Johann Wetter. Untersuchungen über die wichtigsten Gegenstaende der Theaterbaukunst, die vortheilhaftesten Formen des Auditoriums, und die zweckmässigste Anordnung der Bühne und des Prosceniums, in optischer und akustischer Hinsicht.….. Mainz: Joseph Stenz, 1829, Fig. III.

The research project is dedicated to exploring the links between the history of European theatre and acoustics from 1750 to 1930. This period corresponds to the gradual establishment of physical acoustics and its differentiation into numerous subdisciplines. The aim of the project is to show that the history of acoustics is not limited to the emergence of an exact science, but rather must be located in a history of the 'acoustic' that extends to accompany media and cultural history and the history of the arts.

The 'acoustic' is therefore of interest in its dual function as a producer and as object of science/knowledge: a) It is first of all important to ask why theatre praxis, beginning around 1750, does seek out new ways of organizing space acoustically, and an upswing in experimentation with new acoustic media technologies and transformed acoustic communication practices can be observed starting around this time. Did this make possible other forms of the production and transfer of knowledge, beyond what is allowed by the visual techniques of theatre? b) In addition, it shall be investigated whether theatre theory and practice also anticipate specific insights of acoustics, thus promoting the establishment of the discipline and later implementing its findings. The interest is thus focused on the transfer of acoustic knowledge between theatre praxis and the acoustic disciplines.