ABSTRACT
Italian architect Giacomo Torelli was one of the first designers of operas at public theatres in Venice. He designed at least five operas at the Teatro Novissimo, which opened in 1641. Audiences for the operas were demanding changeable scenery and Torelli developed the first fully mechanized means for doing so with the chariot and pole system. In 1645 Torelli went to Paris, where he introduced changeable scenery to French audiences. It became so popular it led to the creation of so-called “machine plays.” A fierce rivalry developed between Torelli and Gaspare Vigarani, and Torelli returned to Italy after 1661.
