For my second scenography for the opera L’heure Espagnole I’ve been searching to intensify my physical bond with the scenography I designed. In my first experience with an opera production, Banquet, the revenge on the Macbeths, I realized my position as an artist scenographer lays within the extensive physical bond I have towards the items I work with. As I have been dancing myself as a kid for many years, and as I’ve been developing my Cubicles performances since 2007, I understand very well how these geometric shapes relate to the human body.
Rather than just forwarding my sketches to the opera and having the director and singers figure out their relationship towards the scenography themselves, I’ve proposed to tackle this assignment differently. We agreed that I will be present during rehearsals to assist the director in exploring the scenography to its fullest potential.
In preparation for our upcoming rehearsals after the summer of 2021, I’ve been exploring the geometric shapes that will be used on stage. I’ve played and danced and moved with them.
L’Heure Espagnole is scheduled at the Ghent opera in December 2021
Photography by Cedric Verhelst