[solemn classical music]
Male Actor with Italian Accent: “Tonight and on the next two evenings, a solemn cantata will be given in Teatro Argentina, which has been adapted by the cardinal ambassador of France for use as a hall in honor of the wedding of the dauphin, and we went to see the noble decorations.”
Female Narrator: That’s how Pope Benedict the Fourteenth described the theater in a letter in July 1747. The pope himself couldn’t attend the event for reasons of protocol, but a French student who was in the audience at the concert wrote to his parents that it was impressive, but sweltering:
[music ends]
[muffled crowds]
Male Actor with French Accent: “The illumination of this theatre was proportionate to the richness of the decoration, but it generated too much heat.”
[lively classical music]
Female Narrator: In a time before electric lighting, a newspaper report described how the radiance you see in the painting was achieved.
Male Actor with Italian Accent: “The splendid illumination with wax candles distributed across numerous wall sconces and chandeliers added up to around one thousand candles, which decorated the entire theatre.”
[music ends]
