How to go to the theater correctly in the 19th century: outfits, norms of behavior, allocation of seats and other rules

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

In the 19th century, theater in Russia was not only a place where you could enjoy the magnificent acting, but also a real secular institution. Here, during the intermission, the men made appointments and discussed business issues, in the theater they talked about politics and made useful contacts. And all this social life was subject to special rules of etiquette, which were not allowed to be violated.

Appearance

The lady had no right to come to the performance in an ordinary dress. The dress was supposed to be evening, but by no means a ballroom, and the depth of the neckline was regulated by the place in the auditorium, which was occupied by the young lady. The ladies sitting on the lower tiers had the deepest cutouts, but on the upper necklines they were the more modest the higher the tier was.

Older women were allowed to cover the neckline with a cape, while young girls wore dresses lavishly decorated with ribbons, flowers and lace. However, respectable young ladies were also not forbidden to choose bright colors and a wide variety of finishes for their outfits. Any lady's outfit was necessarily complemented by gloves, a fan and matching hats; jewelry with precious stones was also indispensable. High hairstyles and hats were considered bad form, and etiquette prescribed to behave with restraint and well-mannered.

Men also chose appropriate suits to visit the theater: dark red, black or blue dress coats, snow-white shirts with starched cuffs and collars, exquisite embroidered colored vests. An indispensable addition were ties or scarves, hats and gloves, always white. When cylinders came into fashion, they began to be considered a decent headdress just for going out. Naturally, in the theater, the men took off their hats.

Allocation of seats in the auditorium

Seats in the hall were distributed in accordance with the position that a person occupied in society. Only senior civilian and military officials, as well as ambassadors with their secretaries, could sit in the first row of the orchestra. The second and third rows were occupied by dignitaries of noble origin, followed by middle-ranking officers, foreign guests, famous artists, patrons of art, bankers. In the gallery, it was allowed to redeem tickets for ordinary spectators, of an ordinary origin: merchants, artisans, students.

Tickets on the right side of the auditorium were usually bought by people who were in the theater only from time to time, while on the left were connoisseurs and art lovers. They, as a rule, had their own seats, which they bought out at once for the entire theatrical season, or at least for several performances in a row.

Ladies were allowed to sit in the stalls only from the second half of the 19th century, before that they could only sit on the front seats of balconies and boxes. If the lady could now take a place in the stalls, then her outfit in this case was distinguished by modesty: no neckline and bright colors, only black, a closed collar and a modest hat without any trimmings. A lonely lady, caring about her reputation, had no right to come to the theater alone, she was necessarily accompanied by her husband, and unmarried young ladies - older relatives or parents.

Behavior during the performance

Being late for the performance was considered extremely indecent, but the spectators who occupied the boxes could come after the start of the stage action or even watch the whole part of the production. This was explained by the fact that in boxes with a separate entrance, spectators do not interfere with anyone, leaving their place or taking it later than expected.

Loud discussion of what was happening on stage was considered indecent, as were the shouts of "bravo" and "encore". However, this concerned only aristocrats, the public could afford to express emotions more simply. But the ladies could not even applaud - it was the prerogative of men. It was forbidden to eat and drink in the parterre and on the balconies, but soft drinks, sweets and fruits were served in the boxes that were occupied by the imperial family or noble aristocrats.

Theatrical binoculars could only be used to better see what was happening on the stage; it was strictly forbidden to view the audience. However, young spectators could not openly look at people in the hall even without binoculars, only during the intermission they could quietly look at other spectators.

Behavior during intermission

The noble ladies who were in the boxes, according to etiquette, could not leave her even during the intermission. As a rule, the man accompanying her asked what the young lady would like and brought what she wanted. At the same time, fruits and sweets were to be offered to everyone in the box, even if the audience did not know each other. Secular people were obliged to offer the ladies a poster.

If the hall was hot and stuffy, the young ladies were allowed to go out into the foyer with their attendants. True, sometimes the ladies neglected this rule and walked alone, there were pleasant acquaintances, appointments were made after the performance, and even flirtatious declarations of love took place.

The men calmly walked around the foyer, talked with their acquaintances, discussed any questions, made new acquaintances and even got busy. The most important thing was to keep the conversation quiet, so as not to bother the others and not force them to listen to someone else's conversation.

In the past, special rules of etiquette applied not only to theater or attending social events, but even behavior on the beach. Bathing etiquette and beach fashion have changed very radically over the past couple of hundred years, and our great-grandmothers would be amazed at how different modern beaches are from what they are used to.