Living in New York, one is surrounded by culture at every corner. You have art galleries abounding, Broadway, dance companies, opera companies, and that's just the start of it. The arts can exist anywhere, but they need an audience; they need people that appreciate and understand them. They need undying supporters, they need critics. The arts could be looked at as one of the most complex businesses in the world. You have major arts followings all around the world, and Europe always comes to mind as the Mecca of it all; but what about the US? In a country with many budding cities, is New York still the cultural center of the United States?
In a city as big as New York, the answer should be obvious. Of course New York is the epicenter of culture in the US! It's the greatest city in the world! But is that just what it is? The OBVIOUS answer? Let's consider a bit. Note: I do not claim to be an expert on this subject. I will merely take a stab at analyzing the situation from the perspective of someone who is very involved in the arts in several aspects of his life.
Let me get some of the obvious fields out in the open very quickly, and then I will dive deeper into the field which I am more familiar with: opera. I think it goes without saying that when you think of the arts in NYC, you think of Broadway. You have plays and musicals, on broadway, off broadway, off OFF broadway; the levels of professional theater seem endless in NYC. You have dance companies such as New York City Ballet, Alvin Ailey Dance, the American Ballet Theatre which takes residence at the Met during the summer. You have Carnegie Hall, Museum Row, and Lincoln Center! New York seems to have it all. But what about other areas in the country?
The United States seem to constantly be booming with the arts. Celebrities are constantly speaking out in support of keeping the arts in schools. In the time of recession when the government is pulling funding for arts programs in schools, more professional companies seem to be taking measures to expand their programming, do more outreach to schools; they are trying to supplement the arts education of America's youth to ensure the exponential thriving of the arts in the future. This is really present in most major cities in the US, most "cultural centers."
But again we come back to the question, is New York the biggest?
In reference to the opera world, of course it is. Where else could be? That is not to diminish opera in any other city in the US, but simply the volume of access to the art in many forms both big and small helps indicate this. You of course have the Metropolitan Opera. This is pretty undisputedly the most well known opera house in the US, and one of the most well known in the world. You have additionally New York City Opera, which may be struggling at the moment, but is certainly a well known company in New York under the past leadership of operatic legend Beverly Sills.
In addition to these opera houses, you have Manhattan School of Music, NYU, Mannes School of Music, and of course we can't forget Juilliard and the Juilliard Opera Center where even Renee Fleming did some studies. Next you have many smaller and even small scale companies: Amore Opera, Amato Opera, the Martha Cardona Opera Theatre, the Metropolis Opera Project, Chelsea Opera...there are way too many to list, but all these companies have audiences. Where else in the US would you find the extreme variety and varying levels of professionalism all supported as in NY?
I think the key is not just in the sheer population and enormity of New York, but the key lies rather in the glamour and prestige of being "in the know". New Yorkers love being fabulous. They pride themselves on always looking their best, on knowing the best restaurants, and also, on being involved in the arts. It has become "trendy" in New York to donate to the arts, to attend the performances and know who is singing in what and how they sound. Opening Night at the Metropolitan Opera is a black tie red carpet affair complete with paparazzi and celebrities among Oprah, Martha Stewart, Renee Fleming (even if she's not singing). To be a supporter and appreciator of the opera is a status symbol, and New York is all about showing your status.
This is certainly not to say that New Yorkers do not frequent the arts out of appreciation; they absolutely do. There is nothing more reassuring, as a singer myself, than to the see the overwhelming joy and excitement coming from audience members after a performance that they are moved by. To know that you are affecting (or the other singers are) these audience members makes it all worthwhile, and really shows their appreciation and knowledge of your audience.
New Yorkers have seen it all. We have all seen Tosca and Traviata, Boheme and Carmen. We love them, and still go to them whenever the chance is presented. What I love most about New York is the variety of operas that you are able to see. From The Nose to Der Vampyr, Dark Sisters to A Streetcar Named Desire in concert, all the way to a rare Rossini double bill, New York provides the variety of opera to inerest a new comer and also to keep the love of a long time opera goer fresh and excited.
I could go on all day about the thriving arts scene in New York. I never find myself bored with the options at my finger tips, but rather more frequently frustrated that there are so many exciting prospects for my evening, but I can chose only one.
