Saturday, September 8, 2018 (continued)
After touring the Drottningholm Palace, we had a short wait to take the Royal Theater tour in English.
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Slottsteater/Royal Theater (1764-1766, by Carl Fredrik Adelcrantz)
was commissioned by Louisa Ulrika, and is the oldest theater
in the world with its original backdrops and stage machinery |
Louisa Ulrika's son, Gustav III, was, among other things, an actor and playwright, and he made full use of the theater. When he was assassinated, the theater was neglected and used for storage. In 1921, a professor, looking for a painting, found 18C costumes, 30 original sets, as well as devices for sound effects. It is the best preserved 18C theater in the world, with the only a thorough cleaning, replacing the ropes on pulleys, and installing electricity to replace 400 candles.
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There were bedrooms for the theater director and actors;
this large room was used by Adlecrantz, the architect and superintendant |
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| The wallpaper design was continued on the vent pipe |
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| The painted wallpaper was nailed to the wall |
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The stage is unusually deep, allowing for optical illusions
of greater perspective or distance in the background |
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The king and queen had comfortable seats
right up front in the center,while everyone
else sat on benches |
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There were some private boxes, with trompe l'oeil drapes
painted onto the doors to the boxes |
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| A box that allowed for some privacy, if needed |
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What looks like carved stone supports is
actually made of papier mâché |
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A foyer was added in 1791, by Louis Jean Desprez,
which allowed for mingling while a band played
on the balcony above |
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| Faux marble (KSS) |
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| View behind the theater towards the English Garden |
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An 18C French-style court dress, which would
take up three spaces on the bench! (KSS) |
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| Forte piano where even the inside of the lid is decorated.. |
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| ...and under the strings! (KSS) |
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| More costumes |
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| More costumes and Kent (photo by Fernando) |
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| Theater prop?! (KSS) |
Time for lunch at Karamellan Café &
Restaurang på/Restaurant at Drottningholm.
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Husets Fisksoppa/Fish Soup with räkor/shrimp,
musslor/mussels, torsk/cod & saffransaioli/
saffron garlic mayonnaise |
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Klassiska Köttbullar/Classic Meatballs with gräddsås/cream sauce,
potatispuré/potato purée, rårörda/ripe lingon & pressgurka/pickle |
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| Swedish Bryggmästarens beer |
After lunch, we headed to the French-style gardens.
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| Fernando, Josefina, and Kent |
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Copy of statue (by Adriaen de Vries) of Laocoön,
the Trojan priest being punished with his two sons,
by the attack of a serpent |
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| The allée of linden trees, mostly with new trees, but a few originals perhaps |
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Copy of statue (by Adriaen de Vries)
of Hercules Slaying the Hydra |
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| Approaching the water parterre |
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| Water parterre fountain |
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| Water parterre fountains |
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| Old Quercus robur/common oak (KSS) |
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| Looking back towards Drottningholm Palace |
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Gustav III added an English-type garden,
and Fernando and Kent are headed to the hill |
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| Sculpture at the top of the hill |
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Looking back down the hill;
here comes Josefina! |
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| There are four rows of trees in two allées |
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| A side allée to the Chinese Pavilion |
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Corps de Garde/Guards' "Tent" (1781-1782,
by Carl Fredrik Adelcrantz) inspired by Turkish tents
and is made with painted copper (KSS) |
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| Inside the Guards' Tent... (KSS) |
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One of a pair of pavilions in front of the Chinese Pavilion;
this one was used by Adolf Fredrik for his carpentry studio |
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One of a smaller pair of pavilions, which was a Billiards
chamber, but now houses the carpentry studio equipment |
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| Adolf Fredrik's carpentry tools |
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Chinese Pavilion (1763-1769, by Carl Fredrik Adelcrantz), which replaced a wooden
structure given to Louisa Ulrika by Adolf Fredrik, on her birthday in 1753 |
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| Chinese Pavilion detail (KSS) |
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The second of the larger pair of pavilions was the En Confidance,
a dining room where the royal family could eat in privacy |
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Inside the En Confidance, the table was set by servants in
the kitchen below, and raised up on a platform |
Back inside the main Chinese Pavilion.
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| Octagonal Cabinet |
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| Work in progress: restoration of the lacquer screen |
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| Lacquer screen |
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| Paper lantern (KSS) |
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