Design No. 305: Don Pasquale, Nabe Bar Alley annex to the Paris Opera
atelier ying, nyc
Gaetano Donizetti's opera buffa brings themes dear to my heart.
The dearth of modern operatic productions threatens to drown the decent conservative values of the art. It would be so easy to propose a set design of Coney Island with a roller coaster ride and retirement homes as a suitable modem rendition for the opera's setting.
But as i am always concerning myself with the reconciliation of opposing themes, here ones that underlie the opera. I propose a symbolic interconnection of the past with a fantasy laden present; I am doubtful my design could provide any transcendence, but I will let a little obsessive detail play in, paying attention to transitions like an attentive conductor and with a doubtful amount of skill. I let some rustic simple architectural music do the communication across time. I will follow the urging of my heart, and let innovation propelled by desire rather than architectural sense do the singing, perhaps the old bachelor Pasquale would approve. The main structure of the design, a small 11'x22' drinking shack, entreats both the composer and his leading character to relax, drink, eat and take it easy. This is an alternate universe to the Rome of the opera and seeks to release the built up tension of the opera; the original plot does not do this to a satisfactory extent, only perhaps in the sense of the commedia dell' arte. So this does the reconciliatory work which a modern operatic production might botch. The opera's most famous soprano Giulia Grisi tends to the bar and eating establishment.
I have no drawing technique to perfect, nor any fancy equipment. Compositionally I'm kind of a blunderer. My only aesthetic is a very dubitable one, it is the aesthetic of fun, but my eternal hope is that those in history whom I've dedicated my designs to would approve the honors given and enjoy themselves within the imagined architectural settings. Like John Hejduk I don't seek that these designs be built, as they do their intended work in the imagination. As Tadao Ando once conveyed, a design can be completely laid out with just one drawing for any competent builder to construct. Derivated to another level, a single imagined design should do the trick also, with one compressed drawing.
Instead of an operatic set design, this design is for an Asian drinking alley that adjoins the Paris Opera house, Donizetti's personal place for the blossoming of his art. Part of my drawing is adapted from the work of the architect Ludwig Leo Ausschnitt.
A grail-like hot pot, the Japanese nabe, is like a fountain of youth which accompanies a drinking session to a feverish level to revive the bachelor in a healthier way than Pasquale being duped by the harlequin-like Malatesta. After the meal, the amiable group of Pasquale can play a game of cards, a rebuttal of the Faustian game, in which avoiding the harlequin would be the principal goal of the card game. Giulia Grisi uses harlequin's wand as a card-dealing stick and his guitar to serenade the elderly group. The intimate drinking bar is a basic model for all the establishments along the Asian styled alley, linked by a riverside promenade next the opera house. The design of this riverside alley mimics an opera's orchestra pit.
This Design is also dedicated to the conductor Nello Santi.
Design, concepts, text and drawing are copyright 2016 by David Lo.
Design No. 305: Don Pasquale, Nabe Bar Alley annex to the Paris Opera
atelier ying, nyc
Gaetano Donizetti's opera buffa brings themes dear to my heart.
The dearth of modern operatic productions threatens to drown the decent conservative values of the art. It would be so easy to propose a set design of Coney Island with a roller coaster ride and retirement homes as a suitable modem rendition for the opera's setting.
But as i am always concerning myself with the reconciliation of opposing themes, here ones that underlie the opera. I propose a symbolic interconnection of the past with a fantasy laden present; I am doubtful my design could provide any transcendence, but I will let a little obsessive detail play in, paying attention to transitions like an attentive conductor and with a doubtful amount of skill. I let some rustic simple architectural music do the communication across time. I will follow the urging of my heart, and let innovation propelled by desire rather than architectural sense do the singing, perhaps the old bachelor Pasquale would approve. The main structure of the design, a small 11'x22' drinking shack, entreats both the composer and his leading character to relax, drink, eat and take it easy. This is an alternate universe to the Rome of the opera and seeks to release the built up tension of the opera; the original plot does not do this to a satisfactory extent, only perhaps in the sense of the commedia dell' arte. So this does the reconciliatory work which a modern operatic production might botch. The opera's most famous soprano Giulia Grisi tends to the bar and eating establishment.
I have no drawing technique to perfect, nor any fancy equipment. Compositionally I'm kind of a blunderer. My only aesthetic is a very dubitable one, it is the aesthetic of fun, but my eternal hope is that those in history whom I've dedicated my designs to would approve the honors given and enjoy themselves within the imagined architectural settings. Like John Hejduk I don't seek that these designs be built, as they do their intended work in the imagination. As Tadao Ando once conveyed, a design can be completely laid out with just one drawing for any competent builder to construct. Derivated to another level, a single imagined design should do the trick also, with one compressed drawing.
Instead of an operatic set design, this design is for an Asian drinking alley that adjoins the Paris Opera house, Donizetti's personal place for the blossoming of his art. Part of my drawing is adapted from the work of the architect Ludwig Leo Ausschnitt.
A grail-like hot pot, the Japanese nabe, is like a fountain of youth which accompanies a drinking session to a feverish level to revive the bachelor in a healthier way than Pasquale being duped by the harlequin-like Malatesta. After the meal, the amiable group of Pasquale can play a game of cards, a rebuttal of the Faustian game, in which avoiding the harlequin would be the principal goal of the card game. Giulia Grisi uses harlequin's wand as a card-dealing stick and his guitar to serenade the elderly group. The intimate drinking bar is a basic model for all the establishments along the Asian styled alley, linked by a riverside promenade next the opera house. The design of this riverside alley mimics an opera's orchestra pit.
This Design is also dedicated to the conductor Nello Santi.
Design, concepts, text and drawing are copyright 2016 by David Lo.