SM Adam volume 47/9

[2] Finished drawing for the first storey of the opera house, c1789, unexecuted

Plan of the first storey of the opera house, with the principal block formed with the central eleven bays receding, and with a stepped portico for the central five bays. Beyond this there are balconies leading to paired, curved staircases, which form the King’s and Queen’s stairs. In the southern part of the principal block there is a horse-shoe-shaped auditorium, with a curved north wall. The pit has bench seating, surrounded by boxes with an access passageway beyond. The stage is positioned to the south of the auditorium, and has colonnades and wing flats to the east and west. To the east of the auditorium there is a green room with access to the rear of the stage, a royal antechamber, and tavern parlours. To the west there is a painting room for scenery, which is linked to the rear of the stage by multiple entrances. Beyond this there is a nine-bay assembly room, which is divided by columnar screens, and a further three-bay assembly room, flanked by apsidal-ended rooms, set with entrance screens. To the north of the auditorium there is an oval, colonnaded ballroom, with steps leading down to a central space. This is encircled by a passageway, and has corner apses, and columnar screened entrances to the north, south, east and west. To the south of the principal block there is an additional block with a footprint as SM Adam volume 47/8, with steps linking the rotunda to the rear of the stage. To the north of the principal block there is a plan of the annexe tavern building, with a central bifurcated staircase, set with columnar screens. This leads to an apsidal-ended room with screened entrances, and is flanked by further rooms, and smaller staircases. A central bridge links to the principal block, and this is flanked by smaller apsidal-ended bridges