Kate Bailey and Kasper Holten workshop. Case of the exhibition “Opera: Passion, Power, and Politics” мастер-класс

Created in collaboration with the Royal Opera House, the Victoria and Albert Museum exhibition tells the fascinating history of the opera genre, from its origins in Italy in the late Renaissance to the present day, covering almost 400 years. At the heart of the exhibition, there are seven opera premieres in seven European cities. It shows how the creation of opera performances reflected the social, political, economic and artistic processes that determined the appearance of these cities, as well as demonstrates the process of creating an opera performance from libretto to score, from layout to production.

The exhibition featured the cities and opera premieres that took place in them: Venice and The Coronation of Poppea by Monteverdi (1642), London and Rinaldo by Handel (1711), Vienna and Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro (1786), Milan and Nabucco by Verdi (1842), Paris and Tannhäuser by Wagner in a new edition (1861), Dresden and Salome by Strauss (1905) and Leningrad and Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk district by Shostakovich (1934).

Since 2017, the exhibition has been actively touring around the world.

The master class reveals the principles and process of organizing the exhibition. It shows how the exposition forms the immersive, physical, theatrical experience of the visitor, how the design of the exhibition organizes the route through the history of the opera.

“Opera: Passion, Power and Politics” is the first exhibition dedicated to opera, where design and scenography create an integrated narrative and total experience for the visitor.

About the program:

This workshop is a part of the section «Theatre and museum. Project work» within the educational program «Theatre and museum. Collaboration experiences».

Collaboration between museums and theaters has become mainstream. This is not only a manifestation of interdisciplinarity, one of the main features of contemporary art, not only an attempt to master unconventional spaces, and not only a way to optimize costs or develop the audience.

Joint project work is also an opportunity to reinterpret traditional, common genres and forms of cultural activity.

Contextual tasks of museum and theater projects cannot be accomplished without the formation and development of organizational, administrative, and production skills and competencies in their creators, that allow them to efficiently implement the projects, respond to requests and suggestions from the art team and establish inter-institutional cooperation and partnership.

The course presents forms and formats of museum and theater collaboration and allows participants to master their skills of implementing and producing the projects created at the intersection of theater and museum practices. The course facilitates development of competencies in the area of project management, logistics, timing, legal and financial issues, marketing in cultural activities, from the idea of museum and theater project to its implementation and promotion.

The course involves studying the experience of the world’s largest institutions as well as work with Russian curators and producers.