What is the place where there is a recessed piece in front of the stage?There's also a **conductor inside!Based on this problem, there is this popular science article, the following directly unveils the mystery of the stage "orchestra pit", and solves all your doubts in 3 minutes!
1.How was the "orchestra pit" born?
Before the 19th century, the orchestra was located in front of the stage, and the number of people was small, and every move was in the eyes of the audience. Later, the scale gradually became larger, and it would even block the audience's view. Thus, the "orchestra pit", which was improved and designed by the famous German composer Wagner, was born, which Wagner called "the mysterious abyss".
2.Do all ** drama performances need an "orchestra pit"?
Answer: No!
Some ** dramas will use a live band to play and need to use an "orchestra pit", and the position of the live band may not be the same, but the sunken orchestra pit is still the mainstream, and some live bands will be arranged to accompany on the secondary stage, or even directly on the stage. We are familiar with the Broadway ** drama "The Phantom of the Opera", "Les Miserables", "Miss Saigon", including "The Voice", etc., all use sunken orchestra pits, and hide the scene of live band performance during the performance, leaving only the audience with an auditory experience.
Some ** performances use accompaniment tape for cost reasons, and this is the case for most French plays. ** Accompaniment recording during the performance, the actor is equal to karaoke.
The performance of the day is a live band, the band is composed of 11 musicians and conductors, and the band is in the recessed orchestra pit in front of the stage during the performance, and the musicians are almost invisible during the performance, because the band conductor is standing up, so the upper body of the band conductor can be vaguely seen during the performance.
3.What are the other wonderful uses of the "orchestra pit"?
as an extension of the stage.
When the orchestra pit runs parallel to the stage, it becomes part of the stage, bringing the actors closer to the audience.
For example, in the ** drama "Cat", because of the special needs of the performance, it is necessary to borrow the orchestra pit space, so the stage is connected to the orchestra pit at the entrance of the stage and even part of the audience seats are wrapped with set props, and the live band is arranged on the secondary stage.
An ultra-shocking up-close experience.
When the orchestra pit is parallel to the seats, it is the "VVIP seat" of the Grand Theater. At super close range, you can even clearly see the fluttering eyelashes of the actors!No small emotional change in the performance can escape your eyes.
In this regard, French ** dramas are very vocal, such as the French ** drama "Romeo and Juliet" that toured in Suzhou some time ago, when the orchestra pit is parallel to the seats, and the front row in the middle is the pool seat. French generally has an encore and a rush, which makes it more convenient for the audience to interact with each other, super close, and makes the VVIP audience in the front row almost crazy!