EVENT DESIGN
Stage design has come a long way in the last century. We dug through some cool online libraries and put together a collection of vintage sketches photographs showing stage setups and backdrops from the last few hundred years or so.
1620: Il Solimano
Designed by Jacques Callot for Act IV of the opera Il Solimano, this 400-year-old design shows where the stage stops and the backdrop starts interesting!
1815, Mozart s Magic Flute
One of the most impressive incunabula of the intellectual enthusiasm in the Romantic period for the Orient (and especially for Egypt) was [Karl Friedrich] Schinkel s stage design for Mozart s opera The Magic Flute. For the Queen of the Night it shows the Egyptian starry sky.
1873: The King Has Spoken
Look at this one! Property of the National Library of France, this image shows a beautiful stage design done by Charles-Antoine Cambon for opera Le roi l a dir ( The King Has Spoken ). This is right around the time that Adolphe Appia and other cutting edge set designers of the mid-1800s began abandoning 2D perspective backdrops for 3D.
1930: The Tsar s Bride
The stage designs of Ivan Bilibin are instantly recognizable for their Art Deco style with heavy Russian overtones. This set design was done for the play The Tsar s Bride , this particular set being The Tsar s Chambers . Bilibin s work is worth delving into a little more deeply if you re interested in antique set designs; here s a digital archive of some of his work.
1941 Anti-Nazi Rally
Here s one for the history books: Churchill and Stalin team up against Germany in the backdrop of this 1941 stage. Guests seated on stage in front of a backdrop of giant posters at the Aid to Soviet Congress, Brisbane City Hall, October 1941. Three thousand people attended the opening of the Aid to Soviet Congress, organised to support closer military, cultural, trade and diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union. A collection raised 155 pounds. Speakers at the Congress included Mr G. C. Taylor, MLA, President of the Australian-Russian Association.
