How to choose the best seats in the theater - instructions from Owls. The scheme of the hall in the theater What is the name of the auditorium in the theater

Auditorium

Amphitheater(translated from Greek - "on both sides") - this is the name of the places that rise behind the stalls with ledges. They are located in a semicircle.

Balcony- seats in the auditorium located in the amphitheater in different tiers (1st tier, 2nd tier...).

Mezzanine(translated from French - "beautiful", "beautiful") - the first tier of the auditorium, located in a semicircle above the benoir and the amphitheater. In ancient theatrical buildings in the center of the mezzanine was the so-called "royal box". These are the most comfortable seats in the theater. The performance did not start until the king arrived, even if he was an hour late. When he appeared, everyone applauded him, at his sign the lights were turned off and the performance began. If the king laughed, then most of the spectators laughed, if he yawned, then boredom attacked the spectators. But the worst thing for the actors was if His Majesty got up and left during the action. It meant complete failure.

Benoir(translated from French - "bath") - lodges located on both sides of the stalls at stage level and partitioned off from each other. The history of the origin of the benoir is quite amusing. Once in France, which was a trendsetter in Europe, a privileged noble audience was on stage during the action, which, of course, greatly interfered with the actors. But in the 18th century it was forbidden. Then, in order to separate the aristocratic spectators from the rest of the public, benoir lodges were invented. In those days, these lodges were even covered with special nets that allowed those who were there to remain invisible.

Gallery- the highest balcony of the auditorium, on which there are not very comfortable, but the cheapest seats. Previously, the gallery was called "rayok".

Parterre(translated from French - "on the ground") - the lower part of the auditorium, located on the plane in front of the stage and closest to it.

Foyer- part of the theater building intended for spectators. In the foyer, the audience awaits the beginning of the performance, and during the intermission, they exchange impressions. The foyer is decorated with stands telling about the history of the theater, as well as portraits of actors working there.

Scene

Proscenium- the front part of the stage area between the curtain and the ramp.

Scenery(translated from French - "to decorate") - the decoration of the stage, recreating the environment in which the performance takes place.

Backdrop- a large piece of fabric or other material that is hung on the part of the stage farthest from the audience and usually depicts a general background for the scenery.

A curtain- several connected panels that close the stage from the audience. This is the threshold beyond which the theatrical fairy tale begins.

Grids- grating for the installation of stage mechanisms and suspension of scenery. If you, sitting in the hall, see how some decorations “take off” and disappear and others fall, know that they are all mounted on grates.

backstage- flat parts of theatrical scenery, plain or painted panels, which are arranged in pairs on the sides of the stage, parallel or at an angle to the ramp.

Tablet(translated from French - "board") - the floor of the stage. The stage tablet consists of separate wooden boards made of high quality pine boards, which fit snugly together, but can be taken out if necessary. The tablet must be very durable, because there are heavy decorations on it, a lot of people.

Turntable- part of the stage area, located in the center and able to rotate. The rotation of the turntable creates the illusion of continuous stage action. The circle is also an invoice, smaller in size than the main one. The turntable was invented in Japan in the 18th century and was equipped with the famous Japanese kabuki theater.

Ramp- a lighting device placed on the proscenium along its front edge. The stage lights illuminate the stage, the performers and the sets from the front and bottom. The lighting equipment of the ramp is usually hidden from the public by a low ledge.

Soffit(translated from Italian - "ceiling") - theatrical lighting equipment designed to illuminate the stage from the front and from above. Spotlights can create the impression of a bright sunny morning or dusk, a dark underground or a moonlit night.

Prompter(translated from French - "to blow, blow"). In the old days, this position was one of the most important in the theater. The prompter prompted the artists the text from a specially equipped booth, which was located on the stage. In those days, performances were produced very quickly, artists from different cities often gathered in one theater, the plays were wordy and the actors did not have time to learn the text. Therefore, the performances, as a rule, went "under the prompter."

