Interview with Isabella Bywater, Set and Costume Designer of La traviata.
– La traviata was written over 150 years ago – and in which period have you decided to set the opera?
– We have set the opera, loosely, in the period it is written. But the set design is not exactly realistic, though there is much naturalism in it, and the costumes have influences from the 1850’s, 1890’s ,1950’s and even the present day. The mood is luxurious, indulgent and sensual.
– In my opinion, the most difficult about staging and directing La traviata is that this opera is one of the most popular in Verdi’s operatic heritage and probably just the most popular and well-known among classical operas. What do you want to bring in this opera, how are you going to tell the love story of Violetta and Alfredo?
– I am not sure that La traviata’s popularity makes it difficult to stage. It is one of the best written and most accessible operas with a clear and touching storyline. All we want to do is make it real, to believe in and understand the kind of life Violetta and her friends are living, a life which could just as well be set today, a life of celebrity and beauty, of sex in return for serious money, and fun fun fun. And we want that life to be just a bit tempting to the audience...
In addition to Dumas’ novel which formed the basis for the libretto of La traviata I was interested in the real, unromanticised, story of the Lady of the Camellias. That’s why I turned to her biography by Julie Kavanagh founded on actual documents from the life of Marie Duplessis – her letters and accounts. And I discovered that it was the typical story of a star that flared very brightly and quickly burned itself out. She had a beggar’s hungry childhood with an alcoholic father who abandoned her as a child on the street. And when she became rich and famous, it was as if she was trying to assemble together all that she had never had, jealously collecting everything that pleased her – beautiful furniture, clothes, jewels, flowers... She hoped that this beauty and comfort would help her banish the horrors of the past from her mind and so she only wished to see that which was beautiful, surrounding herself with handsome furnishings and beautiful people. And so I decided to create a lavish production with rich sets and costumes.
– With your previous works at the Mariinsky you have earned a reputation of creators of very stylish, thoroughly considered productions. What is the emphasis of scenography of La traviata?
– I thought of a carousel as a way to show the adjoining rooms of Violetta’s apartment, so that we could follow her movements room to room as she entertains her friends, feels unwell or falls in love, much as one might in a film. It gives an opportunity to make the scenes both lavish and domestic, and offers a way to have private moments away from guests (chorus) just as you can in a real party. And we can peer in through lighted windows at a life lit up within. It also has a rewarding symbolic factor. Violetta’s life is like a carousel. Constant entertainment, full of fun and escapism, parties, sex and money. A life about having a good time, even at a fatal cost. Violetta had her arrangements, but probably enjoyed its rewards, and the constant thrill could distract from the deep loneliness.
The garden scene is inspired by a bird cage, the possible centre piece of a victorian musical box, set in a city girl’s notion of a perfect country setting along with grassy hillock, spring blossom, deep lake and even a little boat. Flora’s party is influenced by the Belle Epoque, and the burlesque with its decadent erotic glamour.
The centre of the carousel is a golden cage appealed to me as an enchanted entrapment, reminding me of my grandmother’s musical box which had a little white and gold dancer set in velvet in the centre who did pirouettes round and round and round, her arms flying out to the side, until the wound up spring ran down and she became still and the music stopped and her arms fell to her sides. Just like Violetta.
– You have staged operas at the Mariinsky Concert Hall and at the Mariinsky historical building and now you will work at the new Mariinsky-2 with its huge auditorium. Many people believe that it demands large-scale productions and what do you think about it?
–Yes, I agree the Mariinsky-2 needs a bolder design than either of the other venues and I think that this production will look good here.
Speaking with Nadezhda Kulygina
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