Estonian National Opera (EE) visited 8th December 2015

The Jugendstil building was designed by Finnish architects Armas Lindgren and Wivi Lönn.
It was built as a national effort with the leadership of Estonia society in 1913 and was opened to the public on 24 August.
At the time, it was the largest building in Tallinn.

The opera house was heavily damaged in the Soviet air raid on Tallinn on 9 March 1944.

It was reconstructed in a classical and Stalinist style, and reopened in 1947

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The reconstruction was done by prisoners of war.

In the flytower, several names of German prisoners are welded in, like Heino did in February 1947.

The painting of the dome is remarkable as it shows classical Sovjet heroic propaganda of brave soldiers and harvesting farmers.

The building houses the Estonian opera and ballet.
They are a producing house and play in repertoire.
Everything is done in house, so they have a wood, metal and costume workshop.
Almost every year, they renovate a part of the building.

The paintshop was just done and was equipped with a bridge to allow the painters to check their work from a distance.

Worth to take a look at is the entrance to the parking: at one side, the gates have the shape of a fiddlestick, at the other side they’re in the form of the hand of the conductor.

Next door is the Eesti Draama Theatre, dating from 1902, and also worth a visit

Ystad Theatre Visit July 2013 SE

We were warmly welcomed by the director of this beautiful theatre, who is clearly a jazz lover.

This explains the program of the venue that is focused on concerts and a jazz festival.

When the theatre opened in 1894, its new machinery for movable scenery was already considered out of date.

The era of Baroque, when this technology had been invented, was definitely over. So it remained 

unused, and its wooden drums and shafts, chariots and wheels disappeared bit by bit over the years. 

When Per Simon Edström came looking for it in 1992, he found parts of it all over the theatre. So he started to reassemble the machinery, resulting in a new looking understage.

 

The machinery to move the wings is seldom used, but the counterweight lifts are still in operation.

Teatro Comunale , Carpi (IT) visit 1th of August 2014

The Municipal Theatre in Carpi was inaugurated in 1861
It was a “Society of Box Owners” that entrusted the architect Cesare Costa with the task of erecting a new theatre on the impressive main square, the Piazza dei Martiri. Contrary to the inscription over the portico, the theatre became the property of the city already before the inauguration. It has been entirely preserved since then.

Rumors say, the half naked women on the fire curtain, were the wives of the members of the society of box owner, creating a scandal at opening night.

The hall, stage and dressing rooms are beautifully preserved.

The earthquake of 2011 did some damaged, but everything was perfectly restored.
Only in the wooden beams that hold up the dome above the audience needed some special treatment.
They are reinforced in a "flexible" way, so that will withstand future earthquakes better.

A real gem is found above this dome: a big attic, used for rehearsals and scenic painting.
Graffiti made by the artists up to the 19th century can be found here.

Here is also the hatch trough which the big chandelier can be hoisted.

The stage tower is completely white, making it a nice space to work in.

The grid is equipped the old Italian way with wheels that can removed and changed position to put flies of any length and angle that you want.
The wheels are not the original ones, bur made new for this theatre.

To do this quickly, you need to have the ropes ready at the right lengths of course.

When I was there, visit was only on appointment.
Since the director only spoke Italian, he was so kind to also invite an interpretor from the touristic office.
Next door is the remains of a castle, but we didn't visit that.

Fredrikshald Theatre, Halden (NO) visit 4th of August 2013

Norway‘s best preserved historic theatre opened in 1838., and expanded in 1850 with banqueting rooms and a kitchen. 
An extensive restoration campaign was completed in 1982 and a new dressing room block added.

The theatre has guided tours, but can also be visited on appointment, so we were greeted by Ms. Annerud who especially opened her theatre for us on Sunday morning.

The venue is owned by the by Halden historiske Samlinger (Halden History Museum).
The theatre operates as a theatre and event location within the antiquarian and museum requirements.
 

