The Baroque was a period in art

history characterized by the

exuberant use of ornaments and
the combination of different
arts for creating dramatic
pieces.
It started in Italy after the
Renaissance and expanded to
most of Europe between the
17th and 18th century.
It started in Italy after the
Renaissance and expanded to
most of Europe between the
17th and 18th century.
 With many artistic innovations
happening during the Baroque
period, theaters evolved into more
sophisticated and dramatic venues.
Both the buildings and the plays were
deeply transformed.
 The study and development of
perspective marked the evolution of
theater design, and the first operas
were created, becoming a new, widely
accepted genre. This increased the
demand for playhouses all over the
continent.
 The theater of the Baroque
period is marked by the use of
technology in current Broadways
or commercial plays.
 The theater crew uses machines
for special effects and scene
changes which may be changed
in a matter of seconds with the
use of ropes and pulleys.
This technology affected the
content of the performed
pieces, practicing at its best the
Deus ex Machina(a Latin word
meaning "god from the
machine) solution.
 The term Theatrum Mundi – the
world is a stage – was also created.
The social and political realm in
the real world is manipulated in
exactly the same way the actor and
the machines are
presenting/limiting what is being
presented on stage, hiding
selectively all the machinery that
makes the actions happen.
England
Germany
Spain
 The influence of the Renaissance was also
very late in England, and baroque theater is
only partly a useful concept here, for
example in discussing Restoration comedy.
There was an eighteen-year break when the
London theaters were closed during the
English Civil War and English
Commonwealth until the Restoration of
Charles II in 1660.
 German theater in the seventeenth century
lacked major contributions. The best known
playwright was Andreas Cryphius, who used the
Jesuit model of theDutch Joost van den Vondel
and Cornielle. There was also Johannes Velten
who combined the traditions of the English
comedians and the commedia del’arte with the
classic theater of Corneille and Moliere. His
touring company was perhaps the most
significant and important of the
seventeenth century.
 The baroque had a Catholic and
conservative character in Spain, following
an Italian literary models during the
Renaissance. The Hispanic baroque theater
aimed for a public content with an ideal
reality that manifested fundamental three
sentiments: Catholic religion, monarchist
and national pride and honor originating
from the chivalric, knightly world.