Not on display

Fidelio

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

Costume design by Leslie Hurry for two unidentified male villagers in a version of Beethoven's Fidelio by Edward J. Dent and John Arden, Sadler's Wells, 1965. These characters were possibly performed by extras or members of the ballet.

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, watercolour, pencil, crayon, coloured pencil on paper with fabric swatch
Brief description
Costume design by Leslie Hurry for two unidentified male villagers in a version of Beethoven's Fidelio by Edward J. Dent and John Arden, Sadler's Wells, 1965
Physical description
Pen, watercolour and coloured pencil costume design on paper with pencil inscription and green fabric swatch pinned to bottom left. The design shows costumes for two unidentified male villagers in the 1965 production of Fidelio at Sadler's Wells Theatre.
Dimensions
  • Height: 37.4cm
  • Width: 25.3cm
Marks and inscriptions
  • 2. thin calico shirt Facecloth coat } w/coat worsted & trousers undyed facecloth Villagers Leslie Hurry signature 6 (On front side in pencil and black ink)
  • W V (On reverse side in purple ink)
Credit line
Given by Mrs Caro Rathbone
Summary
Costume design by Leslie Hurry for two unidentified male villagers in a version of Beethoven's Fidelio by Edward J. Dent and John Arden, Sadler's Wells, 1965. These characters were possibly performed by extras or members of the ballet.

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.1628-2014

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Record createdJuly 23, 2014
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