The Contribution of the Stage Design to the Acoustics of Ancient Greek Theatres

Nikos Barkas

doi:10.3390/acoustics1010018

Abstract

The famous acoustics of ancient Greek theatres rely on a successful combination of appropriate location and architectural design. The theatres of the ancient world effectively combine two contradictory requirements: large audience capacity and excellent aural and visual comfort. Despite serious alterations resulting from either Roman modifications or accumulated damage, most of these theatres are still theatrically and acoustically functional. Acoustic research has proven that ancient theatres are applications of a successful combination of the basic parameters governing the acoustic design of open-air venues: elimination of external noise, harmonious arrangement of the audience around the performing space, geometric functions among the various parts of the theatre, reinforcement of the direct sound through positive sound reflections, and suppression of the delayed sound reflections or reverberation. Specifically, regarding the acoustic contribution of the stage building, it is important to clarify the consecutive modifications of the skene in the various types of theatres, given the fact that stage buildings were almost destroyed in most ancient Greek theatres. This paper attempts to demonstrate the positive role of the scenery in contemporary performances of ancient drama to improve the acoustic comfort using data from a sample of twenty (20) ancient theatres in Greece.

Highlights

In ancient drama the term used for scenery is opsis, as Aristotle mentions in the Poetics
There was a natural amplification of the actors’ voices that compensated for the energy losses due to the sound propagation in the open air, a phenomenon that was evident in the upper tiers of the auditorium. To implement such a design in large-capacity open-air theatres without electro-acoustic systems, architects and engineers used a variety of solutions, depending on the positions of surfaces in relation to the actors and the chorus, such as open-air auditoriums, large smooth surfaces in the orchestra and the scenery, and the use of small irregular elements in the retaining walls, the passages running around the top of the cavea and the high walls of the stage facades of Graeco-Roman and Roman theatres [4,51,53]
The famous acoustics of the ancient Greek theatre rely on the amplified acoustic response of the space, which is related to the replacement of the energy losses, thanks to early, strong-though of a limited number-sound reflections, in the specific performing occasion when the theatrical message is delivered by vocal trained and experienced actors providing clear distinction of the successive parts of the linguistic chain [36,49,52]

Summary

Introduction

In ancient drama the term used for scenery is opsis, as Aristotle mentions in the Poetics. The present study draws data on the form and evolution of the skene from the dramas of the classical period, combined with archaeological, architectural and acoustic findings. Various hypothetical scenarios are studied (such as the influence of the audience, the ancillary use of loud speakers, skene installations and scenery) [6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19] This is often followed by a detailed examination of the effects of natural frequencies and diffraction on individual architectural elements ( resonators) [6,20,21]. To study the acoustic contribution of the skene, it is necessary to define the form of the scenery in the original conditions, meaning during the classical Era

The Evolution of Skene during the Classical Era

Acoustic Problems in the Case of 20 Greek Ancient Theatres