Viktor & Rolf’s Operatic Feat Raises Questions
Courtesy of Sagepress/Festspielhaus.de

Courtesy of Sagepress/Festspielhaus.de

Designer duo Viktor & Rolf recently explored fresh new spaces within which to express their extrovert sartorial theatricality. Several weeks ago, their glorious costumes graced the Baden-Baden’s Festival Theatre in occasion of the staging of  Carl Maria von Weber’s opera, ‘Der Freischütz’, directed by Robert Wilson.

Using almost a million Swarovski crystals and maintaining their colourfully theatrical, quasi grotesque approach, their final aesthetic result was show stopping. Nevertheless, it seemed that von Weber had little to do with Viktor & Rolf ’s fashionable extravaganza.

An assiduous fan of Wilson’s controversial yet highly acclaimed theatrical works, I have witnessed something of a downfall in recent years since the staging of ’Prometheus‘. Perhaps his collaboration with this fresh designer duo was Wilson’s bid to surprise the audience?

Although the idea of bringing fashionistas to the opera is one worth exploring, ‘Der Freischütz’’s references to the supernatural and dreams simply did not relate to Viktor & Rolf’s ambitious designs. For those of us who love both fashion and opera, the collaboration was nothing more than a well-directed provocation from Wilson to his critics that have often described his performances as ’slow’ and ‘boring.’ The much publicized costumes were indeed stunning, yet would have better suited another production or perhaps a conceptual installation.

As an Oscar-winning costume designer once advised me, ‘When you get critics that praise or pay much attention to your costume designs for a particular performance or play, take that as a sign that you haven’t managed to skillfully incorporate your work to the overall concept–or indeed, that there was no concept in the first place.’

No Comments »

No comments yet.

RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URL

Leave a comment

Comment moderation is enabled. Your comment may take some time to appear.

Shimmer and Shine
This Spring, steal the spotlight and shimmer your way onto
MTV Celebrity Telethon Raises Over $66 Million for Haiti
Last Friday, dozens of celebrities stepped away from their glitzy engagements
Ultra Foundation by Face Atelier
Flawless foundation is almost as elusive as the Holy Grail,
Face Reading For Dating
Whether or not you believe that men are from Mars
Pucci Wallet
Inject a pop of kaleidoscopic colour  and liven up your
Wolgan Valley Resort and Spa: New South Wales, Australia
X-Factor: Historic homestead The Buzz: Nestled in the World-Heritage listed Blue
Cartoon Realism
Contemporary art lovers take note – Opera Gallery will be
One Conscious Breath
Eckhart Tolle unveils the significance of conscious breathing and the effect it
Pure White
White is a timeless classic, infusing elegance into every wardrobe.
Cut Above the Rest
With the weather still cold and gloomy, spring feels ages
Get Over It
Is it better to have loved and lost than never
Jack’s Camp: Makgadikgadi Salt Pans, Botswana
X-Factor: Real adventure in unreal style The Buzz: Explorer Jack Bousfield
Annoushka's Bumblebee Amulet
Annoushka’s new jewellery collection fuses romance, sensuality and magical fairytales
16th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards
Veteran TV, film, and stage actor John Slattery, who stars
Designing Sustainable Prosperity
Designer Adital Ela introduces The Bridge sustainable design methodology, and
Search for Jobs