While I was sorting the mail the other day, I saw the ad for LA Opera promotion for “Don Givoanni.” It remained my experience with same production years ago. Prior to my experience, I only know this opera via video and tape. I was falling in love with the traditional dramatic scenery and vivid emotion in the voice of the singers. When I finally got the chance to see the real production on the stage, I was excited and ready for it. I took my sister and cousin with me to the opera house. Not until when I was at the audience seat, than I realized that the whole production was in a more contemporary approach. From the costumes to the sceneries, everything is very modern and not traditional. I was shocked and speechless. It was totally out of my expectation. I was hopping to see a more traditional setting and movement. Usually, the traditional approach of the stage production would line up the costumes and sceneries with the historical background of the production. If the Don Givoanni is a 18th century’s production, the traditional costumes and sceneries would be reflected on 18th century’s fashion and style. It remained me the discussion that we had on Picasso’s costumes design and scenery design on ballet. Picasso’s first production, Parade, is a 1917 ballet by poet, Jean Cocteau. Picasso designed the costumes and the scenery. Some of the cubist costumes were in solid cardboard, limited the dancer in a minimum of movement. The score contained several “noise-making” instruments like typewriter, foghorn, and assortment of milk bottles. Although Parade was quite revolutionary, bringing common street entertainments to the elite, it was not well received by the audiences. Yet, it didn’t stop Picasso’s involvement with further dance numbers. As the film, Picasso and Dance, showed in the classroom, I had further understanding of the drive behind the creative force in stage production. It is not just simply a attempt of making something different than traditional content, but rather a search of new language of expressing art.
