Teatro Regio

General data

Year of construction

1973, on an architectural project by Carlo Mollino and Marcello Zavelani Rossi

Types of programming

Opera - Concerts (symphonic, chamber music, choral) – Music Theatre – Dance

Other uses

Concerts (jazz, pop, folk, world music) – Meetings – Conferences – Various events
(cinema, video, conventions, sports events, receptions, ceremonies, celebrations, exhibits in the foyer, etc.)

Location

The theatre is situated in the quadrilateral delimited by:
Piazza Castello / Piazzetta Mollino / Piazzetta dell’Accademia Militare / Via Verdi

There are four different entrances to the theatre

Entrance for the public: Piazza Castello, through the Galleria Francesco Tamagno
Entrance to administrative offices: Piazza Castello 215
Artists’ entrance: Piazzetta Mollino 6
Car entrance: via Verdi 3

The central body of the Theatre

It is distributed on 9 floors, spanning 8 levels, from a depth of – 12.5 metres to a height of + 13,7 metres; considering also the stage towers, a maximum height of + 32,1 m is reached.

Area of each floor: ~7,200 square metres
Total area: ~60,000 square metres
Total volume: ~190,000 cubic metres

Curiosity

The total area is equivalent to that of 8.5 football pitches.

The foyer and auditorium

The foyer, distributed on 4 levels, with a total area of ~3,700 square metres, houses the cloakroom on the ground floor; on the second floor, in addition to bars, there are two areas that can be destined for other uses such as exhibits, conferences and receptions:

• The Foyer del Toro, characterized by a large marble mosaic with the figure of a bull, the symbol of the city and the theatre, in the centre, has a total area of 750 square metres and can host, depending on its use, up to 300 people.
• The Sala Maria Callas (formerly “del Caminetto”), characterised by a small marble hearth (this is left over from the old eighteenth-century theatre, and was used for heating the royal box), is situated next to the Foyer del Toro. The total area is 300 square metres and can hold, depending on its use, up to 150 people.

The auditorium has a seating capacity of 1,592, mostly distributed in the descending stalls, where 1,398 seats are located; a smaller number are located in the ring of 31 boxes (for a total capacity of 194 seats).

Difference in level between the stage and the first row of stalls: 1,1 m
Difference in level between the first and last row of stalls: 7 m
Number of rows of stalls: 29
Maximum depth of the auditorium: 30 m
Maximum width of the auditorium: 44 m
Distance from the stage to the first row: 8 m

The auditorium, after the work of acoustical restoration, is panelled in beechwood (floors, walls and boxes, the backs of the seats and elements of the proscenium that connects the stage to the auditorium); instead, the seats are upholstered in red velvet.

The chandelier

It is formed by a set of 1,900 prismoidal Perspex stems of various lengths, positioned in a triangle around 1,762 aluminium tubes, each holding a 40 W light bulb.
Total power: 70.5 KW.

Between the auditorium and the stage

Orchestra pit

This is where the orchestra and conductor perform.
Dimensions: 19 m in width x 8 m in depth
Area when lowered: 117 sq m
Area when raised: 90 sq m
The level is adjustable in respect to the stage
Lowest usable level: - 3.2 m

Proscenium

This structure that connects the auditorium to the stage is a frame constituted by two lateral mobile towers and above, by the portal; thanks to the mobility of these three elements, it is possible to frame the scene in different ways:

• Mobile towers
  
  • Minimum usable distance between the towers: 14 m
  • Maximum usable distance between the towers: 17 m

• Portal
  
  • Maximum usable height: 8 m
  • Minimum usable height: 6 m

Curtains

Grand curtain

Colour: red
Distance from the first stage lift: 3.1 m
Maximum speed of opening/closing: 1 m/sec
Time for opening/closing: 16 sec

“Imperial” tableau curtain

Colour: green
Distance from the first stage lift: 3.6 m
Time of opening/closing: 9 sec

Safety curtain

Colour: white
Height: 10.51 m
Width: 19.17 m
Thickness: 0.18 m
Weight: 29.3 t
Time for electric closing: 38 sec
Time for free fall closing: 16.8 sec

The stage

In dimensions, it is the second largest in Europe after the Opéra-Bastille de Paris; it is constituted by 6 lifts.

Stage

Area: 480 sq m
Usable dimensions: 24 m in width x 20 m in depth (with the possibility to reach a maximum depth of 35 m)
It is possible to create, with the lifts, a slope of 19.00 m x 13.5 m with the following inclinations: 4.44 %, 8.8 %, 13.32 %
Height of grid from stage level: 27.6 m

Lifts

Quantity: 6
Dimensions of each: 19 m in width x 2.25 m in depth
Total course: 7.2 m
Highest level from stage: + 3.6 m
Lowest level from stage: - 3.6 m
Usable static load: 350 Kg/sq m (14.7 t)
Usable dynamic load: 165 Kg/sq m (7.05 t)
Maximum speed: 0.1 m/sec
The command post for the lifts is situated on the second bridge of the fly tower, at a height of 7 m
There are three large spaces around the stage: one on each side and another behind. In these spaces, on slip stages, whole scenes are set up, allowing for rapid scene changes and considerable saving of time in assembly/disassembly.

