Set Design
1956 (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.
Mozart’s comic opera The Abduction from the Seraglio was one of four Mozart operas performed at Glyndebourne in 1956 to celebrate the bi-centenary of his birth. Messel’s exuberant designs are inspired by eighteenth century Western European art and design and its fascination for the Orient, in harmony with the spirit of Mozart’s opera.
The Palm tree with luscious vegetation suggests the exotic location of Bassa Selim’s palace. It is a constant scenic fixture, moving around the stage according to the action. Messel created a scaled drawing of the palm to facilitate the work of prop makers who realised his designs.
Mozart’s comic opera The Abduction from the Seraglio was one of four Mozart operas performed at Glyndebourne in 1956 to celebrate the bi-centenary of his birth. Messel’s exuberant designs are inspired by eighteenth century Western European art and design and its fascination for the Orient, in harmony with the spirit of Mozart’s opera.
The Palm tree with luscious vegetation suggests the exotic location of Bassa Selim’s palace. It is a constant scenic fixture, moving around the stage according to the action. Messel created a scaled drawing of the palm to facilitate the work of prop makers who realised his designs.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Pencil, ink and wash on tracing paper |
| Brief description | Set design by Oliver Messel for a palm tree in Mozart's opera Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Glyndebourne 1956. |
| Physical description | Set design by Oliver Messel for a Glyndebourne production of Die Entführung aus dem Serail, 1956. An ink drawing on scaled tracing paper of a palm tree, bending toward the right. On the left, more vegetation. Set upon a mound of earth. |
| Dimensions |
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| Production type | Design |
| Marks and inscriptions | Ink marks (On the bottom of the sheet.) |
| Credit line | Acquired with the support of the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Art Fund and the Friends of the V&A |
| Object history | Die Entführung aus dem Serail (1782), an opera in two acts by Mozart with libretto by Bretzner. Oliver Messel’s production was first performed by Glyndebourne Festival Opera at Glyndebourne on 10 June 1956; directed by Peter Ebert and featuring Ernst Häefliger as Belmonte and Arnold Van Mill as Osmin. It was revived at Glyndebourne in 1957 and 1961. 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. |
| 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. Mozart’s comic opera The Abduction from the Seraglio was one of four Mozart operas performed at Glyndebourne in 1956 to celebrate the bi-centenary of his birth. Messel’s exuberant designs are inspired by eighteenth century Western European art and design and its fascination for the Orient, in harmony with the spirit of Mozart’s opera. The Palm tree with luscious vegetation suggests the exotic location of Bassa Selim’s palace. It is a constant scenic fixture, moving around the stage according to the action. Messel created a scaled drawing of the palm to facilitate the work of prop makers who realised his designs. |
| Associated objects |
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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 716 - TM Rotation Number |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | S.79-2006 |
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| Record created | May 26, 2006 |
| Record URL |
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