Creating the Look of Das Liebesverbot: Kay Voyce, Costume Designer

The piece is fundamentally about a struggle between established authority and rebellious youth. Nicholas Muni [director, Das Liebesverbot] had a strong impulse to make the authority figures in the piece look and feel parental in nature rather than controlling and fascist. Because of this, he felt that setting the opera in the 1950s was the right choice. In that period you find a very established conservative society with the early beginnings of what would become the 1960s flower-power rebellion. Nick wanted the Italian setting of the story to be reflected in the look of the show as well. Being a big film fan, I started looking at Italian filmmakers from that era such as Fellini. Although many of his works were made in the early 1960s, they had the same look and feel that we wanted for this production.

There are a few ways in which those films captured the mood we were after. The tailoring of the menswear in that era is slightly different in Italy than in the 1950s of America. There was also a sensuality Nic wanted from the character Isabella that I found represented very well in those films. Alongside the Italian look, we included a little bit of the American rock-and-roll rebellion of the 1950s. The result visually is a world that resonates with modern audiences but has enough distance from our present time that there is a small amount of fantasy to it.

There is a carnival scene in this piece which provided an interesting opportunity from a design standpoint. While researching, one of the things we noticed when we looked at photographs from various carnivals was the distortion of scale. Masks, stilts and costumes make people look surreal by exaggerating certain features. For this production we created large-scale masks that could be worn by the singers without covering their faces. We had to make sure they could sing and be heard.

I design for both opera and theater and find that there are similarities and differences. Many of the concerns are the same: What look will tell the story and reflect the characters? What period should we set the show in? How will the look of the costumes interact with the set? The music is the key difference. It is an undeniable force for the entire creative team. The director is forced into a very set timing based on the musical phrases. As a costume designer, it is impossible not to be influenced by the sound and emotional impact of the score.

photos:
1. Ryan MacPherson as Luzio and Lauren Skuce as Dorella. photo credit: Cory Weaver.
2. Mark Schnaible as Friedrich and Claudia Waite as Isabella. photo credit: Cory Weaver.