Many sectors will be hit hard by the Brexit (if it really happens…), but the creative and performing arts may be hit even harder if you consider the European funds injected into festival and events, or the international artists working for different companies in the UK or the British performers collaborating with companies in Europe.
So, thinking about the consequences that the Brexit may have on theatre, ballet and opera, let's focus on a performance that yesterday evening opened the Spoleto Festival in Italy, Mozart's "Nozze di Figaro" (Marriage of Figaro).
Based on stage comedy La folle journée, ou le Mariage de Figaro ("The Mad Day, or The Marriage of Figaro") by Pierre Beaumarchais, this opera buffa composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart with an Italian libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte was premiered in May of the same year at the Burgtheater, Vienna.
The story revolves around a day of genuine madness in the palace of Count Almaviva and follows his servants Figaro and Susanna as they try to get married fooling their employer who is trying to seduce Susanna.
Directed by Giorgio Ferrara and with James Conlon as conductor, the opera boasted a special team – set designer Dante Ferretti, set decorator Francesca Lo Schiavo, and costume designer Maurizio Galante.
Ferretti and Lo Schiavo opted for colour-coded sets that gave a surreally fantastic mood to the opera: each act was characterized by different shades – pink and green; yellow and pink; red and blue.
While most elements such as the curtains were painted, Lo Schiavo furnished the scene with basic pieces including a bed, chairs and benches.
Galante created instead 55 costumes inspired by the 1700s that retained a fantastic element: the colours picked for the fabrics and the intricately braided wigs matched indeed with the vivid shades of the scenes.
Yet the costumes were a feast for the eye not just for the wonderful palette including vivid reds, emerald greens and multiple shades of canary yellows, but also for the techniques employed.
Drawing from his architectural studies, Galante employed indeed techniques such as pleating and folding to sculpt the fabrics, borrowing tricks like layering different fabrics one upon the other or intertwining ribbons on a corset from Haute Couture, to create visually striking silhouettes that could easily be appreciated also from members of the audience sitting far away from the stage.
These textile sculptures – rather than mere costumes – highlighted the movements and gestures of the performers.
Though all the costumes seemed fun to look at, among the highlights there were Susanna's pleated gown, the yellow gown donned by the Countess, Cherubino's dynamic glammed up suits in greens and pinks and details such as the surreally exaggerated cuffs for the Count's costumes. A bonus note: historical Italian tailoring house Sartoria Farani made the costumes for this opera.
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