Magic, Stage Illusions and Scientific Diversions, Including Trick Photography

by Albert A. Hopkins

The paint bridge is a wide platform at the level of the first fly gallery, and furnishes a means of communication between the two fly galleries. The canvas which is to be painted is run up the side of the paint bridge. The scenic artist thus has access to all parts of the canvas. On the paint bridge are long tables covered with large earthenware dishes in which the paint is kept. The visitor will probably be surprised to see the enormous quantity of color which is used in painting scenery; the color is mixed with a size. At the Metropolitan the scenery is painted by daylight, but it can also be lighted artificially by incandescent lights. The production of a new opera necessitates the making of large quantities of scenery.

The property-rooms are most interesting. Here you may see Siegfried’s anvil, his forge, Wotan’s spear, the Lohengrin swan, or the “Rheingold;” while under the second fly gallery will be seen the parts of “Fafner,” the dragon in “Siegfried,” which will be described in another [chapter]. The armory is a room containing a vast collection of helmets, casques, breastplates, swords, spears, lanterns, daggers, etc.; while in a case lighted by electricity are the splendid jewels, crowns, etc., which make such an effective appearance when seen on the stage. Here will also be found a model of the old dragon which was burned up in the fire. Hung up on one side of the wall is an elephant’s head with a trunk which is freely flexible, and in the next room will be found the head of a camel which winks his eyes. In here are also stored the shields and weapons which the great artists use when they impersonate Northern gods and warriors. Under the property master’s charge are modeling-rooms and carpenter shops.

The day on which the opera is to be performed the property master gets out all of the things which will be needed in the production. They are carefully stowed away convenient to the stage, or upon it, so that they may be brought to their proper place without a moment’s delay. When it is considered that the size of the objects varies from the dragon to a pack of cards, it will be seen that there is a great chance of forgetting something; but should this occur, everything is arranged so that the error can be remedied with the smallest loss of time. With properties, as with stage carpentry, everything depends upon invention, and for every new opera the property master is obliged to devise new properties and new effects for which he has often no precedent.

When the curtain falls for good after the encores, the stage machinist blows a sharp blast on his whistle, and as if by magic all the singers and the chorus who have not gone already, leave the stage, and their places are taken by a swarm of stage hands. The fly men raise the drops and the borders out of the way, while the men on the stage take away the movables and the set scenes. The wing scenes are unfastened and are placed at the sides of the stage temporarily, while the new set scenes are brought out and take their place. If rising ground is to be made, the men raise the trap doors and, reaching underneath the bridges, haul them up to the proper height and secure them with pins. Then canvas to represent the ground is placed over the front of the stage and up over the broken ground. Rocks and trees of papier maché and canvas are brought in and placed in position. If any things like chandeliers are used, ropes are dropped from the gridiron to secure them at the proper height. The stage machinist stands in the middle of the stage and gives an order now and then to some of the men, the scenes and the drops and borders are raised or lowered, or the set scenes straightened until all are in order and able to pass the critical eyes of the machinist and the stage manager. All of this is done without confusion, so carefully is every man trained in his duties. Then calls are sent to the various dressing-rooms, and the chorus or “supers” are brought out and placed in position. When everything is in readiness, and the proper time has arrived, according to the music, the prompter, from his little box under the stage, gives a signal which is transmitted to the fly men, who wind away on the windlasses and raise the curtain. It might naturally be supposed that all is now quiet at the back and sides of the stage, but this is not always the case; the wings and the stage back of the last drop are filled with those who are to go on next, and one may encounter Sicilian bandits, peasants, Northern gods, or the première danseuse nervously practicing her steps with the master of the ballet. The favored visitor is allowed to walk around in this new world without being molested, and the opera as seen from the floor of the stage or from the “flies” is a sight never to be forgotten.

After any one has viewed the production of an elaborate opera from behind the scenes he will never again be in the slightest degree annoyed by the length of the entr’acte. The only wonder is that the elaborate scenes can be gotten ready in the fifteen or twenty minutes which elapse between the falling of the curtain at the close of one act and the raising of the curtain at the beginning of the next act; and it must be remembered that the artists are frequently the cause of the delay.

The dressing-rooms at the Metropolitan are not luxurious, but often the artists fix them up attractively. The dressing-rooms for the supers, chorus, and ballet are, of course, large.

Few of those who hear the first production of a new opera realize that the successful performance is the result not only of the singing of celebrities and perfect orchestration, but also of the patient care which has been bestowed upon the opera for months by the stage manager and those who have helped him.

When the director of the opera company decides to produce a new opera the libretto is given to those who are charged with the construction of scenery, costumes, and properties. The first thing to be avoided is the gross anachronisms which are so often seen upon even the stages of first-class theaters. The examples of chronological errors which might be cited are almost endless, and for interesting examples the reader is referred to “Pictorial Art on the Stage,” by E. W. and E. H. Blashfield, in the “Century,” vol. xxxv. At the present time celebrated artists are often engaged to make drawings of the scenes and costumes. The results obtained for spoken dramas by Mr. Frank Millet and Mr. Hamilton Bell are noteworthy. If artists are not engaged to do the work it is entrusted to carefully trained specialists. They first consult books of costume and works bearing upon the period which is to be illustrated. These matters are discussed by the director, and the designs are modified if necessary. The scenic artist is then called in to sketch and model the scenery. He has a miniature stage on the scale of half an inch to a foot. Little scenes are made for it of pasteboard, and carefully painted. They are placed in position, and are modified from time to time, as required. It is really wonderful to the layman to see how many things have to be taken into consideration in modeling a scene. The number of persons upon the stage, the properties, the music, and the difficulties of setting the scenes, all have to be most carefully considered, as well as arrangements for traveling on the road. Finally the miniature stage with all its properties is fully equipped, then the whole force at the disposal of the stage manager is set to work to prepare costumes, properties, and scenery. All possible care must be taken to insure the proper effects of color when the costumes and scenery are brought into juxtaposition. Frequently over two hundred and fifty costumes must be made for a single opera, so that the costume-rooms of an opera house resemble a mammoth dressmaking and tailoring establishment. It is no small task to preserve the thousands of costumes from dust and moths. Before each performance all the costumes required must be gotten out, brushed, and placed in the proper dressing-rooms. All repairs are made to the garments before putting them away again. The number of properties which are required for an opera is frequently several hundred, and they are of all sizes, from finger rings to immense constructions which require the united efforts of a dozen men to move them. It is naturally to be supposed that papier maché and plaster of paris are two of the most valuable adjuncts of the property master’s art. Probably nothing in the way of an opera requires such Yankee ingenuity as does the office of property master. We have not space to go into the subject of rehearsals and how the final production of the opera is accomplished, but we shall endeavor to give a few examples in the next chapter of how some of the effects are produced.

Before taking up the minor stage effects, as well as those which might be called “theater secrets,” we will first describe some interesting old stages, then stage effects in which the entire stage is required for the production of a certain effect. In leaving the subject of opera it is only fair to say that the enormous expense attending the maintenance of the opera house itself, the cost of properties, lighting, etc., to say nothing of the remarkable salaries of the singers, really warrants the exaction of what are seemingly high prices. Opera is such an education to music lovers that it is unfortunate that it cannot receive such financial aid from the state that its success under good management will be assured. On the Continent every care is taken to foster the opera. In Paris, we believe, the government allots an annual subvention of 800,000 francs.