Frank Matcham

Frank Matcham (22 November 1854 – 18 May 1920) was an English theatrical architect and designer. He was known for his designs of many British theatres including those of the Moss Empires group and in London the Hackney Empire (1901); the London Coliseum (1904); the London Palladium (1910) and the Victoria Palace (1911).

Born in Newton Abbot, Devon, Matcham was apprenticed to the architect, George Sondon Bridgeman, before moving to London where he joined the architectural practice of Jethro Robinson, who was at that time consulting theatre architect to the Lord Chamberlain's office. He completed his first solo design of the Elephant and Castle theatre which opened in June 1879. Between 1890 and 1915, Matcham helped train, Bertie Crewe and W.G.R. Sprague, and all three were responsible for the design and construction of over 200 theatres and variety palaces in the United Kingdom.

Early career

Born in Newton Abbot, Devon, Matcham's father was a brewery clerk, who was raised in Torquay, where he attended Babbacombe school. In 1868, Matcham was apprenticed to a local surveyor and architect, George Sondon Bridgeman. In the mid-1870s, Matcham moved to London and joined the architectural practice of Jethro Robinson, consulting theatre architect to the Lord Chamberlain's office. In 1877, Matcham married Robinson's youngest daughter, Effie, and, at the age of 24, took over charge of the architectural practice after his father-in-law died. Matcham received no formal training as an architect, but learnt the practicalities on the job. His first solo commission was to complete Robinson's designs of the Elephant and Castle theatre (opened June 1879).

Grand opera

Grand opera is a genre of 19th-century opera generally in four or five acts, characterized by large-scale casts and orchestras, and (in their original productions) lavish and spectacular design and stage effects, normally with plots based on or around dramatic historic events. The term is particularly applied (sometimes specifically using in its French language equivalent grand opéra, pronounced: [ɡʁɑ̃t‿ɔpeˈʁa]) to certain productions of the Paris Opéra from the late 1820s to around 1850; 'grand opéra' has sometimes been used to denote the Paris Opéra itself.

The term 'grand opera' is also used in a broader application in respect of contemporary or later works of similar monumental proportions from France, Germany, Italy and other countries.

It may also be used colloquially in an imprecise sense to refer to 'serious opera without spoken dialogue'.

Origins

Paris at the turn of the 19th century drew in many composers, both French and foreign, and especially those of opera. Several Italians working during this period including Luigi Cherubini demonstrated that the use of recitative was suited for the powerful dramas that were being written. Others, such as Gaspare Spontini, wrote works to glorify Napoleon. These operas were composed on a suitably grand scale for the Emperor. Other factors which led to Parisian supremacy at operatic spectacle was the ability of the large Paris Opéra to stage sizeable works and recruit leading stage-painters, designers and technicians, and the long tradition of French ballet and stagecraft. The first theatre performance ever lit by gas, for example, was Aladin ou La lampe merveilleuse at the Opéra in 1823; and the theatre had on its staff the innovative designers Duponchel, Cicéri and Daguerre.

Opera house

An opera house is a theatre building used for opera performances that consists of a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, and backstage facilities for costumes and set building. While some venues are constructed specifically for operas, other opera houses are part of larger performing arts centers.

History

The first public opera house came into existence in 1637 as the Teatro San Cassiano in Venice, Italy, in a country where opera has been popular through the centuries among ordinary people as well as wealthy patrons; it still has a large number of working opera houses. In contrast, there was no opera house in London when Henry Purcell was composing and the first opera house in Germany was built in Hamburg in 1678. Early United States opera houses served a variety of functions in towns and cities, hosting community dances, fairs, plays, and vaudeville shows as well as operas and other musical events.

In the 17th and 18th centuries, opera houses were often financed by rulers, nobles, and wealthy people who used patronage of the arts to endorse their political ambitions and social positions or prestige. With the rise of bourgeois and capitalist social forms in the 19th century, European culture moved away from its patronage system to a publicly supported system. In the 2000s, most opera and theatre companies raise funds from a combination of government and institutional grants, ticket sales, and private donations.

Grand Opera House

Grand Opera House may refer to:

Fellner & Helmer

Fellner & Helmer was an architecture studio founded in 1873 by Austrian architects Ferdinand Fellner (April 19, 1847 – March 22, 1916) and Hermann Helmer (July 13, 1849 – April 2, 1919).

They designed over 200 buildings, mainly theatres and apartment buildings, across Europe in the late 19th century and early 20th century. Most of the work stood in the former Austro-Hungarian Empire, but can be found from Switzerland to present-day Ukraine. Frequent collaborators for integrated exterior and interior work include Gustav Klimt, Hans Makart, Theodor Friedl, and other significant artists.

Architects

Ferdinand Fellner was born in Vienna in 1847. He studied at the Vienna University of Technology, but abandoned in the first year to help his sick father. After the death of his father in 1871 he overtook his office. He died in Vienna in 1916.

Hermann Gottlieb Helmer was born in Harburg upon Elbe and died in Vienna.

Theatres by Ferdinand Fellner