Jacob van Campen

Dutch architect, the designer of the first theatre in Amsterdam, the Schouwburg, which opened on 3 Jan. 1638 with an historical tragedy, Gijsbrecht van Amstel, by Joost van den Vondel (q.v.). Modelled on Palladio's Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza, it had an elaborate scena stabile, or permanent setting, with a balcony on each side and no proscenium arch, one ceiling covering both auditorium and stage, and a central arch reminiscent of the earlier open-air stages of the Rederijkers (q.v.). IN: Hartnoll, Phyllis, ed. The concise Oxford companion to the theatre. 1st ed. London: Oxford University Press, 1972.  ISBN 0-19-281102-9. p. 82 - 83