Scene(translated from Greek - "tent") - a platform on which a theatrical performance takes place. The very first stage in Europe was in Ancient Greece and was a round platform - it was called "orchestra". In the 16th century in England, performances were played in the courtyards of hotels with internal galleries, to which a platform was attached. Gradually, over a long period of time, the scene took on the shape that it has now. There are small scenes where the action takes place in the center, and the audience sits around.

Pure change- change or rearrangement of scenery, which is done in front of the audience, usually in complete darkness in a few seconds. requires clear and coordinated actions of all technical personnel.

I foresee fair questions. And why exactly in the Bolshoi and what does "comfortable" mean? The answers to these questions lie on the surface.
Convenient - these are spectator seats, the viewing angle of the stage from which will be as complete as possible. At the same time, for comfortable viewing of the performance from such places, the viewer should not need to use additional optical means (binoculars).

And the Bolshoi Theatre, because having become familiar with the peculiarities of its architecture, a potential spectator in any city and in any theater will be able to easily make the right choice when buying a ticket.
To begin with, we will need to conduct a small "educational program" on the main concepts in theater architecture. If the reader has known all this for so long, this section can be skipped.
So, parterre (fr) - the word is formed from two words par - by and terre - earth. In total, we get on the ground. In practice, these are rows of spectator seats facing the stage. The seats in the parterre, starting from the orchestra pit or from the stage, go all the way to the amphitheater.
Amphitheater - rows of seats located in a semicircle with constantly rising ledges and located directly behind the stalls.
Benoir lodges are balconies located just below or at the level of the stage, on the right and left sides of it. (in the photo one of these boxes can be seen at the stalls level, in the lower left corner)

We rise above the mezzanine. Belle - in French, however, as in some other European languages - beautiful, beautiful. (photo taken from mezzanine)

Tier - one of the middle or upper floors in the auditorium (everything above the mezzanine)
The balcony is an amphitheater of spectator seats on various tiers.
Lodge - a group of seats in the auditorium (around the stalls and on the tiers), separated by partitions or barriers.
The gallery is the topmost tier of the auditorium.
So, we got acquainted with some concepts of theatrical architecture and we can start looking for the best viewing places. Let's start in order, from the stalls.

Here, it would seem, everything is clear - the stalls are the best and most expensive places. But don't jump to conclusions. On one of the sites, I happened to come across a post by a viewer who visited the Mikhailovsky Theater. It reports that having bought tickets for the back rows of the stalls, people had to stand the whole performance in order to see anything. In fact, sitting in the stalls, we have the most complete view of the stage. But the farther away our seats are, the more difficult it is for us to see the actors, but the backs of the heads of the spectators with more expensive tickets are very clearly visible. In some theaters, this problem is already solved at the construction stage.

The parterre is built at a slight angle, which increases as it approaches the back rows.
The amphitheater - everything would be fine, but it's too far away. The only consolation is that the coat in the wardrobe for binoculars will be given without a queue.
The mezzanine and the boxes of the benoir are quite convenient places. But even here it is necessary Be careful. It is clear that when looking at the scene from the box, not located in the center relative to the stage, the viewer's eye cannot fully capture everything that happens on the stage. As a rule, the spectators sitting on the balconies of the right side have a very good view of the left side of the stage, but the right side of the stage is poorly visible and vice versa. At the same time, in some theaters, in addition, the back of the stage is also poorly visible. Attention should also be paid to the fact that, as a rule, the seats in all theater boxes are located in two or three rows. Accordingly, the viewing angle of the scene in the first row is slightly larger than in the third. In 2011, an unpleasant incident occurred at the Bolshoi Theater on the new stage. Spectators who bought tickets for the extreme seats in the mezzanine were dissatisfied with the fact that they saw almost nothing from their seats. Having been refused a refund, they sued the theater.
Tier - there are four of them in the Bolshoi Theater! Certainly not worth buying. tickets for the fourth tier if you have a fear of heights. Face to face with the muses, you may begin to feel a little dizzy. Needless to say, rising from tier to tier higher and higher, prices fall lower and lower?
Now about the main thing, about buying tickets. Their price ranges from one and a half to forty or more thousand. What does it depend on? First, of course, from the performance. A lot is important here. For example, the audience goes to the ballet more willingly than to the opera. Many go "on names." Premiere performances always cost more. Secondly, of course, from the location of the places. To help the public select the right ticket, many theater box offices have charts showing "convenient" and "uncomfortable" seats. Thirdly, where, from whom and how long before the performance you purchase tickets.