At the end of the day though, I find the most important aspect to be that people are excited about the arts. This is no competition! Certainly we can be more excited about all of the different seasons we can subscribe to in New York, but the fact that the topic of this blog is even relevant today is very exciting. We must all ban together and SUPPORT one another! It is so important to spread the awareness and appreciation of the arts in all of its mediums. To think of a world without the arts, to me, is to think of a world devoid of meaning. The arts are such a therapeutic outlet for so many performers and audience members; it joys me to talk to people who are so moved by them from conductors and major patrons all the way down to a candid audience member's reaction after their very first time at the opera.
With all of these inspiring options in New York and across the rest of the country, it really leads one to wonder the bigger question: why aren't more areas in the US working to spread the awareness and appreciation of such a monumentally affecting aspect of society?
Friday, March 23, 2012
Saturday, March 17, 2012
An artist among artists
Living in New York, culture and fashion become part of your everyday vocabulary. I must admit, when I moved here, I knew little to nothing about real fashion. I thought I did, but I quickly learned that Jcrew and Polo (although great companies) do not a fashionisto make. While I have come to appreciate and even adore the artistry of high fashion designers, I can't help but keep my devotion to the artistry of the stage. What, then, could be better than a high fashion couture designer who has a strong connection to the performing arts? Enter Christian Lacroix.
Christian Lacroix is among the most genius couture fashion designers of our time. Growing up, Lacroix loved going to children's shows at the theatre. Obviously inspired by fashion, when he got home from any given show, he would sketch all of the costumes that he had just seen. This love for the theatre continued to grow until he met Jean-Luc Tardieu, director of the Maison de la Culture in Nantes in 1986. After talking with Lacroix, Tardieu knew that he had to have him as the costume designer for Edmund Rostand's "Chatecler". This story focused around barn animals, which Lacroix decided to represent these in a non-literal manner. For instance, the barn owl was costumed in patterns of black and white polka dots layered to represent the feather like texture, without physically costuming as a bird. The production was a major success, and a fantastic statement for Lacroix to make as a costume designer. The following year he made an even bigger splash in the high fashion couture industry, building his reputation ever since.
While the primary focus of his career has been on couture designing, Lacroix has always had his hand in stage costume designing as well. Among many others, some highlights of his costuming have been a production of Othello where he paired flea market finds with high end luxury fabrics. He designed a Cosi juxtaposing jersey knit street wear with period 18th century gowns and other costumes. He also designed a very critically acclaimed production of Carmen in which he found major inspiration from the shades and nuances used by Ignacio Zuloaga and Julio Romero de Torres in their paintings and combined it with a lot of influence from (appropriately) bull fighters.
The first time I saw Lacroix's work as a costume designer was at the Met Opera season opening gala in 2008, An Evening with Renee Fleming. This evening was a vehicle to feature Ms. Fleming in roles that she picked as some of her favorites. She sang Violetta, Manon, and the Countess in Capriccio to cap off the evening. If that wasn't enough, the costumes for Ms. Fleming were all designed by leading designers in the fashion industry. You had costumes designed by John Galiano, Karl Lagerfeld, and last but certainly not least, Christian Lacroix.
The result was one of the most memorable nights for me in recent operatic history, and one that certainly garnered quite a bit of media attention. In addition to the evening being focused entirely around the people's diva, all of her gowns were designed exclusively for her, for that performance only, by couture designers. Ms. Fleming did a spread in Vogue at the time to put these absolutely breathtaking gowns on display for the world to appreciate. While she loved working with all the designers of the various gowns, Ms. Fleming in particular loved the designs of Mr. Lacroix. She felt as though they were incredibly flattering and sexy while really driving home the feel of the character. Mr. Lacroix designed the two gowns for Violetta.
In everything he does, Lacroix is known for designs that are a little bit eccentric while remaining elegant and extremely luxurious. Everything he designs is hand made. A lover of the arts, Lacroix has the utmost respect for all the mediums that perform on stage. He understands that he is not the most important part of the evening, that he is there to serve the vision of the team that has hired him. He is entirely humbled by the beauty of live performance on stage. Although the costumes are not gowns to be worn for special occasions (but rather to be moved in, sweat in, to be comfortable in!!!), he still uses all high quality couture fabrics, hand tinting, etc. He maintains the couture integrity of his gowns while still allowing for complete comfortable range of movement and better yet, they are all easily cleaned!
