Saturday was our last big day to
lower scenery from the attic at the Tabor Opera House in Leadville, Colorado. It
was the sixth of seven workdays in a row. We did manage to hit our goal of
lowering all remaining shutter scenes, plus a few other pieces, to the stage
floor. The attic looks positively bare. Only eight borders remain for me to
document today. That being said, some scenic pieces still remain in the loft
above the attic and on platforms high above stage right and stage left. Documenting
the final shutters, wings and borders will have to wait until next time. The amount and the scope of the scenery at
the Tabor Opera House is staggering.
Two rocky pass shutters pieced together on the stage of the Tabor Opera House after spending a century in the attic. The shutters were painted by Frank Cox in 1888.The backside of the rocky pass shutters. This scene was also painted by Frank Cox in 1888.Two shutters forming a European street scene. The Tabor Opera House in Leadville, Colorado.Two horizon shutters and three wings. There are five remaining wings, but all have been cut down; one is missing.
The biggest surprise this week was
discovering a marked piece of scenery from the Tabor Grand Opera in Denver. This
was Tabor’s second theater. There are some interior set pieces and borders obviously
created for another, and much larger.
There are also a few pieces from touring productions that never left the
Tabor during the nineteenth century. It will be fun to track down more
information in the upcoming weeks.
The majority of the work this week
was completed by volunteers without any background in theater. Their careers
varied from nursing and teaching to law and public service. Some were born in
Leadville and others not; all were passionate about the project.
Volunteer crew on day 6 at the Tabor Opera House in Leadville, Colorado.Painted border, likely created for another venue due to size. This border matches the palace interior setting that we assembled earlier this week.
Painted scenery produced for the
stage a century ago continues to have a
broad appeal to the general public. Well painted scenes still cause people to gasp,
as did much of the scenery at the Tabor Opera House. It is just magical.
Painted detail from the rocky pass shutters. Note the seam between the to shutters.
For the next few weeks, I will continue
to post images from this week’s documentation, focusing on individual scenes
and painting techniques. More tonight.
To be continued…
Author: waszut_barrett@me.com
Wendy Rae Waszut-Barrett, PhD, is an author, artist, and historian, specializing in painted settings for opera houses, vaudeville theaters, social halls, cinemas, and other entertainment venues. For over thirty years, her passion has remained the preservation of theatrical heritage, restoration of historic backdrops, and the training of scenic artists in lost painting techniques. In addition to evaluating, restoring, and replicating historic scenes, Waszut-Barrett also writes about forgotten scenic art techniques and theatre manufacturers. Recent publications include the The Santa Fe Scottish Rite Temple: Freemasonry, Architecture and Theatre (Museum of New Mexico Press, 2018), as well as articles for Theatre Historical Society of America’s Marquee, InitiativeTheatre Museum Berlin’s Die Vierte Wand, and various Masonic publications such as Scottish Rite Journal, Heredom and Plumbline. Dr. Waszut-Barrett is the founder and president of Historic Stage Services, LLC, a company specializing in historic stages and how to make them work for today’s needs. Although her primary focus remains on the past, she continues to work as a contemporary scene designer for theatre and opera.
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