ROMAN THEATRE OF ORANGE: A SITE OF RIVETING RECONSTRUCTION

· OVERVIEW:

The Roman Theatre of Orange (French: Théâtre antique d'Orange) is a Roman theatre in Orange, Vaucluse, France. It was built early in the 1st century AD. The structure is owned by the municipality of Orange and is the home of the summer opera festival, the Chorégies d'Orange.

It is one of the best preserved of all Roman theatres and served the Roman colony of Arausio which was founded in 40 BC. Playing a major role in the life of the citizens, who spent a large part of their free time there, the theatre was seen by the Roman authorities not only as a means of spreading Roman culture to the colonies, but also as a way of distracting them from all political activities.

As the Western Roman Empire declined during the 4th century, by which time Christianity had become the official religion, the theatre was closed by official edict in AD 391, since the Church opposed what it regarded at the time as uncivilized spectacles. It was probably pillaged by the Visigoths in 412, and like most Roman buildings was certainly stripped of its better stone over the centuries for reuse. It was used as a defensive post in the early Middle Ages, and by the 12th century began to be used by the Church for religious plays. During the 16th-century religious wars, it became a refuge for the townspeople. It has since been restored to its former function, primarily for opera, alongside its use as a tourist spot.

· DESIGN AND ARCHITECTURE:

Early Roman theatre were mostly constructed from wood and meant to be temporary structures. In 55 BC Pompey had a stone theatre built in his home city of Rome, and thereafter grand (and permanent) Roman theatres spread widely. The Orange theatre was created under the rule of Augustus, and is believed to be one of the first of its kind in this area of modern-day France. One of the most iconic parts of this structure is the grand exterior facade, which measures to be 103 meters long and 37 meters high. Originally, there was a wooden roof across the theatre to protect the audience from unfavorable weather conditions. There is evidence on the walls that shows that, at some point, the roof was destroyed in a fire. Although it is relatively sparse in decoration and embellishment, the three story wall gives an overwhelmingly powerful appearance to the entire building. The main three doors on the first level of the facade open directly onto the stage inside the theatre, which can seat from 5,800 up to 7,300 (today, much of the seating has been reconstructed to ensure the safety of tourists and audience members).

The theatre was constructed at the end of the 1st century CE using both local yellow and white limestone with the tiers of seating, or cavea, built into the side of St. Eutrope hill. The stone seating had three tiers of 20, 9, and 5 rows of seats and gave the theatre a capacity for around 9,000 spectators. Each tier had its own gates and entrance tunnel (ambulacrum), and spectators could not access one tier to another once inside the theatre. The seats of the first three rows were reserved for VIPs such as the municipal councillors (decurions), and some still bear inscriptions. Although now restored, some of the original seating is still in situ at the top sections near either side of the stage. The exterior face of the stage wall is well-preserved and has 17 arched doorways separated by engaged columns. The central doors lead to the stage, the outer doors lead to staircases to access the cavea, and the rest are entrances to independent rooms not connected to the stage on the other side. Above the doorways are more pilasters (22 in total) and two rows of waterspouts. Each side of the wall ends in a series of monumental arched entrances built on two levels. At the side now used as a ticket office, there are the remains of the important sanctuary and temple, dedicated to an unidentified emperor.

Like most ancient monuments, the theatre has suffered a chequered history with its abandonment in antiquity followed by the indiscriminate reuse of its masonry, conversion into a fortress, and then incarnation as a residential block with, at one time, its own street running through it. Nevertheless, enough survived for Louis XIV to describe the massive and still-standing stage wall as ‘The finest wall in my kingdom.’ In the 19th century CE the theatre was restored by the architect Auguste Caristie, and from 1869 CE a series of artistic festivals known as the ‘Roman Feasts’ began. These events would later change their name to the ‘Choregies,’ and the tradition of classical concerts taking advantage of the theatre’s excellent acoustics continues in the present day with an important summer festival of opera, theatre, and music presentations.

Reconstruction of the Théâtre d'Orange began in 1825 with the intent of returning the theatre to its original purpose: to host large, exciting performances. In 1869, while still in the process of being restored, the theatre hosted “The Roman Festivals,” which brought over 10,000 guests. A very important part of the restoration was excavating the area around the theatre, which occurred in the 1930s. This excavation and leveling of surrounding buildings uncovered many historical objects and artifacts that furthered knowledge about the history and uses of the structure. Today, all three levels of seating have been completely restored, along with many staircases, major parts of the pavement, the stage, the orchestra, and parts of walls.

· HISTORICAL FRAMEWORK:

For me, this grand amphitheater proved to be a true testament to the impactful style of Roman architecture, and super-imposed the fact that modern day architecture can be modified and used to conserve ancient brilliant architecture, and together create a perfect amalgamation of the two. The efforts taken to reconstruct this theater right from the year 1825 to now, have met with many challenges, but in the end have still allowed the theater to remain alive with all its glory, even in the 21st century.