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[26] Alternative design for the principal storey of the opera house, c1789, unexecuted
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Reference number
SM Adam volume 28/24
Purpose
[26] Alternative design for the principal storey of the opera house, c1789, unexecuted
Aspect
Plan of the opera house, with a nineteen-bay east front, formed with paired columns flanking the central bay, and with projecting, single-bay, porticoed pavilions in the first, fifth, fifteenth and nineteenth bays. There is a central horse-shoe-shaped auditorium, with a curved north wall, and curved bench seating surrounded by boxes, with a passageway beyond. The passageway provides access to the east entrance, the oval ballroom (north) and the assembly rooms (west). The stage is positioned to the south of the auditorium, and the proscenium is set with a columnar screen. To the west there is a central octagonal room, flanked by apsidal ended rooms, and each has circular closets(?) To the north of the auditorium there is an oval, colonnaded ballroom, with corner apses and columnar screened entrances to the south, east and west. To the east of the ballroom there is a bifurcated staircase, leading to the east entrance. To the west there is a three-bay room, which leads to an apsidal-ended room with niches, and a vaulted space which links to the auditorium and a further staircase
Scale
to a scale
Inscribed
A second Plan for the Opera House (in the hand of William Adam)
Signed and dated
- c1789
c1789
Medium and dimensions
Pen, pencil and wash on laid paper (769 x 476)
Hand
Possibly
Office hand, possibly Robert Morison or Daniel Robertson, with title inscription in the hand of William Adam
Office hand, possibly Robert Morison or Daniel Robertson, with title inscription in the hand of William Adam
Literature
Bolton, 1922, Volume II, Index p. 40
Sheppard, 1960, Volume XXIX, (i), p. 249
For a full list of literature references see scheme notes.
Sheppard, 1960, Volume XXIX, (i), p. 249
For a full list of literature references see scheme notes.
Level
Drawing
Digitisation of the Drawings Collection has been made possible through the generosity of the Leon Levy Foundation
If you have any further information about this object, please contact us: drawings@soane.org.uk