The Bolshoi Theater starts pre-sale of tickets for all performances three months before they start. In order to order them, you must send an application to the address [email protected], which must be sent no later than the day preceding the one on which the pre-sale of tickets for the selected performance opens, but not earlier than fifteen days before the start of the pre-sale. The pre-sale schedule can be found here http://www.bolshoi.ru/visit/. The application must contain:
- Surname.
- Passport ID.
- The name of the show.
- Date and time when the performance will be shown.
- Number of seats, no more than TWO.
An accepted application must receive a response by e-mail confirming that the APPLICATION IS ACCEPTED (the application is not ordered reservation) and processed by the cashier in the presence of the applicant. When buying a ticket on request, you must name the date and time of the performance, last name and present your passport to the cashier. (The passport number and surname indicated in the application will also be indicated on the ticket.) Advance ticket sales are available from 11:00 to 15:00. From 4 p.m., the tickets remaining from the preliminary sale go on free sale (theater box offices, the Internet, city theater box offices and agencies). When visiting the theater, you will need to present a passport.
In the theatre there is a program "Big - for students", according to which
full-time students of universities can purchase tickets worth one hundred rubles for theater performances. The sale of such tickets opens at 17.30 at the second box office located in the directorate building. Sale and entrance to the theater - upon presentation of a student card. For performances on the Main (historical) stage, sixty tickets are allocated for students; for performances shown on the New Stage - thirty tickets each.
Beneficiaries, upon presentation of documents confirming their benefits, can also purchase tickets worth one hundred rubles.
One hundred and sixty-one tickets are allocated for performances on the New Stage, and five hundred and eighteen tickets for the Main Stage.

But that's not all! Now, in order to visit the Bolshoi Theater, which opened after reconstruction, it is not necessary to buy a ticket for the performance!!!
At twelve o'clock in the afternoon there are one-hour tours of the theater (Monday, Wednesday and Friday). Tickets are sold at the box office located in the historical building of the theater (twelfth entrance) on the day of the tour. The ticket price is five hundred rubles. For schoolchildren, full-time students and beneficiaries, the price is two hundred and fifty rubles. No more than fifteen tickets are sold for the tour.
Group visits can be requested by email.
[email protected]

The article uses information from the official website of the Bolshoi Theater

The first mention of the theater dates back to antiquity. In those distant times, performances took place on an ordinary open-air stage, around which several rows of benches were located. Since that time, theaters have changed both their appearance and interior decoration. Today, the theater creates comfortable conditions for viewing performances. All places for spectators are divided into several types.

Parterre and balcony: the origin of the names

Many of the place names in the theater come from antiquity or the Middle Ages. In those days, when theaters did not have separate rooms, and there were no comfortable chairs, even more so, the bulk of the audience watched the actors play simply by standing at the edge of the stage. This place is called porter.

At the same time, the stage was located in the center of the city, so many of the residents of the neighboring houses went out to their balconies, from where they had a beautiful view and from where they could watch everything that was happening on the stage. Since that time, the spectator seats located on the second level have been called the balcony.

When theater halls appeared, these concepts were transferred along with the repertoires of actors under the roof of the room. At the same time, the seats for a long time were only on the balcony and were intended for the nobility and other elite classes, and the common people continued to stand at the edge of the stage, eagerly watching the actors play. For the first time, armchairs appeared in porter only during the French Revolution.