The first gown from the Fleming gala, shown below, was worn by Violetta while she is still in the country house. Violetta has moved to the country with Alfredo, but his father has just come and told the courtesan that his family is being shamed by Alredo's relationship with her. She must leave him. The gown that she is wearing at this time is almost exclusively pastel chiffon. The dress reads like a Monet painting, very impressionistic with broad strokes of color and silhouette. The gown is corsetted with various rosettes about the gown, and then extremely flowy and feminine in the sleeves and skirt. This gown shows the vulnerable side of Violetta; the side that she really wants to be and shows that she wants to give her whole heart to Alfredo. But Germont simply won't allow that.
The next gown (for the next act of Traviata) is much different from the first. Draped in heavy dark ruby silk, this gown shows the weight of Violetta's regret for leaving Alfredo. While the first gown was very light weight, very sheer, and much smaller in scale, this gown is all about drama. Also, the first gown had many colors in the dying, but this gown is all very saturated and dark shades of scarlet. While the first gown represents Violetta's happy and carefree life with Alfredo in the country, this gown clearly shows the heavy weight consuming Violetta at this time. She feels as though she has betrayed him, and cannot get the guilt out of her mind. With a constricting corset as well as extremely fitted sleeves, the fit of the gown perhaps represents that she feels she is entirely constricted by her guilt; the dress serves almost as a proverbial straight jacket. The much fuller ball gown skirt only continues to add weight to her psyche.
Ms. Fleming was so inspired by the costumes Mr. Lacroix designed for her here that she requested that he design all of her costumes for the Met's new production of Thais in the 08-09 season. Thais is the story of a courtesan in ancient Alexandria. She is visited by Athanael, a monk, who has visions of saving Thais. After initially laughing at his ignorance to carnal joys, she is left to consider the beauty of eternal happiness. So affected by Athanael's conviction, Thais decides to go to a convent and devote her life to serving the Lord. Just at the moment of Thais' death (she ascends into heaven), Athanael realizes that he is in love with Thais, and is ruined by her death. She, alternatively, has achieved eternal happiness.
Extremely operatic in nature, this story seems the perfect fit for Lacroix's designs. How fitting for the life of luxury a courtesan leads to be designed by a couture designer. We see here, especially in the first scene, the signature juxtapositions of this designer. Thais enters in a gold, extremely fitted floor length gown with every embellishment possible (while staying tasteful). She also wears a pink "shrug" of sorts, adding another layer of diva for Thais to play with. The combination of gold and fuchsia is quite visually striking, certainly not for a timid woman. Also, the fabrics, in Lacroix fashion, are extremely luxe (silks, etc) and provide a lot of structure, and even seeming uncomfortability for someone wearing this costume in real life; it's no jeans and a tshirt. Thais wears this gown when she enters the opera, into a party of admirers. She is certainly putting on a show that is larger than life.
The next time we see Thais, she is still in the same fuchsia we saw her in in the first act, but this time the gown is in chiffon. There is much less structure to this gown with an umpire waist as the most fitted part of the gown. There are flowy cap sleeves, and the rest of the gown is really just gathered chiffon. I interpret this as a much softer side of Thais. Although she is still bold and outspoken (as is evidenced by her confrontation with Athanael in this gown), she is really much more at ease in less structured, less rigid surroundings. After the confrontation, Thais is left to meditate overnight, and the next time we see her, she is even more covered up. While still wearing the same fuchsia chiffon dress, she is now covered with a much more demure chocolate brown coat/ cape, severely diminishing the amount of attention that might be drawn to her otherwise flashy self. She continues in this costume really until we see her in the final scene. Note: there is one costume that I do not mention, but it is really just seen onstage for a total of about 2 minutes when Athanael has visions of Thais at the beginning and near the end of the opera; think couture courtesan.
The final costume is one of the most stunning, artistically, of the entire opera. Made entirely of starched paper/ fabric, this costume is fitted to Thais and covers her almost from head to toe. While still mobile for Ms. Fleming on stage (breathing, singing, etc), the gown enables Thais to look like a statue. At this point in the opera, as she is ascending into Heaven, this particular production really portrays Thais as a goddess, already having achieved her ascent among the non-human. Looking almost entirely unwearable by human standards, this gown I think very successfully achieves a look of otherworldliness.
