Torelli in Venice. The “ingegnere teatrale” between scene-design and sets

Abstract

The purpose of this essay is to start a real and global enquiry into Giacomo Torelli’s work and personality. Accordingly, the author investigates Torelli’s work in Venice and compares it with both the heritage of stage design and the original features of Venetian spectacle and of the Opera. What emerges through the study of Torelli’s inventions, is the complex role of the inventor of the scene, the ‘ingegnere teatrale’ who produces images and machines, theatrical spaces and sets. In this article the author opens new areas of discussion in relation to the work of the ‘ingegnere teatrale’ inside the space of the theatre.