Fredrikshald Theatre has an extraordinary collection of stage sets from the 19th century

The stage, too, has been preserved, featuring a simple mechanism for scene changes.

There is no understage machinery.

Also visit the fort high on the hill above Halden, and have a drink and something to eat at the restaurants overlooking the waterside at the fjord.

Château de Chimay (BE) visit 18th of July 2015

In the castle of the prince of Chimay is the only court theatre in Belgium that is located inside the walls of the castle.

In the seventeenth century, there already was a theatre, located in the courtyard.
Even then, music festivals were taking place.
In 1863 is started with the construction of a baroque theatre inside the castle, after a design by the architects Cambon and Lefuel.

The theatre is below ground level, because they didn't want to lift the roof.
Since the castle is build on a rock, the theatre is excavated in the rock.
The "Royal box" is at ground level, and has access to the ball room.

In 1935 practically the whole castle was destroyed by fire, but the theatre was saved.
In 2011, The present prince of Chimay, prince Philippe commission an important renovation of the theatre.
The paintings were done by Thierry Bosquet, former head painter at the national opera La Monaie De Munt.

He also painted the new sets, that were put on tracks at the moment of our visit.
Here you see prince Philippe showing us around:

Unfortunatly the understage machinery is no longer there.
The only part that remains are the iron tracks where the wagons used to roll on.
Today, the tracks are in use to store the stock of champagne on.

The audience room is magnificent and very baroque.
The sound of the room that sits 200 people is perfect for music performances.
The music festival is renowned for many years.

The castle and theatre can be visited during opening hours.
When you come in, you receive an iPad trough which you can look at the exterior and interior of the castle with augmented reality.
Very hitech, but also a very nice way to visit the castle at your own pace.
There is a special version for children included.
Included in the visit is a 3D film, shown in the theatre, showing the history of the castle in a very entertaining way.
Well worth a visit, and don't forget to taste the magnificent Chimey beer (blond and brown)

Teatro Farnese Parma (IT) visit 12th of August 2014

The theatre lies hidden inside the vast Palazzo della Pilotta.
It's part of the big art museum, but can also be visited seperatly during museum hours: for a few euro, you're in!

The theatre was designed for tournament-operas, a mix of opera and fighting.

The action on stage could be continued in the arena of the auditorium which could also be filled with water to host sea battles

Performances in the Farnese Theatre were rare and restricted to special occasions.

It became a model for Baroque theatre by virtue of its size and a new element: a monumental proscenium that divides the stage (with the first movable scenery in theatre history) and the auditorium.

This is considered to be the first proscenium in history.

Following an air raid, the wooden interior burnt down in 1944 and was reconstructed in 1956.

Despite the fact that everything is relatively new, I heartily recommend a visit, since it's still a magnificent venue.

Teatro Comunale Bologna (IT) visit 2th of August 2014

The theatre, Designed by  famous architect and stage designer Antonio Galli Bibiena opened on 14 may 1763 

Over the next centuries bigger and smaller changes were executed concerning the camerini, i.e. small rooms behind the boxes, the walls of the stalls area, the portal, the painted ceiling (the current one dates from 1870) and the stage.

The facade was completed only in 1935-36 and the stage technology is of a much later date (90's)

But the real hidden treasure is below the floor of the auditorium.
There is a wooden machinery from 1820 that can lift the whole floor to the level of the stage.

Thanks to several leavers, the whole floor can be tilted so that the auditorium floor comes at the same lavel of the stagefloor, creating a big flat area that can be used for balls, parties, etc.

It(s not uncommon the auditorium floor can be leveled out to stage level, but to my knowledge, this can never be dome mechanicaly.
With just a few people and the matter of minutes the whole floor can be raised.

Nobody knows for sure when the machery was put in, but it's already mentioned in an inventory made in 1800.

Unfortunaly, this extra ordinary machine is not open for visit to the general public.
A technical study is made by Giuseppe Amoruso, titled: "Una macchina di legno nel Teatro Comunale di Bologna"