Balconies could be located both on the second tier and on the sides of the porter.

Other seats in the theater

At the same time, in the modern theater the most honorable place is the box. It is a fenced-off place on a certain tier, which favorably distinguishes it from balconies. Usually lodges are located in the most convenient places. The main box is considered to be the general (or royal) box, which is located opposite the stage. Such a box has a separate exit, and all its visitors are visible to those present in the porter and on the balconies, which gives special significance to honored guests.

Another place for spectators is the benoir, which is located on the sides of the porter. It is either on the same level with the stage, or slightly below it.

All lodges are conditionally divided into Italian and French, which differ in shape and size. The Italian type is more in-depth, which allows viewers to hide from prying eyes. The French box, on the other hand, has a completely different form and is intended to demonstrate the honorary spectators who are in it.

There is also a gallery and a rayek, which are located on the topmost tier. These are the cheapest seats in the theatre.

An educated person needs to understand the arrangement of seats in the theater. The very first theaters traditionally did not have an indoor performance space. Performances for the audience were held in the open air. We watched the performance standing up. Therefore, the parterre in translation from French means “on the ground”. The places here were the most democratic and cheap. Nowadays, tickets to the stalls opposite are more expensive than others.

We offer you a diagram of the location of seats in the theater.

How are the seats in the theatre?

The rows of seats in the stalls, depending on the size of the auditorium, are arranged in groups. The first group of seats, closer to the stage, has 7 rows. The latest, closer to the amphitheater - 6 rows. Between them there are groups of chairs in 5 rows. In contrast to the stalls, seats on the raike (by analogy, "paradise" - high), or the gallery - this is the part of the audience seats that is farthest from the stage.

The boxes of the benoir are located on both sides of the stage, but slightly lower. Lodges can be of the Italian or French type. In Italian, the audience is not visible from the hall, and the French, on the contrary, allow everyone to demonstrate the toilets and the appearance of those present to everyone.

Behind the groups of seats in the stalls are the seats of the amphitheater. This is a group of spectator seats, with smooth ledges going up.

There are balconies above the benoir beds. They can be located in several tiers. Different theaters have two, three, less often four tiers of balconies. For example, the Mariinsky Theater has 3 tiers of balconies, while the Alexandrinsky Theater has 4.

The most comfortable places are called the royal box. For the convenience of privileged spectators, the boxes are equipped with a separate entrance. From these places, visibility and acoustics are excellent, but visitors to the royal box can be seen by everyone.

The scene also has zone names. The front part closest to the audience is called the proscenium. The very middle is the stage area, and the back of the stage box is the rear stage. The backstage houses scenery, lighting and mechanisms for lifting stage details.

The orchestra pit is so named for its location below the stage and has the same dimensions as the stage, but is located much deeper than it. From the orchestra pit, the conductor directs the artists of the invisible front, who create the musical arrangement of the performances.

AMPHITHEATER

(Greek amphitheatron, from amphi - around, and theatron - theater). 1) among the Romans, an oval or round building not covered with a roof, with places for spectators gradually rising around the walls; it was intended for fighting animals and gladiators. 2) part of the auditorium, arranged in a semicircle, with rows of seats rising one above the other.

Dictionary of foreign words included in the Russian language. - Chudinov A.N., 1910 .

AMPHITHEATER

Greek amphitheatron, from amphi, around, and theatron, theater. A building with gradually rising seats for spectators.

Explanation of 25,000 foreign words that have come into use in the Russian language, with the meaning of their roots. - Mikhelson A.D., 1865 .

AMPHITHEATER

seats in the audience or the auditorium, located on gradually rising steps, ledges.

A complete dictionary of foreign words that have come into use in the Russian language. - Popov M., 1907 .

AMPHITHEATER

seats for spectators or listeners, arranged in gradually rising rows.

