WORKING FLY GALLERY.
Each of the five ropes passes over a pulley on the gridiron, or rigging-loft. The ropes are then assembled and pass down on the left of the stage to the first fly gallery, where the fly men are located. In raising or lowering a scene, the five ropes are pulled at the same time, and are secured to the fly rail by means of the belaying-pins. In all theaters the arrangement is not the same as in the Metropolitan; in some cases there are two or three fly rails, each provided with belaying-pins. Usually one rail will be in front, as shown in our engraving, and the others back and at a slightly higher level. The ropes for the drops, etc., which are not in immediate use, are fastened to the belaying-pins on this rail. The fly men climb up to the second and third fly galleries when heavy scenes are to be raised, and, catching hold of the ropes, descend to the first fly gallery on the ropes.
There were one hundred and eighty coils of rope used in the stage machinery of the Metropolitan Opera House, each containing one thousand one hundred feet, and one thousand feet of wire rope was required to hang each border light, they being, of course, very heavy. Twelve thousand feet of wire rope was needed for the curtains and border lights.
The curtain is raised by hand, by means of a winch using wire ropes. An asbestos curtain is also provided, and may be dropped instantly from the level of the stage in case of fire, so that the conflagration can be confined to the “back of the house.”
ELECTRIC SWITCHBOARD.
We present an [engraving] of a corner of the stage, showing the great switchboard and the prompter’s desk, though, of course, in Grand Opera the prompter takes up his position under a hood directly in front of the conductor, just beyond the footlights. This hood can be dropped down under the stage when not in use.
Just before the conclusion of the act the conductor of the orchestra rings an electric bell in the working fly gallery. This is a signal to the fly man to get ready to lower the curtain, for the conductor knows the exact bar in the music at which the curtain should descend. At the proper moment the conductor rings again, and the curtain descends. When the men in the fly gallery receive the first signal—that is, the signal to get ready—they turn a switch which lights a colored electric lamp directly over the small prompt desk shown in our [engraving], where the stage manager or his assistant takes up his position. When the conductor rings the curtain down, another colored electric lamp is lighted on turning on a switch by the men in the fly gallery. Of course, audible signals would not answer. The stage manager or his assistant stands in front of the little desk and orders the curtain up and down, depending upon the applause of the audience, which governs the appearance of the artists. This little corner very much resembles the interior of the conning tower of a ship. Here are speaking tubes and electric bells which connect with all parts of the house, from the box office to the cellar.