1608-1678

Italian stage designer and engineer who created a number of innovations for the theatre. In 1641, Torelli designed and built the Teatro Novissimo in Venice, for which he developed number of machines, in particular a revolving stage. Invited to Paris by King Louis XIV in 1645, he designed for the Théatre du Petit-Bourbon the first effective machinery for making rapid changes to large sets. His set designs, most notably for Pierre Corneille's Andromède in 1650, won him praise. After returning to Italy in 1661, he designed the Teatro della Fortuna in Fano (1677).