Thais is just one of many productions designed by Mr. Lacroix, but has been brought to focus by the star power of Renee Fleming, and also by the Live in HD broadcast of the opera done by the Met.
I encourage everyone to watch this stunning opera, and also to notice the other production values throughout a performance aside from the performers themselves. The more you expose yourself to various productions, the more you will be able to appreciate a good production from a bad production, or even a mediocre production.
We are artists. We all have something to say, whether it is onstage or off. Just because we are not the diva of the evening does not mean that we don't have something extremely meaningful and legitimate to say.
So as has become my M.O., this is a call to action. Appreciate the work that is done behind the scenes, and don't just throw the costumes and sets by the wayside. Having taken set and costume design courses, it is not as easy as it looks. Who are we to so strongly disrespect someone else's work; if you hate it that much, take up costume design yourself and show us what a really meaningful production is. If nothing else comes of it, you may just appreciate a little more all the work that goes into designing and costuming and entire show!
In the meantime though, let's appreciate the brilliant artistry that we occasionally get to experience happening on stage together, whether it be performances, costumes, sets, or hopefully all of the above.
Christian Lacroix is among the most genius couture fashion designers of our time. Growing up, Lacroix loved going to children's shows at the theatre. Obviously inspired by fashion, when he got home from any given show, he would sketch all of the costumes that he had just seen. This love for the theatre continued to grow until he met Jean-Luc Tardieu, director of the Maison de la Culture in Nantes in 1986. After talking with Lacroix, Tardieu knew that he had to have him as the costume designer for Edmund Rostand's "Chatecler". This story focused around barn animals, which Lacroix decided to represent these in a non-literal manner. For instance, the barn owl was costumed in patterns of black and white polka dots layered to represent the feather like texture, without physically costuming as a bird. The production was a major success, and a fantastic statement for Lacroix to make as a costume designer. The following year he made an even bigger splash in the high fashion couture industry, building his reputation ever since.
While the primary focus of his career has been on couture designing, Lacroix has always had his hand in stage costume designing as well. Among many others, some highlights of his costuming have been a production of Othello where he paired flea market finds with high end luxury fabrics. He designed a Cosi juxtaposing jersey knit street wear with period 18th century gowns and other costumes. He also designed a very critically acclaimed production of Carmen in which he found major inspiration from the shades and nuances used by Ignacio Zuloaga and Julio Romero de Torres in their paintings and combined it with a lot of influence from (appropriately) bull fighters.
The first time I saw Lacroix's work as a costume designer was at the Met Opera season opening gala in 2008, An Evening with Renee Fleming. This evening was a vehicle to feature Ms. Fleming in roles that she picked as some of her favorites. She sang Violetta, Manon, and the Countess in Capriccio to cap off the evening. If that wasn't enough, the costumes for Ms. Fleming were all designed by leading designers in the fashion industry. You had costumes designed by John Galiano, Karl Lagerfeld, and last but certainly not least, Christian Lacroix.
The result was one of the most memorable nights for me in recent operatic history, and one that certainly garnered quite a bit of media attention. In addition to the evening being focused entirely around the people's diva, all of her gowns were designed exclusively for her, for that performance only, by couture designers. Ms. Fleming did a spread in Vogue at the time to put these absolutely breathtaking gowns on display for the world to appreciate. While she loved working with all the designers of the various gowns, Ms. Fleming in particular loved the designs of Mr. Lacroix. She felt as though they were incredibly flattering and sexy while really driving home the feel of the character. Mr. Lacroix designed the two gowns for Violetta.
In everything he does, Lacroix is known for designs that are a little bit eccentric while remaining elegant and extremely luxurious. Everything he designs is hand made. A lover of the arts, Lacroix has the utmost respect for all the mediums that perform on stage. He understands that he is not the most important part of the evening, that he is there to serve the vision of the team that has hired him. He is entirely humbled by the beauty of live performance on stage. Although the costumes are not gowns to be worn for special occasions (but rather to be moved in, sweat in, to be comfortable in!!!), he still uses all high quality couture fabrics, hand tinting, etc. He maintains the couture integrity of his gowns while still allowing for complete comfortable range of movement and better yet, they are all easily cleaned!
