Large, irregular and shiny red blobs similar to heavy drops of blood cover a solemn long cape with a matching headdress. If you didn't know the purpose and aim of these pieces, you may have guessed they were costumes for a character in a Greek tragedy à la "Medea", or maybe the final showpieces in a grand Haute Couture show. In a way, in both cases, you may have been correct: this monumental creation inspired by high fashion silhouettes was indeed designed by Pierluigi Pizzi and was donned by Marilyn Horne in a 1969 performance of "Oedipus Rex". The costume is part of an exhibition currently on in Milan that rediscovers famous opera creations while exploring at the same time some key collaborations between fashion designers and opera.
"Incantesimi. I costumi del Teatro alla Scala dagli anni Trenta a oggi" (Spells. La Scala Theatre's Costumes From the '30s Until Today) is a compact retrospective of costumes arranged in the Sale degli Arazzi (Tapestry Rooms) of the city's Royal Palace (Palazzo Reale, Piazza Duomo 12; until 28th January 2018).
The event features indeed only twenty-four costumes, all of them selected from the Atelier Ansaldo of the Scala Theatre and restored for two years by the talented artisans of the Scala ateliers Brancato and Restauro Tessile Lombardo (the latter mainly focused on costumes for "Aida", "Eugenio Oneghin" and "La sonnambula").
The exhibition and the restoration process were sponsored by the cultural association Associazione Amici della Scala (La Scala Friends' Association), celebrating this year its 40th anniversary.
Founded by Anna Crespi Morbio, the association has actively worked to protect the Scala archives, saving set and costume sketches and publishing several compelling volumes.
Curated by theatre set expert Vittoria Crespi Morbio, the event is divided into four sections, each of them celebrating the history and the identity of La Scala Theatre, from the '30s to our times, and each of them putting costumes in relation to sets and scenes thanks to audio and visual installations.
Space-wise the exhibition is devised as a sort of stage that opens onto these four sections.
The first section - from the '30s to the '60s - looks at traditions and includes Alexandre and Nicola Benois, Lila De Nobili, Franco Zeffirelli and Piero Tosi. This first section also focuses on two main divas, Maria Callas and Renata Tebaldi.
The former is remembered via Franco Zeffirelli's costume for Donna Fiorilla in "Il Turco in Italia" (1955) and via Piero Tosi's ivory costume for Amina in "La Sonnambula" (1955), directed by Luchino Visconti. Tebaldi is instead represented by Alexandre Benois's design for Tatiana in "Eugene Onegin" (1954; this section also features Benois's son's creation for Boris Christoff in "Boris Godunov").
The oldest exhibit of "Incantesimi" is on display here: it is the costume for Isabella in "L'Italiana in Algieri" (1933), designed by legendary Caramba (Luigi Sapelli), the wizard costume designer at La Scala in the time of Toscanini.
A second section explores the two decades from the '60s to the '80s through period costumes and the research that goes into such pieces. Ballet is celebrated in this part with the Prince/Drosselmeyer costume worn by Rudolf Nureyev for the 1969 production of "The Nutcracker" and with Luisa Spinatelli's 1987 design for Carla Fracci in "La Fille Mal Gardée".
Fashion fans may prefer the third part of the event that offers a quick look at the fashion designers who worked with La Scala, including Gianni Versace and Karl Lagerfeld.
The former designed costumes for Robert Wilson and Maurice Béjart, who became a close friend of the late fashion designer and who helped him understanding better the importance of the body moving. In 1987 Versace designed the elegant black velvet gown with cascades of silk ruffles for Montserrat Caballé in Robert Wilson's "Salomé". For this performance the Italian designer took inspiration from the couture tradition and in particular he referenced Balenciaga, Schiaparelli and Balmain.
Lagerfeld, instead, created Ballet Russes evoking costumes for Luca Ronconi's adaptation of "The Trojans" which debuted in Milan in 1982. This part of the exhibition should have maybe been richer, considering that Italy has a great tradition of fashion designers collaborating with opera directors.
The final section of the event looks at the '90s with costumes for Liliana Cavani and Robert Carsen. The most recent designs are on display in this section: Maurizio Millenotti's strikingly sculpted costumes for the stepmother and stepsisters in Mauro Bigonzetti's 2015 production of "Cinderella".
As stated above, some sections of "Incantesimi" may have been expanded, but the compact format surely allows to appreciate better the techniques employed to make the pieces, the colour combinations and ingenious materials used to create the unusual shapes and silhouettes.
The costumes reflect specific styles, tastes and fashions, but they also make you think: first and foremost they prompt visitors to ponder more about the work that goes on behind the scene of a performance and in the tailoring houses at La Scala. The costumes are indeed a testament to the talents of the ateliers' seamstresses and tailors.
The fashion and opera section brings instead a reflection about our times: Gianni Versace had a passion for opera and ballet and often worked with choreographers and in particular with Béjart. Nowadays such collaborations do exist, but they mainly happen for commercial reasons and to create media revenue.
In a way rediscovering Versace on the 20th anniversary of his death from this point of view would have been less titre and banal than the tribute given to him at the latest fashion shows in Milan. Opera and traditions still seem to have a lot to teach us (remember Valentino's S/S 14 collection?), we'd better pay attention.
Image credits for this post
Images 1 - 11 and 13 - 15 in this post by Francesco M. Colombo.
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