When Richard Wagner appeared on the scene in the nineteenth century, opera house design took a turn. It was in 1850 that Wagner planned to establish a temporary wooden theater near Zürich, a theater that was thought to be suited for his staging of The Ring.
Yet, it took some detours and time until the Festspieltheater opened in 1872 in Bayreuth, with the help of the architect Otto Brückwald. The result was a theater that was designed entirely around Wagner’s music drama, and has mostly remained like this until today (Forsyth, 1985, p. 186).
The amphitheatrical form of the auditorium, for one of the first times in opera house history, provided all visitors with equal sightlines. The stage was relatively large. Its size was emphasized by a double proscenium, which additionally created the effect of watching the drama from an illusionary distance for the visitors. They were looking at the space beyond, the distance thereby aiming to generate tension (Barron, 1994, p. 316). Dimmed auditorium lights added to the suspenseful atmosphere.
However, one of the most remarkable design features Wagner and Brückwald employed in order to create this illusionary and dramatic atmosphere was a deeply sunken orchestra pit (Spotts, 1994). This orchestra pit, to Wagner, was a crucial element in achieving the dramatic effect he aimed at while planning the theater:
This was the structure’s central feature, and Wagner essentially built his theatre around it. By constructing the pit below the level of the auditorium and partially covering it with a hood, he made the orchestra invisible and was able to plunge the theatre into complete darkness (Spotts, 1994, p. 4).
The pit, indeed, was very different in terms of design from the ones that had prevailed until then. It descended under the stage on six levels and could hold up to 130 musicians, which is the standard size of the Wagnerian orchestra. The walls and ceiling were painted black, and the pit was almost entirely covered by a hood that reached from the rail next to the audience in the direction of the stage, so that the orchestra remained entirely invisible (Forsyth, 1985, see figure 3).
The orchestra pit in Bayreuth was regarded by Wagner as a “mystischer Abgrund” – a mystical abyss – between the performers on stage and the audience (Barron, 1994, p. 316). As a side effect of the visual concealment of the pit, the music emanating from the orchestra is quieter and thus the balance between the singers and the orchestra can be maintained. Also, the sound that reaches the audience is reflected by the walls and ceilings and therefore is entirely indirect and blended together. As perceived by the audience, the sound is of a “mysterious, remote quality” (Forsyth, 1985, p. 187).
The orchestra pit is a fascinating example for the intertwinement of music and materiality, especially when it comes to spaces where music is made. The pit was and still is a crucial element in the performance of Wagner’s operas. Without the pit, the performance of the Wagner operas would certainly lack the dense atmosphere from which they feed: “I really must say it instantaneously gets you excited, the lights are being dimmed, and then the orchestra starts so unbelievably soft, this prelude to Lohengrin – and that you cannot see the orchestra really is an important part of this experience” (interview Birwe, 2015).
The pit itself is, as planned by Wagner, a crucial element in distinguishing his musical drama performances from other genres and styles in opera. It constitutes the decisive design component that characterizes a Wagnerian opera in Bayreuth, and generates a very different sound from other pits. This is visible in the fact that it fails to adequately support music written by any other composer (James, 1997). It is simply not suited for a more general musical repertoire.
The design of the pit is a mixture of acoustic requirements as posed by Wagner as well as the dramaturgical criterion that the pit needs to afford a certain atmosphere in order for the audience to be drawn into the performance, as well as it characterizes the performance. The capabilities embodied by the pit are a careful construction of Wagner, aimed at the unification of his music and drama. In this case, because of the overhang (which is both an acoustic and a dramaturgical element), the orchestra pit affords the musicians to play freely, and the conductor does not primarily need to pay attention to the danger that the orchestra could overpower the singers. The size of it is suited to accommodate a 130-piece orchestra, but cannot be reduced so as to accommodate smaller orchestras and still produce a satisfactory acoustic result.
The orchestra pit in Bayreuth is a very specific acoustic design, which does not allow for flexibility. This is the reason why until now, it remains unique in its design and has not been copied (Barron, 1994).
References
- Barron, M. (1994). Auditorium acoustics and architectural design. Spon Press.
- Forsyth, M. (1985). Buildings for Music: The Architect, the Musician, and the Listener from the Seventeenth Century to the Present Day. Cambridge: MIT Press.
- James, A. (1997). Extremes, Flexibility and Authenticity in Orchestra Pit Acoustics. Retrieved May 15, 2015 from: http://www.adrianjamesacoustics.co.uk/technicalstuff/paper2.pdf
- Spotts, F. (1994). Bayreuth: A History of the Wagner Festival. Yale University Press.
- Interview with Dagmar Birwe, April 29, 2015. Düsseldorf, Institut für Musik und Medien, office Dagmar Birwe.
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