Josef Svoboda, of Czechoslovakia, is probably the most innovative designer in the theatre today. Every year, throughout a 'season' of twelve months, Svoboda totally designs--'scenographs,' as he prefers to call his work--productions for the legitimate theatre, for operas and ballets and occasionally for films, not only in his native country, but also in England, Scandinavia, Germany, Italy and elsewhere in Europe. In this country he is best know for the series of multiscreen films shown in the Czechoslovak pavillion at Expo 67 in Montreal and for the stark, marvellously evocative sets for the Metropolitan Opera's opening-night production of Carmen in 1972. The major part of this study is devoted to detailed, professional considerations of some sixty key productions, described largely in Svoboda's own words, transcribed and translated from tape-recorded interviews with the author. More than two hundred black-and-white photographs visually reinforce Mr. Burian's explication of the development of Svoboda's methods. Svoboda's scenography emerges as total design, a synthesis of traditional methods and technical innovations that provide a dynamic atmosphere as well as the physical setting.--Back cover.

Josef Svoboda, of Czechoslovakia, is probably the most innovative designer in the theatre today. Every year, throughout a 'season' of twelve months, Svoboda totally designs--'scenographs,' as he prefers to call his work--productions for the legitimate theatre, for operas and ballets and occasionally for films, not only in his native country, but also in England, Scandinavia, Germany, Italy and elsewhere in Europe. In this country he is best know for the series of multiscreen films shown in the Czechoslovak pavillion at Expo 67 in Montreal and for the stark, marvellously evocative sets for the Metropolitan Opera's opening-night production of Carmen in 1972. The major part of this study is devoted to detailed, professional considerations of some sixty key productions, described largely in Svoboda's own words, transcribed and translated from tape-recorded interviews with the author. More than two hundred black-and-white photographs visually reinforce Mr. Burian's explication of the development of Svoboda's methods. Svoboda's scenography emerges as total design, a synthesis of traditional methods and technical innovations that provide a dynamic atmosphere as well as the physical setting.--Back cover.

Examines the scenery and stagings designed by Josef Svoboda for productions of the operas of Richard Wagner

Theatre and Performance Design: A Reader in Scenography is an essential resource for those interested in the visual composition of performance and related scenographic practices. Theatre and performance studies, cultural theory, fine art, philosophy and the social sciences are brought together in one volume to examine the principle forces that inform understanding of theatre and performance design. The volume is organised thematically in five sections: looking, the experience of seeing space and place the designer: the scenographic bodies in space making meaning This major collection of key writings provides a much needed critical and contextual framework for the analysis of theatre and performance design. By locating this study within the broader field of scenography – the term increasingly used to describe a more integrated reading of performance – this unique anthology recognises the role played by all the elements of production in the creation of meaning. Contributors include Josef Svoboda, Richard Foreman, Roland Barthes, Oscar Schlemmer, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Richard Schechner, Jonathan Crary, Elizabeth Wilson, Henri Lefebvre, Adolph Appia and Herbert Blau.

The third edition of Pamela Howard’s What is Scenography? expands on the author’s holistic analysis of scenography as comprising space, text, research, art, performers, directors and spectators, to examine the changing nature of scenography in the twenty-first century. The book includes new investigations of recent production projects from Howard’s celebrated career, including Carmen and Charlotte: A Tri-Coloured Play with Music, full-colour illustrations of her recent work and updated commentary from a wide spectrum of contemporary theatre makers. This book is suitable for students in Scenography and Theatre Design courses, along with theatre professionals.

Scenography – the manipulation and orchestration of the performance environment – is an increasingly popular and key area in performance studies. This book introduces the reader to the purpose, identity and scope of scenography and its theories and concepts. Settings and structures, light, projected images, sound, costumes and props are considered in relation to performing bodies, text, space and the role of the audience. Concentrating on scenographic developments in the twentieth century, the Introduction examines how these continue to evolve in the twenty-first century. Scenographic principles are clearly explained through practical examples and their theoretical context. Although acknowledging the many different ways in which design shapes the creation of scenography, the book is not exclusively concerned with the role of the theatre designer. In order to map out the wider territory and potential of scenography, the theories of pioneering scenographers are discussed alongside the work of directors, writers and visual artists.

In this invaluable and detailed presentation of the leading creative figures in a richly innovative and dynamic period of Czech theatre, Professor Jarka M. Burian provides us with insightful portraits of the directors K. H. Hilar, E. F. Burian, Alfred Radok, and Otomar Krejca: of the famous Voskovec and Werich comedic duo; of the scenographer Josef Svoboda; and of the playwright, now President of the Czech Republic, Václav Havel. There are also briefer studies of numerous other directors, designers, and actors. The author, a Czech-American theatre scholar and practitioner, has been a frequent on-site observer of Czech theatre since 1965. He is directly acquainted with many of the major artists and the most notable productions that have made Czech theatre internationally famous.