Page - 366 - in Musiktheater im höfischen Raum des frühneuzeitlichen Europa - Hof – Oper – Architektur

Juan José Carreras 366 royal residence of Aranjuez, south of Madrid. The first part is illustrated with five de- signs, one of which shows an opera staging at the Buen Retiro theatre, which includes a partial view of the orchestra, and four other drawings documenting the careful mak- ing of the scenery and costumes, a crucial productive aspect of opera, which Farinelli clearly wanted to emphasize. In spite of its paramount importance in the history of theatre and opera at the Spanish court, there are no actual images of the interior or exterior of the building of the Coliseo del Buen Retiro. Unfortunately, the drawings of the Descripción do not show any view of the theatre itself. In fact, the only precise architectonic information about the theatrical space is a ground plan of the principal floor of the whole Buen Retiro palace, made by the French architect René Carlier in 1712 (Fig.  2). The ground plan by Carlier shows the theatre on its upper left-hand, placed as the prolongation of the north wing of the main yard of the palace, the Plaza principal, and so connected to the main reception hall, the Salón de Reinos. On the right-hand, separated by a small garden and connected to the east passage of the square, we find a big ball-room, the Figure  2.  Ground plan of the main floor of the Buen Retiro Palace in Madrid. Ink drawing of René Carlier’s original 1712 map of the Buen Retiro.