The modern use of ancient theatres related to acoustic and lighting requirements: Stage design guidelines for the Greek theatre of Syracuse

Bo, Elena; Astolfi, Arianna; Pellegrino, Anna; Pelegrín-García, David; Puglisi, Giuseppina Emma; Shtrepi, Louena; Rychtáriková, Monika

doi:10.1016/j.enbuild.2014.12.037

Cited by 23 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 4 publications

(5 reference statements)

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“…This reflects a general trend observable in the broader field of archaeoacoustics [15]. There is indeed a renewed attention to the "acoustics of past" [16][17][18], which is driven by both a pure scholarly interest and a more practical need to adapt historical facilities to contemporary use [9,[19][20][21] and historical relevance, which could help to better understand the design and evolution of other performance spaces [22,23]. However, performing acoustical measurements poses a number of challenges because room acoustics parameters and standards are conceived for enclosed spaces and might not be straightforwardly applicable in outdoor contexts [24,25].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 82%

Measurements of Acoustical Parameters in the Ancient Open-Air Theatre of Tyndaris (Sicily, Italy)

Astolfi

Aletta

et al. 2020

Applied Sciences

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The emerging field of archaeoacoustics is attracting increasing research attention from scholars of different disciplines: the investigation of the acoustic features of ancient open-air theatres is possibly one of its main themes. In this paper, the outcomes of a measurement campaign of acoustical parameters in accordance with ISO 3382-1 in the ancient theatre of Tyndaris (Sicily) are presented and compared with datasets from other sites. Two sound sources were used (firecrackers and dodecahedron) and their differences were analysed. A very good reproducibility has been shown between the two measurement chains, with differences on average of 0.01 s for reverberation time T20, and less than 0.3 dB for Clarity C50 and C80 and for sound strength. In general, results show that the reverberation time and strength of sound values are relatively low when compared with other theatres because of the lack of the original architectural element of the scaenae frons. When combining this effect with the obvious condition of an unroofed space, issues emerge in terms of applicability of the protocols recommended in the ISO standard. This raises the question of whether different room acoustics parameters should be used to characterise open-air ancient theatres.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 82%

Measurements of Acoustical Parameters in the Ancient Open-Air Theatre of Tyndaris (Sicily, Italy)

Astolfi

Aletta

et al. 2020

Applied Sciences

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“…The whole question would be merely of academic interest were it not for the fact that, since the beginning of the 20th century, there has been a popular tendency for Generalised destruction of the stage buildings is the most important problem in all cases. This fact, as discussed in previous paper, makes unavoidable the presence of a movable, low and lean scenery (a mobile stage background in the correct position and of a suitable size to be used during a performance), which could contribute mainly as an active sound reflector and secondly as a small noise barrier, as it has been proposed by other researchers, too [9,[11][12][13][22][23][24][25].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This is often followed by a detailed examination of the effects of natural frequencies and diffraction on individual architectural elements (particularly resonators) [6,20,21]. A rather restricted amount of research focused specifically on the acoustic contribution of the stage by comparing theatres with different type of stage ruins [22], by assessing the impact of noise barriers and background scenery wall for optimum performance conditions [23], or by proposing and evaluating the impact of different scenic elements aiming to establish guidelines for stage design [6,24,25].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Contribution of the Stage Design to the Acoustics of Ancient Greek Theatres

Barkas

2019

Acoustics

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The famous acoustics of ancient Greek theatres rely on a successful combination of appropriate location and architectural design. The theatres of the ancient world effectively combine two contradictory requirements: large audience capacity and excellent aural and visual comfort. Despite serious alterations resulting from either Roman modifications or accumulated damage, most of these theatres are still theatrically and acoustically functional. Acoustic research has proven that ancient theatres are applications of a successful combination of the basic parameters governing the acoustic design of open-air venues: elimination of external noise, harmonious arrangement of the audience around the performing space, geometric functions among the various parts of the theatre, reinforcement of the direct sound through positive sound reflections, and suppression of the delayed sound reflections or reverberation. Specifically, regarding the acoustic contribution of the stage building, it is important to clarify the consecutive modifications of the skene in the various types of theatres, given the fact that stage buildings were almost destroyed in most ancient Greek theatres. This paper attempts to demonstrate the positive role of the scenery in contemporary performances of ancient drama to improve the acoustic comfort using data from a sample of twenty (20) ancient theatres in Greece.

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“…A preliminary benchmark test study was carried out on SR, whose model had previously been used in different investigations, e.g., simulations concerning its ancient conditions, during the European ERATO project, [3] and in investigations on its contemporary use [25]. Figure 3a shows the 3D model configuration of SR.…”

Section: General Procedures For the Implementation Of The Modelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These studies refer to measurements on a scale model of the ancient theatre and its contemporary use [4,24], to acoustic and lighting simulations [25], and to in situ acoustical characterisations with temporary scenery [26]. Measurements had only been carried out in empty conditions at one point of the orchestra area, as a pilot study in which different techniques were used [27].…”

Section: Case Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Accuracy of Predicted Acoustical Parameters in Ancient Open-Air Theatres: A Case Study in Syracusae

Shtrepi

Garcia

et al. 2018

Applied Sciences

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Featured Application: The work aims to give more insights into the relation between the sensitivity of the simulated objective parameters and the software input parameters for open-air ancient theatres. It is meant to raise awareness on the use of predictive acoustic software for unconventional outdoor environments in order to validate the possibility of re-using them as performance spaces. Abstract:Nowadays, ancient open-air theatres are often re-adapted as performance spaces for the additional historical value they can offer to the spectators' experience. Therefore, there has been an increasing interest in the modelling and simulation of the acoustics of such spaces. These open-air performance facilities pose several methodological challenges to researchers and practitioners when it comes to precisely measure and predict acoustical parameters. Therefore this work investigates the accuracy of predicted acoustical parameters, that is, the Reverberation Time (T 20 ), Clarity (C 80 ) and Sound Strength (G), taking the ancient Syracusae open-air theatre in Italy as a case study. These parameters were derived from both measured and simulated Impulse Responses (IR). The accuracy of the acoustic parameters predicted with two different types of acoustic software, due to the input variability of the absorption and scattering coefficients, was assessed. All simulated and measured parameters were in good agreement, within the range of one "just noticeable difference" (JND), for the tested coefficient combinations.

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The modern use of ancient theatres related to acoustic and lighting requirements: Stage design guidelines for the Greek theatre of Syracuse

Cited by 23 publications

References 4 publications

Measurements of Acoustical Parameters in the Ancient Open-Air Theatre of Tyndaris (Sicily, Italy)

Measurements of Acoustical Parameters in the Ancient Open-Air Theatre of Tyndaris (Sicily, Italy)

The Contribution of the Stage Design to the Acoustics of Ancient Greek Theatres

The Accuracy of Predicted Acoustical Parameters in Ancient Open-Air Theatres: A Case Study in Syracusae

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