252 - HISTORY OF MUSKINGUM COUNTY, OHIO
CHAPTER XXIV.
THE OPERA HOUSE.
Of the Opera, it will be remembered, that Octavio Rinuecini, of Florence, was the inventor of the production of musical representations of Comedy and Tragedy, and other dramatic pieces ; and that Emelio de Cavelero, disputed this honor with him, A.D., 1590. Among the Venetians, opera was the chief glory of their carnival. About the year 669, the Abbot Perrin obtained a grant from Louis XIV., to set up an opera at Paris, where, in 672, was acted Pomona. This play was probably in keeping with Ovid's story of Pomona and Vertumnus. "This Hamadryad lived in the time of Procas, King of Alba. She was devoted to the culture of gardens, to which she confined herself, shunning all society with the male deities. Vertumnus, among others, was enamored of her, and under various shapes, tried to win her hand ; sometimes he came as a reaper, sometimes as a hay-maker, sometimes as a ploughman, or vine dresser ; he was a soldier, and a fisherman, but to equally little purpose. At length, under the guise of an old woman, he won the confidence of the goddess, and, by enlarging on the evils of a single life, and the blessings of the wedded state, by launching out into the praises of Vertumnus, and relating a tale of the punishment of female cruelty to a lover, he sought to move the heart of Pomona ; then, resuming his real form, he obtained the hand of the no longer reluctant nymph. [Ovid, Met. 4, 623, Seq. Knightley's Mythology, p. 539]." Sir William Davenant introduced a species of opera in London, in 684. The first regularly performed opera was at York building, in 692. The first in Drury Lane, was in 1705. The operas of Handel, were performed in 1735, and they became general in several of the theatres in a few years after. The first opera in Zanesville, that truly deserved the name, was given in this "Temple of Art," at the opening, January 20, 1880, by the Emma Abbott English Opera Company, and was a grand affair ; patronized by the elite of this and neighboring cities. The eclat of this performance was heralded by the press generally, in the State and out of it. Messrs. Shultz & Hoge, the proprietors, have conferred a princely benefice on the community,in furnishing the Opera House, and the two elegant Halls, thereby rendering the city a great attraction for operatic and other musical and public performances, and exhibitions ; adding, also, the block of elegant store rooms, with spacious rooms over them for offices. The building has a frontage of one hundred and twenty-five feet on Fifth street, extending from the southwest corner of Fountain alley southward, and a depth of seventy- five feet. The third story contains the "Conservatory of Music" Hall, which is forty by sixty feet, and "Gold Hall," which is sixty by eighty feet. These halls supply a want long felt. They are very handsomely decorated, and adapted for every public purpose, having dressing rooms,
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cloak rooms, committee rooms, and kitchens convenient. The architecture of the Opera build ing is derived from the antique—a style that originated in Italy about the commencement of the fifteenth century, and is termed Renaissance.
The Opera House auditorium is on what is known in architectural parlance as the ground floor, The grand entrance, which is on Fifth street, is spacious, and richly decorated. The floor is tiled in the best manner known to the art, and is a marvel of beauty and durability. The stairways are ample and easy, and suggest visions of Baronial splendor in "ye olden time." The corridors are spacious, and convenient dressing rooms for ladies and gentlemen, are fitted up with elegant furnishings, including everything needed for the most elaborate toilet. The seating capacity of the house is over eleven hundred, estimating the permanent seats, which are models of beauty and ease, and so arranged that every one commands a full view of the stage. The acoustic qualities of this beautiful temple are perhaps, perfect ; they have been greatly extolled by the best critics. The designs and decorations are harmonious, and in keeping with. the advanced improvements in decorative art. The stage, which is seventy by thirty-five feet, is provided with every appliance to be desired by the historian. The scenery is so beautiful and varied as to defy description.
The drop curtain is a classical composition— if Mythology may be so considered—representing Apollo, standing in a golden chariot, leading forth the horses of the Sun. On one side, gazing on this enchanting scene, are the radiant forms of the muses of Tragedy and Comedy ; on the other is Pan, the god of the shepherds, and subsequently, the guardian of bees, and the giver of success in fishing and fowling. He haunted mountains and pastures ; was fond of the pastoral reed, and of entrapping nymphs ; in form, he combined that of man and beast, having a red face, horned head, his nose flat, and his legs, thighs, tail, and feet, those of a goat. According to one of the Homeridae, he was the son of Mercury, by an Arcadian nymph. With him, are other nymphs, rejoicing at the appearance of Apollo and his prancing steeds ; and other nymphs traverse the ethereal space above, heralding his coming. A more significant and beautiful curtain could not have been designed, and the richness of the tapestried surroundings betoken exquisite taste and magnificence. Reader, this is the grand spectacle that looms up before you on entering, and here we leave it.