Scaffolding connects the stage and the auditorium. A semi-circular walkway extends across the front of the dress circle.
Long ladders create vertical access.
The surprise at finding a mundane work scene literally inserting itself into the space and aura of a hollowed cultural venue created a mental jolt. It will be interesting to see to what aesthetic, practical as well as metaphorical uses these structures will be put for works from Monteverdi to Dallapiccola. However, they immediately rendered visual, made visible, that art is always work in progress, and that transformation is the life blood for maintaining a living tradition. The scaffolding is also a metaphorical framework, standing for opera as an art form holding together intellectual and emotional knowledges, as well as social and cultural values. In a less abstract vein, the scaffolding, especially the walkway, created a direct link between the performers and the audience.