Costume Design
1954 (designed)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Great Britain’s leading theatre designer from the early 1930s to the mid 1950s, Oliver Messel (1904-1978) won international acclaim for his lavish, painterly and poetic designs informed by period styles. His work spans ballet, drama, film, musical, opera and revue. Messel’s traditional style of theatre design became unfashionable from the mid 1950s onwards, and he increasingly concentrated on painting, interior and textile design, including designing luxury homes in the Caribbean.
Rossini’s opera Le Comte Ory is set in medieval rural France. Countess Adèle is alone with her ladies at Castle Formoutiers while the men are away on a Crusade. Count Ory disguises himself as a hermit and nun to penetrate the Castle so that he can court the Countess. Appropriately, Messel designed medieval costumes and sets for the production at Glyndebourne in 1954, inspired by fifteenth century French and Netherlandish decorative art and paintings.
Messel designed a dark purple costume for Isolier, Count Ory’s page, who is in love with Countess Adèle. He disguises himself as the Countess in Act II, deceiving the Count into courting him. Messel’s notes for this scene stipulate ‘disguise as Countess with chiffon veil’. (Fabric sample book for Le Comte Ory).
Rossini’s opera Le Comte Ory is set in medieval rural France. Countess Adèle is alone with her ladies at Castle Formoutiers while the men are away on a Crusade. Count Ory disguises himself as a hermit and nun to penetrate the Castle so that he can court the Countess. Appropriately, Messel designed medieval costumes and sets for the production at Glyndebourne in 1954, inspired by fifteenth century French and Netherlandish decorative art and paintings.
Messel designed a dark purple costume for Isolier, Count Ory’s page, who is in love with Countess Adèle. He disguises himself as the Countess in Act II, deceiving the Count into courting him. Messel’s notes for this scene stipulate ‘disguise as Countess with chiffon veil’. (Fabric sample book for Le Comte Ory).
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Charcoal, pencil, gouache, paint, watercolour on paper |
| Brief description | Costume design by Oliver Messel for Isolier in Rossini's opera Le Comte Ory, Glyndebourne 1954. |
| Physical description | Costume design by Oliver Messel for Isolier, in a Glyndebourne production of Le Comte Ory, 1954. The figure is depicted in full length facing the viewer, wearing a medieval style short doublet, tights and boots in dark purple. He wears a blue cloak over his shoulder on the right. Gold sleeves and his boots are trimmed in gold. Gold belt with pouch and gold necklace. |
| Dimensions |
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| Production type | Design |
| Marks and inscriptions |
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| Credit line | Acquired with the support of the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Art Fund and the Friends of the V&A |
| Object history | Le Comte Ory (1828), an opera in two acts composed by Rossini with a libretto by Scribe and Poirson. Oliver Messel’s production was first performed at the Edinburgh International Festival by the Glyndebourne Festival Society on 23 August, 1954. It was directed by Carl Ebert; choreography by Pauline Grant and featured Bruscantini as Raimbaud and Oncina as Count Ory. It was revived in 1955, 1957 and 1958 at Glyndebourne and in 1958 in Paris. Roger Pinkham has said of this production that “Messel concentrated on such designs as are found in the Lady and the Unicorn tapestries, and in Flemish and Netherlandish painting.” (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 | Great Britain’s leading theatre designer from the early 1930s to the mid 1950s, Oliver Messel (1904-1978) won international acclaim for his lavish, painterly and poetic designs informed by period styles. His work spans ballet, drama, film, musical, opera and revue. Messel’s traditional style of theatre design became unfashionable from the mid 1950s onwards, and he increasingly concentrated on painting, interior and textile design, including designing luxury homes in the Caribbean. Rossini’s opera Le Comte Ory is set in medieval rural France. Countess Adèle is alone with her ladies at Castle Formoutiers while the men are away on a Crusade. Count Ory disguises himself as a hermit and nun to penetrate the Castle so that he can court the Countess. Appropriately, Messel designed medieval costumes and sets for the production at Glyndebourne in 1954, inspired by fifteenth century French and Netherlandish decorative art and paintings. Messel designed a dark purple costume for Isolier, Count Ory’s page, who is in love with Countess Adèle. He disguises himself as the Countess in Act II, deceiving the Count into courting him. Messel’s notes for this scene stipulate ‘disguise as Countess with chiffon veil’. (Fabric sample book for Le Comte Ory). |
| 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 572 - TM Rotation Number |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | S.62-2006 |
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| Record created | May 16, 2006 |
| Record URL |
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