SM Adam volume 28/22

[21] Design for the auditorium, with a view towards the boxes, c1789, unexecuted

Axial section of the opera house with a view towards the auditorium. The pit is shown to have raked seating, and there are vaulted rooms below. There are three tiers of boxes, surmounted by two tiers containing gallery seating, and these are flanked by passageways. The ceiling is coved, with a small shallow dome, and this is all beneath a pitched roof. To the west there is a wing with a pitched roof, and a double-height ground-storey arcade. Above this there are single-storey rooms, and a three-storey room with a domed ceiling. To the east of the auditorium there is the tavern parlour, with a central chimneypiece, surmounted by a mirror frame and set within a niche. The chimneypiece is flanked by Corinthian pilasters, ornamented with scrolled hearts. All this is set behind a screen articulated by Corinthian columns which frames a semi-circular compartment above. All this is surmounted by a domed ceiling ornamented with cameos, set within fans, alternating with urns, and above this there are figurative panels. Above this there is a stepped dome, with stepped access linking to the auditorium galleries. Beyond the parlour there is a detail of the east front, with a rusticated arcade at ground floor, surmounted by a balustraded Corinthian portico. In the bottom right-hand corner there is a faint preliminary design (pencil)