" In the theatre of Parma, (which is particularly celebrated both for sound and vision,) the frontispiece of the stage opening is placed at a distance of no less than 40 feet from the termination of the speetatory, for the purpose of opening a view of the scene to the spectators sitting nearest to the stage ; and the width of the stage-opening in that theatre, with a view to the same desirable object, is extended to 39 feet, exceeding by 4 feet the width which is given to that opening of my design.
"In discussing this subject, I have hitherto confined myself to those considerations connected with the form of the theatre, which appertain directly to the two primary objects of distinct sound and vision; and I trust, that I have shown completely, that there is no admissible form so well calculated to secure those objects, as that which I have adopted in my design. But there is another consideration of great import ance, which appertains to the form which I have chosen, and which does not relate to either of the objects above men tioned ; namely, its decided superiority over every other form in point of beauty, for a circle is a form which will never weary or distress the eye.
"In building our early theatres in this country, little at tention seems to have been bestowed upon the means of titvouring sound or vision: in the form of those theatres, their sides were either entirely parallel, or diverging but little from each other ; and if those theatres had not been confined to very small dimensions (such as would not be consistent with the present population and condition of the metropolis) there can be no doubt that their form would have been found to be extremely defective. The first gradation of improvement in this respect, appears to have been the introduction of the oval, and the horse-shoe, by rounding of the angles of the former shape, and. thus we have been approaching gradually to that form which I now propose, and which deviates as little from the Greek and Roman amphitheatres, as the state of circumstances will admit. The original theatres of Drury Lane and Covent Garden, as well as the old Opera House, and Foote's theatre in the Haymarket, were all flat-sided ; the. latter (never having been rebuilt) is so to this day. The late theatre in Drury Lane was nearly oval, and the present Opera I louse is in the form of a horse-shoo.
" There is one other point in a great degree connected with the form and proportions of the theatre, to which I must advert, before I entirely conclude this part of the subject ; namely, the height of the ceiling. In forming my design, it has been my object to avoid raising the ceiling beyond the proportion which I think it ought, for the sake of the sym metry, to bear to the open area which it is to cover: that proportion is, in my opinion, about three-fourths of the diameter of that area, but not less. I do not believe that the
height of the ceiling can in any degree injure or affect the sound of the voice in the lower parts of the theatre ; it may materially assist in conducting the sound into those parts of the house which are nearest to it : but it must, in every theatre, be much too high to act as a reverberatur, or sound ing-board, to the lower parts of the house. If this were not the act, the voice would be quite indistinct and inaudible in a cathedral church, where the roof is at a vast height : the form of that roof, not calculated for direct reverberation of sound, and the person uttering the sound at the reading-desk, placed in a situation by no means so well calculated to convey the sound of his voice generally among his auditors, as that in which an actor upon the stage is placed : yet we know, that even under all these circumstances, the voice is heard in most of the cathedral churches quite as well as it is iu many chapels ; which is a positive proof that a low ceiling is not essential to the strength and clearness of sound in a theatre. If it were necessary to support this opinion, the whispering gallery in St. Paul's cathedral would serve as an additional proof, that sound may be distinctly heard in a large enclosed area (provided that area be in itself so constructed as to facilitate the conveyance of sound) without any direct reverberation from above ; the great height of the dome above the floor of the whispering gallery, together with the large aperture in the centre ot' dome itself, are sufficient to demonstrate, that the extraordinary effect of sound in the whispering gallery, is in no degree produced by reverberation from above. Under this conviction, I have been influenced in the height at which I have fixed the ceiling, by the pro portion which appeared to me to be most in symmetry with the area to be covered by that ceiling. I feel confident, that upon a serious and impartial attention to the facts and de ductions contained in the foregoing pages, it will be admitted, that the form which I have adopted is ;he best form : 1st, as to size and capacity ; and 2nd, as to distinct sound and vision." The following are the Dimensions of the Lzterior of Drury Lane Theatre.
The stage-opening, 35 feet.
The widest part of the area, upon the level of the dress boxes, 5S feet.
Depth of the dress boxes, 9 feet 6 inches.
Depth of the three upper tiers of boxes, 8 feet.
From the front line of the stage to the front of the dress boxes, in the widest part, 44 feet 3 inches.