Set Model
1952 (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 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, columns wreathed in silver acanthus leaves overlooked by a canopy. The multiple receding columns and the progression of colours from dark blue at the front to light blue at the back of the stage created an illusion of space on the small Glyndebourne stage.
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, columns wreathed in silver acanthus leaves overlooked by a canopy. The multiple receding columns and the progression of colours from dark blue at the front to light blue at the back of the stage created an illusion of space on the small Glyndebourne stage.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Wood, cardboard, fabric, and paint. |
| Brief description | Set model by Oliver Messel for the Ante Room and Grand Salon in Prince Ramiro's palace in Rossini's opera La Cenerentola, 1952. |
| Physical description | A set model by Oliver Messel for the ante room/grand salon in a Glyndebourne production of La Cenerentola, 1952. The set model is enclosed in a wooden box with velvet sides on the inside. A set composed of cutcloths and backcloths. Silver wreathed columns, with yellow and red curtain above. More columns, receding into the distance. A baroque style staircase can also be seen in the distance, with a blue sky beyond. tables with candlesticks. Two figures, male and female, stand in the set, on a raised platform. |
| Dimensions |
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| Production type | Design |
| Marks and inscriptions | 'CENERENTOLA' (Written in ink on a label attached to the side of the box.) |
| 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 | 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 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, columns wreathed in silver acanthus leaves overlooked by a canopy. The multiple receding columns and the progression of colours from dark blue at the front to light blue at the back of the stage created an illusion of space on the small Glyndebourne stage. |
| 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 8879 - TM Rotation Number |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | S.205-2006 |
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| Record created | July 21, 2006 |
| Record URL |
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