Dictionary of foreign words included in the Russian language. - Pavlenkov F., 1907 .

Amphitheater

(gr. amphitheatron)

1) in the ancient Greek theater - places for spectators located in a semicircle on the slopes of the hills;

2) in ancient Roman architecture - an open round or elliptical structure for spectacles, in which seats for spectators were located in ledges around the arena,

3) in modern theatrical, concert halls, circuses, etc. - seats in the auditorium located behind the stalls.

New dictionary of foreign words.- by EdwART,, 2009 .

Amphitheater

amphitheater, m. [Greek. amphitheater]. 1. In the ancient Greek theater - places for spectators located in a semicircle. 2. In modern theaters - seats behind the stalls or above the boxes, located in a semicircle.

A large dictionary of foreign words. - Publishing house "IDDK", 2007 .

Amphitheater

A, m. (fr. amphitheater Greek amphitheatron amphi around, around, on both sides + theatron theater).
1. Towering rear rows stalls or the entire parterre, rising from the first to the last row in ledges.
|| Wed balcony , mezzanine , benoir , gallery , box , parterre .
2. ist. Among the ancient Greeks and Romans: a building for spectacles, in which seats for spectators were located around the arena, rising in ledges in a semicircle or circle.
|| Wed circus .

Explanatory Dictionary of Foreign Words L. P. Krysina.- M: Russian language, 1998 .

See what "AMPHITHEATRE" is in other dictionaries:

Amphitheater … Spelling Dictionary

amphitheater- a m. amphithéâtre m., Amphitheater, lat. amphitheatrum gr. 1. An open round or semicircular structure for spectacles among the ancient Greeks and Romans. Sl. 18. This wonderful amphitheater of the Colosseum was round on the outside, although the arena was oval. ... ... Historical Dictionary of Gallicisms of the Russian Language

- (from the Greek amphitheatron), 1) an ancient Roman monumental building for spectacles (gladiator fights, baiting wild animals, theatrical performances), amphitheaters were grandiose, ellipsoidal structures without ... ... Art Encyclopedia

- (from the Greek amphitheatron: amphi on both sides, theatron spectacle), 1) an ancient monumental, oval in plan structure with an arena in the middle, intended for public spectacles, with an arena in the middle, around which there were places for ... ... Modern Encyclopedia

- (from the Greek amphitheatron) 1) an ancient building for spectacles: an oval arena, around which there were seats for spectators (the Colosseum in Rome) with ledges. 2) Seats in the auditorium (in the theater and circus behind the stalls) or in the audience located ... … Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

AMPHITHEATRE, amphitheatre, male. (Greek amphitheatron). 1. The ancients have a building for spectacles with raised semicircles or circles for spectators. 2. In modern theaters, seats behind the stalls or above the boxes, located in a semicircle. Dictionary… … Explanatory Dictionary of Ushakov

AMPHITHEATRE, a, husband. 1. In ancient Greece and Rome: a building for spectacles, in which the seats for spectators rise in a semicircle. The buildings are located in an amphitheater (trans.: towering one after the other). 2. Seats in the auditorium, rising in ledges behind ... ... Explanatory dictionary of Ozhegov

- (amphiteatrum from Greek amjiqearon) meant a Roman, unroofed building, consisting of two interconnected theaters, without room for a stage and destined for the fight of animals and people. In the very middle was placed strewn with ... ... Encyclopedia of Brockhaus and Efron

Semicircular closure of slopes. Distinguish upper A., or cirque, closing in the upper reaches of the glacial valley of the trough; karovy A., or kar, a filamentous depression on a slope, bounded by a semicircular steep slope; morainic A. semicircular shaft of the final ... ... Geological Encyclopedia

An auditorium for a theater, stadium, etc., originally open, with arched stepped rows of seats. Big explanatory dictionary of cultural studies .. Kononenko B.I .. 2003 ... Encyclopedia of cultural studies

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