Enchantment, magic, innovation and glamour – those are the watchwords when two such world-renowned brands as Swarovski and the Salzburg Festival collaborate, says Festival President Helga Rabl-Stadler when the crystal workshop opens for a glimpse into the work on costumes for the opera Tosca.
Tosca costume designer Renate Martin, Festival President Helga Rabl-Stadler and Director of Costumes Jan Meier present the dress and accessories for Floria Tosca, embodied by Anna Netrebko, photos: SF/Anne Zeuner
Costume designer Renate Martin has created three costumes for Anna Netrebko, who sings the role of Floria Tosca. One of them, the red concert dress, was conceived as “restrained fireworks”. Anna Netrebko wears it in the scene in which she murders Barone Scarpia. The red colour of the dress is replicated in the stage sets too, the costume designer explains. The colour is associated with love, but also with the tragedy and drama of this scene. 40,000 Swarovski crystals in four different shades of red have been attached to the satin dress. The crystals are arranged in a lace pattern. Over the shining satin, there is a layer of black lace, so that the skirt allows for ample movement, Jan Meier, the Costume Director of the Salzburg Festival, explains.
“This dress does not need many crystals to shine and glitter,” he adds. His staff required approximately 100 hours in the workshop to produce the dress from 30 metres of fabric. And the fitting with Anna Netrebko was the quickest ever. In 40 minutes, the three costumes for Tosca were tried on and fitted. “Our Anna is very uncomplicated and quick when she likes something,” the Festival’s President says. A necklace with matching earrings was also made from Swarovski crystals especially for this performance.
In total, approximately 50,000 Swarovski crystals have been used for the revival of the Salzburg Easter Festival’s 2018 production of Tosca. During Anna Netrebko’s first entrance, about 10,000 crystals light up her handbag – in off-white, gold, silver and bronze hues. “Sparkling but restrained” is the motto of Floria Tosca’s first appearance in the church scene. She wears a dress of black lace, a white coat and the sparkling handbag as well as a cross around her neck which is also studded with cut Swarovski beads. The third costume is modern and tough, says Jan Meier: a leather jacket combined with Swarovski sunglasses and watch.
This is the ninth time Swarovski partners with the Salzburg Festival: in 2013, 2014 and 2015, Swarovski crystals made the Paramour’s costumes in Jedermann glitter. The concert performance of Manon Lescaut in 2016 was supported by Swarovski too – at the time, it was also Anna Netrebko whose dress lit up the house to the very last row of the audience. In 2017 it was the opera Aida, in 2018 Mozart’s Zauberflöte which the Austrian company supported. In 2019 both Orphée aux enfers and the concert performance of Adriana Lecouvreur benefitted.
The production of Tosca originally planned for 2020 had to be postponed to 2021 due to the coronavirus. And although there were no sparkles visible on stage in 2020, Swarovski generously supported the Salzburg Festival financially.
Performers:
Marco Armiliato Conductor
Michael Sturminger Director
Renate Martin, Andreas Donhauser Sets and Costumes
Urs Schönebaum Lighting
Anna Netrebko Floria Tosca
Yusif Eyvazov Mario Cavaradossi
Ludovic Tézier Il Barone Scarpia
Michael Mofidian Cesare Angelotti
Matteo Peirone Sagrestano
Mikeldi Atxalandabaso Spoletta
Rupert Grössinger Sciarrone
Salzburger Festspiele und Theater Kinderchor
Wolfgang Götz Chorus Master
Concert Association of the Vienna State Opera Chorus
Ernst Raffelsberger Chorus Master
Vienna Philharmonic
Saturday, 21 August, 8.00 pm (premiere)
Tuesday, 24 August, 7.00 pm
Friday, 27 August, 3.00 pm
Tuesday, 31 August, 3.00 pm
(After Press materials)
Marijan Zlobec
En odgovor na “Salzburg Festival: Crystal Workshop “Tosca””
Marijan,
res si delaven in kakovostno na najvišji kritiški ravni analitičen – kar zadeva glasbena dogajanja pri nas in po svetu.
Včasih pomišljam, kako sva v Mariboru z odličnim glasbenim kulturnim organizatorjem in kritikom, s poznavalcem visokega estetsko izbranega okusa Adrijanom Grizoldom delovala tvorno, bil je pobudnik prenekaterih kulturno javnih lepih dogodkov in umetniških, zlasti glasbenih srečanj.
Medtem ko je nekaj veljalo čudno geslo realsocilizma: Umenost ljudstvu! – kar so oblasti razumele kot velik razvoj amaterizma, ne glede na kič ali kakovostne dosežke, sva z Adrijanom in še s kom zahtevala profesionalno umetniško odgovornost in zagotavljala, da je tudi najvišja, pimeroma glasbena kakovost resne glasbe že po sebi – »ljudska«…
Včasih se mi toži po Adrijanu in drugih, tudi po tvojih izredno zanimivih kritičnih, večkrat celo sporno opravljenih odzivih – bil si edini v Sloveniji, ki si stopil tak rekoč na prste preveč samouglajenemu likovno štokglajzarskemu Janezu Berniku, saj se spomniš, kaj vse si moral zategadelj še požreti… – O menstrualno zvezdasti Svetlani Makarovički si pisal odprto izzivno – pa te je coprnica kar fizično na cesti napadla, saj je vedela, da babe ne boš takole, kot si zasluži… in te je celo žalila… In v primeru opere…
Tista »ljudskost« ali amaterizem je hvalil v vokalnem pomenu vsako dretje na mah…, v likovni metnosti so se pojavili naivci-realisti s kičstim razgledničarstvom, v literaturi spet in znova socrealizem, v »filozofiji« pa dialekični materializem kot marksizem s temelji socialističnega samoupravljanja, kakor da je galerija ali koncertna dvorana vsaj temeljna organizacija združenega dela/ tozd, in so se celo v gledališčih zgizdeno tozdirali in sozdirali.
Oprosti, da ti takole pišem, a kaj, dandanes je na vrsti neverjetni populizem – najvišji dosežek v likovni umetnosti je bil, za Prešernovo nagrado, ko je gizdica javno podojila cucka, druga spet si je izrezala okoli trebuha zavito državno zastavo, sentl-mentl populistično uličarstvo je postalo literarno festivalno in podobno. Na drui strani pa vendar – Ana Netrebko! In Zubin Mehta in drugo, če se ozrem po glasbeni ustvarjlnosti, vsaj v ljubljanskem festivalu, kjer Brlek ni skopuh…
Skratka, tokrat je v kontekstu prijatelj Adrijan Grizold. Oba sta si podobna v kulturnoumetniških opravilih ali po kritiki, le da si ti ne/mariborski in segaš čez apetite ljubljanske ulice kot populizma. In po tretji strani – pritaknjenci in vsiljivci, ki si hočejo izsiliti celo nagrade in slavo… Nomina sunt odiosa…
Vesel sem in sem ti hvaležen, da nas in me informiraš o glasbi, ki sega čez meje brezmejno, a je lahko obarvana zvočno kot melodično glokalno.
Vladimir Gajšek