Not currently on display at the V&A

Fidelio

Costume Design
1965 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Costume design by Leslie Hurry for chorus member Frank Snook (tenor) in the role of a Prisoner in a version of Beethoven's Fidelio by Edward J. Dent and John Arden, Sadler's Wells, 1965.

Leslie Hurry (1909-1978) trained at the Royal Academy and during the 1930s became known as a surrealist painter. A one-man show in London in 1942 was seen by the theatre director, Michael Benthall, who recommended Hurry to the dancer and choreographer, Robert Helpmann, then planning a ballet based on Shakespeare's Hamlet. The success of his designs set Hurry on a second career as one of the most distinguished theatre designers of his generation. He designed operas, ballets and plays, notably Swan Lake for the Sadler's Wells Ballet in 1943, a production which stayed in the repertoire for thirty years; Venice Preserv'd for Peter Brook (1953); the Ring Cycle at Covent Garden (1954), and Troilus and Cressida at Stratford for Peter Hall (1960), famous for being staged in a sand pit.

Sadler’s Wells Opera’s production of Fidelio, an opera in two acts by Ludwig van Beethoven with a libretto by Joseph Sonnleithner in an English version by Edward J. Dent with new dialogue by John Arden, was first performed at the Alhambra Theatre, Bradford, on 7 September 1965 and opened at Sadler’s Wells Theatre, London, on 16 September 1965. It was produced by John Blatchley.

The costumes for Fidelio were described in The Times as’ coarse and rather seedy’.



Object details

Category
Object type
TitleFidelio (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Pen, pencil, crayon and coloured pencil on paper
Brief description
Costume design by Leslie Hurry for chorus member Frank Snook as a Prisoner in a version of Beethoven's Fidelio by Edward J. Dent and John Arden, Sadler's Wells, 1965
Physical description
Pen, coloured pencil and crayon costume design on paper with pencil inscription by Leslie Hurry for chorus member Frank Snook as a Prisoner in a version of Beethoven's Fidelio by Edward J. Dent and John Arden, Sadler's Wells, 1965.

Dimensions
  • Height: 35.5cm
  • Width: 21.5cm
Marks and inscriptions
  • A Prisoner 4 SNOOK (On front side in pencil and black ink)
  • RV (On reverse in purple ink)
Credit line
Given by Mrs Caro Rathbone
Summary
Costume design by Leslie Hurry for chorus member Frank Snook (tenor) in the role of a Prisoner in a version of Beethoven's Fidelio by Edward J. Dent and John Arden, Sadler's Wells, 1965.

Leslie Hurry (1909-1978) trained at the Royal Academy and during the 1930s became known as a surrealist painter. A one-man show in London in 1942 was seen by the theatre director, Michael Benthall, who recommended Hurry to the dancer and choreographer, Robert Helpmann, then planning a ballet based on Shakespeare's Hamlet. The success of his designs set Hurry on a second career as one of the most distinguished theatre designers of his generation. He designed operas, ballets and plays, notably Swan Lake for the Sadler's Wells Ballet in 1943, a production which stayed in the repertoire for thirty years; Venice Preserv'd for Peter Brook (1953); the Ring Cycle at Covent Garden (1954), and Troilus and Cressida at Stratford for Peter Hall (1960), famous for being staged in a sand pit.

Sadler’s Wells Opera’s production of Fidelio, an opera in two acts by Ludwig van Beethoven with a libretto by Joseph Sonnleithner in an English version by Edward J. Dent with new dialogue by John Arden, was first performed at the Alhambra Theatre, Bradford, on 7 September 1965 and opened at Sadler’s Wells Theatre, London, on 16 September 1965. It was produced by John Blatchley.

The costumes for Fidelio were described in The Times as’ coarse and rather seedy’.

Collection
Accession number
S.1633-2014

About this object record

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.

Suggest feedback

Record createdJuly 23, 2014
Record URL
Download as: JSON