Reconstructing the Mannheim court theatre

Abstract

N the introduction to his Treatise on theatres (London, 1790), George Saunders takes for granted the importance of the theatre in a city's cultural life: 'When a foreigner arrives at a town, his curiosity naturally leads him in the first place to visit the theatre. Here he receives his first impressions of the state of the arts, of the genius and the manners of the people.'1 Dr Charles Burney, a tireless traveller whose accounts remain a rich source of information on European musical life in the early 1770s, undoubtedly would have agreed. Every place he went in France, Italy, Germany and the Netherlands, he systematically sought out the theatres, often making astute observations on architecture, local practice and taste. In August 1772 Burney passed through Mannheim, residence of the Elector Palatine, and reported that the court theatre was 'one of the largest and most splendid theatres of Europe, capable of containing five thousand persons'.2 The theatre, located in the west wing of the palace, was designed by Alessandro Galli-Bibiena (16861748).3 Born into a distinguished family of northern Italian architects, Alessandro studied with his father Ferdinando Galli-Bibiena (1656-1743); he assisted him in service to the Spanish pretender Charles III at Barcelona and accompanied his patron to Vienna in 1711 after he was crowned Emperor Charles VI. In 1716 his brother Giuseppe Galli-Bibiena (1695-1757) succeeded Ferdinando as imperial theatre architect, and the same year Alessandro was appointed architect and stage designer to the Innsbruck court. Four years later he was called by Elector Palatine Carl Philipp to Mannheim, where he assisted in completing the palace begun in 1720 and built several other major buildings, including the Jesuit church. Construction of the court theatre began in 1737 and continued through the end of 1741.4 In January 1742 it was inaugurated with a gala performance of Carlo Grua's Meride.5 Opera thrived at Mannheim w th the support of Carl Philipp's nephew and succe sor, Carl Theodor, who acceded on 31 December 1742. He imported composers and works from Vienna, London, Rome and Naples. (See table i.) Dramatic spectacle was provided by Stefan Schenk, who served as court theatre architect until 1758, and la er by Lorenzo Quaglio (1730-1804). Between 1767 and 1768 the theatre was renovated, the seating capacity enlarged, and dressing rooms added for the actors. In 1777 Quaglio's new Nationaltheater opened, and the following year the court opera came to an abrupt end when Carl Theodor left Mannheim for Munich.6 The most detailed description of the Mannheim theatre was published by Pierre Patte in his Essai sur I' rchitecture thedtrale (1782). Patte served as architect to the neighbouring court at Zweibrticken, and would have had many opportunities to attend opera performances at Mannheim. Near the end of his description, Patte refers to a floor plan of the theatre (illus.1).