Digital Scenography in Opera in the Twenty-First Century
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Digital scenography in opera in the twenty-first century by Caitlin Claire Vincent BA (Honours), Harvard University MM, Johns Hopkins University Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Deakin University December, 2018 Dedication For Nathan and Vivien. Acknowledgements I owe a great debt to my supervisor, Katya Johanson, who has been my mentor, guide, and champion. I am grateful for the additional mentorship and support of Jordan Beth Vincent and Amanda Coles throughout this process, as well as my colleagues at the Deakin Motion.Lab, Peter Divers and Deanne Czarnecki. Professor Brenda Cherednichenko, Professor Joe Graffam, and Professor Jack Reynolds each played a role in supporting my studies at Deakin University, for which I am extremely thankful. My work would not have been possible without the support of my parents, sister, and husband, all of whom provided much-needed feedback, editing, and encouragement over the past four years. Additional thanks to Kim Vincs and Richard Mills for envisioning the possibilities of digital scenography in practice and giving me the opportunity to pursue this field of research. This research was partially funded by the Australian Government through the Australian Research Council through the Linkage Scheme, project LP140100742, in partnership with Victorian Opera. Publications Excerpts of this thesis have been published in the following articles: Vincent, Caitlin, Jordan Beth Vincent, Kim Vincs, and Katya Johanson. 2017. “The Intersection of Live and Digital: New Technical Classifications for Digital Scenography in Opera.” Theatre and Performance Design 3, no. 3: 155-171. https://doi.org/10.1080/23322551.2017.1400764 Vincent, Caitlin, and Jordan Beth Vincent. 2018. “Notation by Context: Digital Scenography as Artifact of Authorial Intent.” Leonardo Music Journal 28: 72-76. https://doi.org/10.1162/lmj_a_01044 Table of contents List of figures and tables ..................................................................................................................................... iii Abstract .............................................................................................................................................................. iv Notes on digitally-enhanced productions ........................................................................................................... vii Biographical details of creative practitioners ...................................................................................................... xii Introduction ......................................................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter Overview ................................................................................................................................................... 16 Background ............................................................................................................................................................ 19 Methodology .......................................................................................................................................................... 24 Chapter One – A new classification system for digital scenography: modes of synthesis ..................................... 40 Articulating a new mode of classification: non-synthesis, partial-synthesis, and full-synthesis ............................ 42 Non-synthesis – Jun Kaneko, San Francisco Opera (2012) ..................................................................................... 50 Partial-synthesis – William Kentridge, Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie (2005) ......................................................... 54 Full-synthesis – Barrie Kosky and 1927, Komische Oper Berlin (2012) ................................................................... 58 A comparison of critical responses to the three productions ................................................................................. 63 Chapter Two – The variants of causal interplay .................................................................................................. 69 Agency: the screen as ‘user’ ................................................................................................................................... 71 Simon McBurney, The Magic Flute (2012), Dutch National Opera ................................................................... 73 Nancy Black and Kim Vincs, Four Saints in Three Acts (2016), Victorian Opera ................................................ 77 Autonomy: faux-interactivity versus functional interactivity ................................................................................. 81 Robert Lepage, Das Rheingold (2010), the Metropolitan Opera ....................................................................... 83 Augmentation: extension and transformation through digitalisation ................................................................... 89 Kasper Holten, Don Giovanni (2014), Royal Opera House ................................................................................ 93 Roger Hodgman, The Flying Dutchman (2015), Victorian Opera ...................................................................... 97 Chapter Three – The lineage of digital scenography: Baroque origins to the twentieth century ........................ 102 The origins of the Baroque opera paradigm ........................................................................................................ 106 The Baroque paradigm and the interplay between performer, stage setting, and spectator .............................. 111 New perspectives: the scenic reforms of Ferdinando Galli-Bibiena (1657-1743) ................................................. 113 The ‘mystic chasm’: Richard Wagner (1813-1883) and the Bayreuth Festspielhaus ........................................... 118 Adolphe Appia (1862-1928) and dynamic light .................................................................................................... 126 Looking toward the twentieth century ................................................................................................................. 131 Chapter Four – The lineage of digital scenography: multimedia opera in the twentieth century ....................... 133 i Avant garde origins: Craig’s ‘a thousand scenes in one’ and Prampolini’s ‘luminous forms’ .............................. 140 Josef Svoboda and the dynamic setting of the Laterna Magika ........................................................................... 144 The Tales of Hoffmann (1962) ......................................................................................................................... 148 Günther Schneider-Siemssen and the holograms of the Salzburg Marionette Theatre ....................................... 152 The Tales of Hoffmann (1985) ......................................................................................................................... 155 Artistic spawns in the twenty-first century ........................................................................................................... 160 Chapter Five – The projection designer and evolving creative hierarchies in opera ........................................... 162 The role of the projection designer ...................................................................................................................... 165 Industry standards ............................................................................................................................................... 170 The traditional theatrical hierarchy: director as ultimate authority .................................................................... 173 The lateral hierarchy: collective directorate ......................................................................................................... 179 Hierarchical variation: projection designers as directorial authority ................................................................... 186 The evolving role of the projection designer ........................................................................................................ 193 Chapter Six – Digital scenography and evolving production design processes in opera ..................................... 198 A benchmark of organisational and funding models ........................................................................................... 202 The twentieth-century standard for production design ....................................................................................... 207 Washington National Opera’s Das Rheingold: lateral hierarchy and non-synthesis ............................................ 212 Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie’s The Magic Flute: lateral hierarchy and partial-synthesis ................................... 217 Dutch National Opera’s The Magic Flute: lateral hierarchy and partial-synthesis ............................................... 221 Santa Fe Opera’s The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs: vertical hierarchy and non-synthesis ...................................... 225 Komische Oper Berlin’s The Magic Flute: lateral hierarchy and full-synthesis ..................................................... 231 Digital scenography and the evolving production design process ....................................................................... 236 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................................................