A decade later - Fundação Luso-Americana

Seated in his regal chair, King Luis I of Portugal listens rapt to
the adventures of the inveterate seductress Laureana, who was
in turn seduced by Giovellino, the lyrical persona of the Count
of Florence.
The plot of the opera by Augusto Machado (1845-1924) unfolds
in four acts and six scenes. The libretto, by Jean-Jacques Magne
and A. Guiou is taken from the novel Les Beaux Messieurs de Bois-Doré
by Georges Sand and Paul Maurice. Dedicated to His Majesty Luis
I, the opera debuted on March 1, 1884 at the São Carlos National
Theater and today warrants a place of honor in the history books
as a milestone in... Portuguese telecommunications.
‘ His majesty was able to happily hear the whole opera,
in the comfort of his own home, without the customary
courtly etiquette and gris perle gloves of the royal
box, seated on his throne draped in his ermine mantle,
or tucked in bed with a woolen cap on his head,
depending on his wishes and bodily needs.
’
António Maria magazine, March 6
Still in mourning for his sister, Maria Ana de Bragança, Princess
of Saxony, and unable to leave the palace, the king decided to
commission an audition of the opera live via the theaterphone, a
recent invention by Clément Ader, first tested in Paris in 1881.
Placed in a semi-circle downstage on pedestals with rubber
feet to absorb vibration, six microphones – powered by three
sets of serial-connected batteries, alternating every 20 minutes
to guarantee power input stability – performed the miracle of
capturing and transmitting the performance. Thus, the king and
queen were able to accompany the opera from start to finish,
despite intermittent distortions, soundbursts, and the odd clunker
produced by the orchestra, singers, and chorus.
In the March 6th edition of the almanac António Maria, Rafael
Bordalo Pinheiro published a caricature that was to immortalize
the event. The caption, by Alfredo de Morais Pinto, whose pen
name was Pan, quipped: “His Majesty was able to happily hear
the whole opera, in the comfort of his own home, without the
customary courtly etiquette and gris perle gloves of the royal box,
78
riGHT To WriTe D.R.
“Laureana,” the theaterphone,
and a king’s pioneering spirit
mAnueL siLvA pereirA*
seated on his throne draped in his ermine mantle, or tucked in
bed with a woolen cap on his head, depending on his wishes
and bodily needs.”
Spurred on by success, the Teatro São Carlos promoted its 1885
opera season with opera lovers being able to subscribe to the
theaterphone. For 180 thousand reis, the listener got 90 recitals.
It didn’t matter whether the subscriber lived in Palhavã, Olivais,
or Braço de Prata, because the soundwaves generated by the Ader
device arrived in perfect condition.
According to the Le Times, for this huge achievement, the director
of the Edison Gower Bell Company, who installed the dedicated
phone line between Teatro de São Carlos and
the royal palace in Ajuda would later be dec-
orated with the Military Order of Christ!
The system was only commercialized in
France in 1890, five years later, and though
the monarch’s other deeds may have been
relegated to the dustbin of history, this
delightful caprice of music-lover Luis the
First is mentioned in a number of sources.
Less widely publicized though was the interest
and admiration the Metropolitan Opera
House in New York displayed toward this
breakthrough Lusitanian invention.
For almost eight decades now opera has
been broadcast live over the radio, allowing millions of listeners
to enjoy the best productions around. And in 2002, some of the
world’s major opera productions, staged in countless theaters
and concert halls, began to be televised in HD-TV from and to
nearly 40 countries around the world.
Interested in tracing the history of this new cycle of globalization,
which has sparked the interest of opera lovers and captured
new audiences worldwide, the MET – and particularly the people
responsible for their Live in HD program- once again resuscitated the
story of Adler’s theaterphone and the Portuguese king’s daring
initiative. When I personally contacted our only opera house to
obtain some names and addresses, and to ask for their help in
doing some in-depth research into their files, I was dumbfounded
by their off-putting response, “Don’t tell me we’re going to
have to write down the whole history for you!,” they grumbled.
So much for the pioneering spirit!
* Former aide to the Portuguese embassy in Washington DC and to the Portuguese UN Mission
in New York.
Parallel no. 6 | FALL | WINTER 2011