The first gown from the Fleming gala, shown below, was worn by Violetta while she is still in the country house. Violetta has moved to the country with Alfredo, but his father has just come and told the courtesan that his family is being shamed by Alredo's relationship with her. She must leave him. The gown that she is wearing at this time is almost exclusively pastel chiffon. The dress reads like a Monet painting, very impressionistic with broad strokes of color and silhouette. The gown is corsetted with various rosettes about the gown, and then extremely flowy and feminine in the sleeves and skirt. This gown shows the vulnerable side of Violetta; the side that she really wants to be and shows that she wants to give her whole heart to Alfredo. But Germont simply won't allow that.
The next gown (for the next act of Traviata) is much different from the first. Draped in heavy dark ruby silk, this gown shows the weight of Violetta's regret for leaving Alfredo. While the first gown was very light weight, very sheer, and much smaller in scale, this gown is all about drama. Also, the first gown had many colors in the dying, but this gown is all very saturated and dark shades of scarlet. While the first gown represents Violetta's happy and carefree life with Alfredo in the country, this gown clearly shows the heavy weight consuming Violetta at this time. She feels as though she has betrayed him, and cannot get the guilt out of her mind. With a constricting corset as well as extremely fitted sleeves, the fit of the gown perhaps represents that she feels she is entirely constricted by her guilt; the dress serves almost as a proverbial straight jacket. The much fuller ball gown skirt only continues to add weight to her psyche.
Ms. Fleming was so inspired by the costumes Mr. Lacroix designed for her here that she requested that he design all of her costumes for the Met's new production of Thais in the 08-09 season. Thais is the story of a courtesan in ancient Alexandria. She is visited by Athanael, a monk, who has visions of saving Thais. After initially laughing at his ignorance to carnal joys, she is left to consider the beauty of eternal happiness. So affected by Athanael's conviction, Thais decides to go to a convent and devote her life to serving the Lord. Just at the moment of Thais' death (she ascends into heaven), Athanael realizes that he is in love with Thais, and is ruined by her death. She, alternatively, has achieved eternal happiness.
Extremely operatic in nature, this story seems the perfect fit for Lacroix's designs. How fitting for the life of luxury a courtesan leads to be designed by a couture designer. We see here, especially in the first scene, the signature juxtapositions of this designer. Thais enters in a gold, extremely fitted floor length gown with every embellishment possible (while staying tasteful). She also wears a pink "shrug" of sorts, adding another layer of diva for Thais to play with. The combination of gold and fuchsia is quite visually striking, certainly not for a timid woman. Also, the fabrics, in Lacroix fashion, are extremely luxe (silks, etc) and provide a lot of structure, and even seeming uncomfortability for someone wearing this costume in real life; it's no jeans and a tshirt. Thais wears this gown when she enters the opera, into a party of admirers. She is certainly putting on a show that is larger than life.
The final costume is one of the most stunning, artistically, of the entire opera. Made entirely of starched paper/ fabric, this costume is fitted to Thais and covers her almost from head to toe. While still mobile for Ms. Fleming on stage (breathing, singing, etc), the gown enables Thais to look like a statue. At this point in the opera, as she is ascending into Heaven, this particular production really portrays Thais as a goddess, already having achieved her ascent among the non-human. Looking almost entirely unwearable by human standards, this gown I think very successfully achieves a look of otherworldliness.
Thais is just one of many productions designed by Mr. Lacroix, but has been brought to focus by the star power of Renee Fleming, and also by the Live in HD broadcast of the opera done by the Met.
I encourage everyone to watch this stunning opera, and also to notice the other production values throughout a performance aside from the performers themselves. The more you expose yourself to various productions, the more you will be able to appreciate a good production from a bad production, or even a mediocre production.
We are artists. We all have something to say, whether it is onstage or off. Just because we are not the diva of the evening does not mean that we don't have something extremely meaningful and legitimate to say.
So as has become my M.O., this is a call to action. Appreciate the work that is done behind the scenes, and don't just throw the costumes and sets by the wayside. Having taken set and costume design courses, it is not as easy as it looks. Who are we to so strongly disrespect someone else's work; if you hate it that much, take up costume design yourself and show us what a really meaningful production is. If nothing else comes of it, you may just appreciate a little more all the work that goes into designing and costuming and entire show!
In the meantime though, let's appreciate the brilliant artistry that we occasionally get to experience happening on stage together, whether it be performances, costumes, sets, or hopefully all of the above.
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