Side slip stages

Quantity: 2
Area: 171 sq m
Width: 19 m
Depth: 9 m
Height: 0.2 m
Speed of movement: 0.23 m/sec
Maximum height for use of stage elements: 10 m
Each lateral slip stage can be divided in 4 independent sections of 19 x 2.25 m

Back slip stage

Area: 256 sq m
Width: 19 m
Depth: 13.5 m
Height: 0.3 m
Usable static load: 250 Kg/sq m
Usable dynamic load: 100 Kg/sq m
Speed of movement: 0.22 m/sec
Maximum height for use of stage elements: 10 m

Fly bars

These are long rods , fixed to the stage grid, on which sets, lights, tabs, set mechanisms, mobile wings, etc. are connected.
Quantity: n. 64
of which:
32 controlled electrically
28 controlled manually, counterweighted
2 strong lines of 6 ropes (hoisting power of each rope: 250 Kg), by electrical command
Total course length : 26.2 m
Maximum distributed hoisting power: 500 Kg
Adjustable speed: 0,7 m/sec (with the possibility to form 5 distinct groups)
The command post is situated on a fly gallery at a height of + 13,5 m

Technical equipment

Stage lighting system

512 circuits (from 2.5 - 5 - 10 KW)
800 spotlights
4 battens, controlled electrically
Total power: 2,000 KW ( 2 MW)

Lighting system in the direction control room
(situated at the back of the auditorium, on the second floor of the foyer)

2 lighting mixers with 512 channels
1 mixer for special effects
Stage sound system
8 speakers of 300 W
4 radio-microphones

Professional microphones for live recording

System in the sound control room (situated beside the stage at a height of + 3,5 m)
Soundcraft 24-channel sound mixer (24/16/2)
2 Studer recorders
Revox recorder
Computer with audio-video DVD
Computer for audio production on CD
dat player/recorder
CD player
Amplifier (total power: 5000 W)
JBL equalizer
video projector

Curiosity:

There are 3 service communication systems:

• Wired intercom system with headphones and two-way radios
• Wireless system with headphones and two-way radios these systems allow the technicians, situated in different places, to communicate with each other
• Closed circuit television system with fixed cameras (one in the auditorium that films the stage and one in the orchestra pit that films the conductor) this system makes it possible to see, from backstage or wherever a television and monitor are connected, the movements on stage and the indications of the conductor.

Inside the theatre

Teatro Regio, like all great opera theatres, is a sort of performance citadel, every day accommodating up to 500 people engaged in part in the maintenance of the facilities, in part in the preparation and realisation of the shows. What follows is a list of the principal work areas.

Artistic department

Directing studio

Area: 240 sq m
Dimensions: 20 m in width x 12 m in depth
There are 16 mobile platforms, utilised for simulating stage lifts, which can be raised to a height of 2 m.

Dance studio

Area: 180 sq m
Dimensions: m 15 x 12, with wall-to-wall mirrors and floor covered by a dance carpet in PVC
Orchestra rehearsal hall
Area: 130 sq m
Chorus rehearsal hall
Area: 130 sq m

Practice rooms

20, for a total area of ~300 sq m

Artists’ dressing rooms

22
Changing rooms
Chorus men
Chorus women
Chorus children
Orchestra men
Orchestra women
Male dancers
Female dancers
Male extras
Female extras

Staging department

Make up room
Costume workshop
Shoe workshop
Wig workshop
Mechanical workshop
Carpenters’ workshop
Electronic studio
Sound studio
Stage electricians’ workshop
Props workshop
2 instrument deposit rooms
3 warehouses for sets
General warehouse
Technicians’ office
Technicians’ changing rooms
Recreation room
Storeroom

Curiosities

Among the 13 existing lifts, there is a set lift, measuring 5 x 5 m at the base and 12 m in height.
There is also a stable, where animals (dogs, horses, doves, etc.) are kept when used on stage.
To meet the considerable need for space in constructing and storing sets, Teatro Regio owns a separate area situated in Strada Settimo 411 that hosts:
Carpenters’ workshop (area: 2000 sq m)
Sets workshop (area: 2000 sq m)
Sets warehouse (area: 7000 sq m)

Technical systems

Heating plant
Cooling plant
Waterworks
2 ventilation systems

Fire protection system

Power transformer booth ( 3 transformers of 1500 KVA; power supply voltage: 22,000 V)
A curious fact: The control system for all of the stage machinery and all the technology of the theatre is totally automated (using a series of PLC controlled by 5 Linux servers) and thus can be controlled and commanded by one computer. The system is subject to supervision, carried out by a Linux server that communicates with the technological systems through serial networks in PPP and with supervision terminals through a 100 Mbit Ethernet network.

Archives

Music library
Historical Archives
Photographic Archives
Administrative Archives