherical, thereby justifying the hollow cavea of Greek theatres. ‘The same model was adopted in the Renaissance theatres of Serlio (1539), Pal- ladio (1588-9), Scamozzi (1589) and Aleotti (1618) (figure 1a)." A yet more radical application of the concept of sound propagation through concentric spherical waves is illustrated ina dea by Leonardo da Vinci (figure 1b).’ 1.2. Though Leon Battista Alberti followed the genetal principles of Vitru- vius's treatise, in Book vitt of the De re edificatoria (1447-52) he makes two original observations that reveal how topical the problem of suppressing echo was: a. The wall running along the top of the Vieruvian theatre was equipped wich a portico (figure 2): [In ess0 si raccoglievano] i gonfiai [The soundwave was collected in cerchi delle voci, le quali ricevute dol- this gallery] where being received into a cissimamente in esse loggie dalla aria as- thicker air it was not reverberated from sai quivi condensata, non fussino per- thence too violently, but returned clear cotendovi in piena ribatture da quella and a litele more strengthened. incere, ma pit presto rattenutevi, € raf- fermate, By adding a portico, therefore, the wall ceased to be one of those structures Vitruvius called “resonantes” (i.e. echo producing), and passed into the cat- 2 See, for example, LEON artista atnenmi: L‘archieinura(...] radota in lingua fiorentina da Cosimo Bartal...), Tortentino, Firenze 1550, p.299. > yrrauvius: De architecrura libri decem, cum commentariis Danielis Barbari, F. de’ Franceschi e 1. Cou- gher, Veneria 1567, pp. x71-2 (ib. v, cap. m); [pseudo-]arusrorte: Problems, with an English translation by W. S. Hert, vol. 1, Heinemann, London 196, pp. 258-9. 4 paoto PORTOGHESK: “Acustica”, Enciclopedia univerale dell'arte, vo. 1, Istiuro per la Collaborazione Culaurale, Venezia-Roma i958, pp. 22-31: 26-7. Figure 1a is fiom FRANCO MANCINI, MARIA TERESA BCU RARO and ELENA PovoLEDO: J searri del Veneto, vol. 11, Giunta Regionale Veneto, Venetia 1985, p. 223. 5 Figure ib is from maceiag. rorsrm: Buildings for music, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (Mias.) 1985, p. 34. Published also in saneneDo tarsi: Tear e scenografe, Touring Club Italiano, Milano 1976, p.27. © The English translation is from LE0N sarrista aLseRTi: The ten Looks of archivecrure the 1755 Leoni edition, Dover Publications, New York 1986, p. 178, For the Italian translation, see atBerTi: L architernuna, PP. 293-300 (this is also the firs edition to be provided with illustrarions). For the dating af Book var, see PAOLO PORTOGHES: Introduzione, in LEON BATISTA ALBERTI: L‘architttura 11 Poliflo, Milano 1966, p. xa."THE ACOUSTICS OF ITALIAN OPERA HOUSES AND AUDITORIUMS 265 Figure 1. (a) Vicenza, the Teatro Olimpico by Andrea Palladio (1583): director's sketch of the theatre plan for the production of CEdipus rex (3584-5) (Mancini, Muraro and Povoledo 1985, p. 223, detail). (b) Leonardo da Vinci, sketch for a Papas hall”: the orator spoke from the top of the column, right in the centre ‘the sphere (Forsyth 1987, p. 14). egory of those that were “consonantes” (i.e. with a reverberation time that would not impair the intelligibility of speech)’ Today, using Leo Beranek’s terminology, we would say that it was a means of obtaining both “warmth” and “liveness”, an effect to which the resonance vases placed in the niches under the portico should have contributed (about whose utility Alberti was not altogether convinced, but accepted in deference to Aristotle’ authority). Similar porticos are found in the theatres of Palladio, Scamozzi and Aleotti mentioned above, where their anti-echo function must have been even more necessary, as they were situated in a hall of parallelepiped shape. b. In his plans for the “curi”, Vieruvius suggests placing a comice half way up the perimeter walls, to prevent the orator’s voice from dispersing upwards and thereby ceasing to be intelligible to the assembly (figure 3).’ Alberti points out that by obstructing the upward spread of sound these cornices avoid the phenomena of excessive reverberation, especially when the ceilings are vaulted, From figure 4, however, we see that the underlying niches, acting as authentic diffusers of sound, must have made a decisive contribution’ ” verauvius: De archizectura libri decem, p.194 (lib. V, cap. vit). 8 vernuyrus: De architecrura libri decem, p. 168 (lib. v, cap. 1: “De wrario, carcere, et cutia ordinandis”), Figure is ftom ML. Virwuio Pollione di Architeenera dal vero exemplar lasino nella volear lingua tadosto [..J (with an introduction by Francesco Lutio Durantino), no publisher, Venezia 1535, fol. xvi. > guperti: L architettera p. 312.