Here we find theatres of essentially luso-brazilian inspiration. Originally known as casas da opera, opera houses, they followed the internal arrangement of Italian baroque theatres. Small, with several tiers of boxes, they reflect the spirit of a rigidly hierarchical society, requiring separation by class even in the theatre. Spectators of higher rank would occupy the best seats. Women, when they went at all, would keep to the boxes, while the stalls, shorn of all comfort, were reserved for the men. The actors, blacks or half-castes, came from the lower social orders, while women only took the stage towards the end of the 18th century. There was little concern, in these small theatres, with visibility or acoustics. The orchestra was at the same level as the stalls, and musicians and instruments would obstruct visibility for spectators at ground level. Seen from outside, such theatres are just ordinary buildings, connected to their neighbours on each side and undistinguished in the urban landscape.