Set Design
1954 (designed)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Oliver Messel (1904-1978) was Britain’s leading theatre designer throughout the 1930s, ‘40s and ‘50s, mastering every aspect of entertainment - ballet, drama, film, musical, opera and revue - as well working in interior decoration and textile design. His lavish, painterly and romantic concepts were perfectly in tune with the times and earned him an international reputation. By 1960, however, that style was becoming unfashionable, and Messel gradually abandoned theatre and built a new career designing luxury homes in the Caribbean.
Rossini’s opera The Barber of Seville (1816) is based on a comedy (1775) by Beaumarchais (1732-1799). Count Almaviva is in love with Rosina, Dr. Bartolo’s beautiful ward. With the aid of Figaro, a mischievous and clever barber, he seeks to release Rosina from Dr. Bartolo’s clutches. Messel designed costumes and sets for a Glyndebourne production in 1954, which despite its popularity, was only revived twice.
Messel created a set story board to establish the look of the sets scene by scene. Act I opens onto a square in Seville overlooked by Dr. Bartolo’s house. Granger wrote‘he [Messel] saw a stage picture which had taken on the toy-like aspect of a puppet-theatre, with dolls’-house architecture emphasising those elements of parody and artificiality which characterise the opera.’ (Granger, D., Glyndebourne Festival Programme Book, 1956).
Rossini’s opera The Barber of Seville (1816) is based on a comedy (1775) by Beaumarchais (1732-1799). Count Almaviva is in love with Rosina, Dr. Bartolo’s beautiful ward. With the aid of Figaro, a mischievous and clever barber, he seeks to release Rosina from Dr. Bartolo’s clutches. Messel designed costumes and sets for a Glyndebourne production in 1954, which despite its popularity, was only revived twice.
Messel created a set story board to establish the look of the sets scene by scene. Act I opens onto a square in Seville overlooked by Dr. Bartolo’s house. Granger wrote‘he [Messel] saw a stage picture which had taken on the toy-like aspect of a puppet-theatre, with dolls’-house architecture emphasising those elements of parody and artificiality which characterise the opera.’ (Granger, D., Glyndebourne Festival Programme Book, 1956).
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Pen on paper |
| Brief description | Set designs by Oliver Messel for Rossini's opera Il Barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville), Glyndebourne 1954. |
| Physical description | Set designs by Oliver Messel for the Glyndebourne production of Il Barbiere di Siviglia, 1954. Three set sketches on one sheet in blue ball point pen. Firstly, a street scene intended to evoke the architecture of Seville, consisting of medieval houses and a fountain. On the left, a tower in the distance. Secondly, an interior 'courtyard' with fountain. Staircase on the right, with figure descending. Thirdly, the interior of a home, viewed from an angle, with curvilinear decoration on the walls and a panelled ceiling. and period furniture. |
| Dimensions |
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| Production type | Design |
| Credit line | Acquired with the support of the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Art Fund and the Friends of the V&A |
| Object history | Il Barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville), an opera (1816) in two acts, was composed by Rossini with libretto by Sterbini after Beaumarchais’s comedy of the same name (1775). Oliver Messel’s production was first performed by the Glyndebourne Festival Opera at Glyndebourne on 10 June, 1954; directed by Carl Ebert, featuring Bruscantini as Figaro and Graziella Sciutti as Rosina. It was revived at the Edinburgh Festival in 1955 and at Glyndebourne in 1961. Roger Pinkham has said of this production that “Messel chose a palette which echoed the contrasted and thus dramatic coloration of Goya’s paintings.” (Pinkham, ed., 1983). Lord Snowdon, Oliver Messel's nephew, inherited Messel's theatre designs and other designs and artefacts. The designs were briefly stored in a disused chapel in Kensington Palace before being housed at the V&A from 1981 on indefinite loan. The V&A Theatre Museum purchased the Oliver Messel collection from Lord Snowdon in 2005. Historical significance: Messel worked for Glyndebourne from 1951 to 1959, when he was at the height of his popularity as a designer for the stage. His work for Glyndebourne in this period is regarded as some of his best designs. |
| Production | Reason For Production: Commission |
| Summary | Oliver Messel (1904-1978) was Britain’s leading theatre designer throughout the 1930s, ‘40s and ‘50s, mastering every aspect of entertainment - ballet, drama, film, musical, opera and revue - as well working in interior decoration and textile design. His lavish, painterly and romantic concepts were perfectly in tune with the times and earned him an international reputation. By 1960, however, that style was becoming unfashionable, and Messel gradually abandoned theatre and built a new career designing luxury homes in the Caribbean. Rossini’s opera The Barber of Seville (1816) is based on a comedy (1775) by Beaumarchais (1732-1799). Count Almaviva is in love with Rosina, Dr. Bartolo’s beautiful ward. With the aid of Figaro, a mischievous and clever barber, he seeks to release Rosina from Dr. Bartolo’s clutches. Messel designed costumes and sets for a Glyndebourne production in 1954, which despite its popularity, was only revived twice. Messel created a set story board to establish the look of the sets scene by scene. Act I opens onto a square in Seville overlooked by Dr. Bartolo’s house. Granger wrote‘he [Messel] saw a stage picture which had taken on the toy-like aspect of a puppet-theatre, with dolls’-house architecture emphasising those elements of parody and artificiality which characterise the opera.’ (Granger, D., Glyndebourne Festival Programme Book, 1956). |
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| Bibliographic reference | Pinkham, Roger (ed.) Oliver Messel: an exhibition held at the Theatre Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum, 22 June - 30 September 1983.
London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 1983. 200p., ill
ISBN 0905209508) |
| Other number | ROT 286 - TM Rotation Number |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | S.44-2006 |
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| Record created | May 8, 2006 |
| Record URL |
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