Theatergeschichte Europas Viband

Author : Evan Baker (Opera historian)
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 292 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (89 download)

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Download or read book Alfred Roller's Production of Mozart's Don Giovanni written by Evan Baker (Opera historian) and published by . This book was released on 1993 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On December 21, 1905, the premiere of the new production of Mozart's Don Giovanni with a stellar cast took place at the Vienna Court Opera. Alfred Roller, Chief of Scenic Design and a leading member of the art movement Secession, designed the settings and costumes. The production was staged and conducted by Gustav Mahler, Director of the Vienna Court Opera. Reaction to the new production was swift: an enormous storm of controversy erupted in the Viennese press, chiefly about the staging and settings. Statements of condemnation and praise appeared in the newspapers for days. The influences of the Secession were charted, discussed, and debated. Complaints were raised against the high costs of the sets and costumes, and calls were made for the production to be removed from the repertory. Roller's designs for Don Giovanni were simple: four gray, austere, movable "towers," two on each side of the stage, provided the basic stage setting. These towers served as scenic decoration used either singly or combined in groups to create windows, balconies, doorways and gateways. Painted drops were also used, as well as a few simple scenic components on rolling wagons or platforms. Lighting played a significant role, since scenic painting was kept to neutral tones. There was little ornamentation, a stark contrast to past scenic and staging practices that were previously deemed "the tradition." The Viennese cognoscenti prided themselves on adhering to the theatrical tradition, and this new production had broken with it. The dissertation documents the Viennese scenic traditions and recreates Roller's iconoclastic production of Don Giovanni and the subsequent public reaction. The years between 1899 and 1905 were rich in the propagation of new and novel theories (particularly those of Adolphe Appia and Edward Gordon Craig), manifestos, designs, articles, and books which called for changes and reforms in the visual and scenic arts. The influences of these new theories and ideas and of the Secession upon the scenic and staging styles of the Vienna Opera are examined as well.