Roman Theatre at Orange (2000)
A wide view of the Roman theatre in Orange. Augustus Caesar still presides from his niche above the stage. Today the theatre is used for theatrical and dance productions. A dance rehearsal was in progress when I took this picture.
Standing in the foreground is my friend Roger. He’s not showing his best side, but he is helping to show the scale of the theatre. The top row of seats is even with the top of the stage wall. As in all Roman theatres and arenas, spectators’ social class determined where they sat— the lower the class, the higher the seat.
Ordinary Plebeians sat in the “nosebleed” section where Roger is standing. Not only were they far from the action (more than 1,500 years before the invention of binoculars), but they were directly under the velarium, the retractable fabric awning that served as a roof and sun shield. That must have been very hot and uncomfortable.
Aristocratic Patricians sat in movable seats on the dirt floor of the orchestra, right in front of the stage (hence the “orchestra” seating in an American theater, called the “stalls” in Britain). The musical sense of “orchestra” alludes to the musicians who played for dancers; those dancers often performed in the orchestra of ancient theatres like this one. Both meanings apply when opera is performed in the theatre in Orange— the musicians are literally in the orchestra.
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