Set Design
1952 (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 comic opera La Cenerentola (1817), is based on Charles Perrault’s fairy tale Cinderella (1697). Prince Ramiro holds a ball and will choose the most beautiful woman in attendance to be his wife. Cinderella overcomes the malevolence of her step-sisters and step-father to captivate the Prince. Messel designed fun and light-hearted costumes and sets for the 1952 Glyndebourne production. The production proved popular, and was revived five times.
Messel designed a frivolous and lavish setting for the ante room of Prince Ramiro’s palace, with ribbed vaults and columns wreathed in gold acanthus leaves. Messel used Chinese white, an opaque paint, to convey the brightness of lighted candles on candelabra. He uses transparent watercolour and gouache to describe the hanging drapery and shocking pink carpet.
Rossini’s comic opera La Cenerentola (1817), is based on Charles Perrault’s fairy tale Cinderella (1697). Prince Ramiro holds a ball and will choose the most beautiful woman in attendance to be his wife. Cinderella overcomes the malevolence of her step-sisters and step-father to captivate the Prince. Messel designed fun and light-hearted costumes and sets for the 1952 Glyndebourne production. The production proved popular, and was revived five times.
Messel designed a frivolous and lavish setting for the ante room of Prince Ramiro’s palace, with ribbed vaults and columns wreathed in gold acanthus leaves. Messel used Chinese white, an opaque paint, to convey the brightness of lighted candles on candelabra. He uses transparent watercolour and gouache to describe the hanging drapery and shocking pink carpet.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Charcoal, ink, pencil, Chinese white, gouache, paint, watercolour on paper |
| Brief description | Set design by Oliver Messel for the ante room or grand salon of Prince Ramiro's Palace in Rossini's opera La Cenerentola, Glyndebourne 1952. |
| Physical description | A set design by Oliver Messel for the Glyndebourne production of La Cenerentola, 1952. Watercolour painting of the ante room in Prince Ramiro's palace. Eight wreathed columns in the foreground, with a view of distant columns and arches in the distance. Lighted candelabra. Ceiling draped in fabric in dark pink, brown and red. Pink floor covering. Figure in yellow dress and feathery headdress on the left. |
| Dimensions |
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| Production type | Design |
| Marks and inscriptions | 'Oliver Messel' (Artist' signature in ink on the bottom right-hand corner 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 | La Cenerentola, an opera (1817) in two acts, was composed by Rossini with a libretto by Ferretti, and was adapted from the fairy tale Cendrillon (Cinderella) by Charles Perrault (1697). Oliver Messel’s production was first performed by the Glyndebourne Festival Society at Glyndebourne on 18 June 1952; directed by Carl Ebert and featuring Juan Oncina as Don Ramiro and Sesto Bruscantini as Dandini. It was revived in 1953 (Edinburgh Festival), 1954 (Berlin), 1956 (Liverpool), 1959 and 1960 (Glyndebourne). 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 comic opera La Cenerentola (1817), is based on Charles Perrault’s fairy tale Cinderella (1697). Prince Ramiro holds a ball and will choose the most beautiful woman in attendance to be his wife. Cinderella overcomes the malevolence of her step-sisters and step-father to captivate the Prince. Messel designed fun and light-hearted costumes and sets for the 1952 Glyndebourne production. The production proved popular, and was revived five times. Messel designed a frivolous and lavish setting for the ante room of Prince Ramiro’s palace, with ribbed vaults and columns wreathed in gold acanthus leaves. Messel used Chinese white, an opaque paint, to convey the brightness of lighted candles on candelabra. He uses transparent watercolour and gouache to describe the hanging drapery and shocking pink carpet. |
| Associated objects |
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| Bibliographic reference | Pinkham, Roger (ed.) Oliver Messel, London, V&A, 1983
illus. fig.66
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| Other number | ROT 379 - TM Rotation Number |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | S.48-2006 |
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| Record created | May 11, 2006 |
| Record URL |
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