Visual Arts: Costume Design

Transcription

1 Visual Arts: Costume Design Students Will Design a costume of a character in The Marriage of Figaro Describe the characteristics of the characters through costume designing Getting Ready Copies for each student: The Characters and Synopsis Design materials: Any art supplies the teacher or student wishes to use Instructional Time: One 45-minute class period Introduction Costumes are of vast importance in creation of an opera production. Explain to students that in opera and other forms of theater, the costume designer may choose clothing styles of different time periods other than the one in which the original production was set. They may also make costuming choices based on the size and physical appearance of the character or the singer/actor who portrays that character. However, before any costume is built, it is conceived on paper. No matter how complex the costume may become, designing it may begin with a simple light sketch or an elaborate work of art that employs various artistic styles and techniques, such as painting and oil pastels.* Have the students read the Synopsis and The Characters. Then, as a class, watch the online clips provided in The Characters. Tell the students to observe and make notes of the varying costumes between the different productions as well as the characters. *Note: Costumes are also designed using computers as we move further into the technological age. Guided Practice Allow the students to choose a character and design a costume that fits the character s relevance in the opera during the time period. Facilitate a table discussion between the groups using the guided questions for a brief analysis of the character they have chosen: o What color does the character and is it relevant to their demeanor in the opera? o Does the character wear a lot of jewelry? o What materials are their clothes made out of? Educational Programs page 1 of 12

2 o What kind of footwear does he/she wear? o Is the character young or old? o Is the character part of the working or privileged class? Independent Practice Have the students take time to design their character using the materials presented to them. When they have completed the assignment, allow them to discuss their work by comparing and contrasting the costumes for their chosen character. Evaluation 1. Were students able to complete understand the assignment and create a costume for a character in The Marriage of Figaro? 2. Did students discuss their costume design for their chosen character? If Time Allows Have students consider the costume created for the character and have them think of a design that would depict how the character would dress in today s 2014 society. TEKS: Visual Arts Grades 6-12 (1) Knowledge and Skills. A. B. (2) Knowledge and Skills. A. C. (3) Knowledge and Skills. B. Correlates Music Bloom s Taxonomy Application, Analysis, Synthesis, Evaluation Educational Programs page 2 of 12

3 The Marriage of Figaro The Characters Susanna: (soprano) Countess Almaviva s maid, very smart and witty, engaged to Figaro. Listening example: Act I: Cinque, Dieci, Venti (Five, Ten, Twenty) Figaro and Susanna work together to prepare the room in the castle they will move into after they are married. Figaro is focused on measuring the floor to make sure the bed will fit and Susanna tries to get his attention while she tries on her wedding veil. Figaro: (bass-baritone) A barber by trade, currently employed as Count Almaviva s servant and engaged to Susanna. Listening example: Act I: Se vuol ballare (If you wish to dance) - Angry at the Count because of his feelings for Susanna, Figaro decides that he will pretend that he is obedient to the Count's wishes while, in reality, he is planning to work against him. Count Almaviva: (baritone) Owns the castle and employs everyone in it, has feelings for Susanna. Listening example: Act III: Hai gia vinta la causa Vedro mentr io sospiro (You ve won the case already!) Count Almaviva believes Susanna will be meeting him in the gardens on the night of her marriage to Figaro, which he also may be able to prevent through legal means. He overhears the two lovers talking confidently about defeating the Count s legal challenge to their wedding and becomes incensed. Countess Rosina Almaviva: (soprano) The Count s wife, she knows about her husband s wandering eyes but she is still in love with him. Listening example: (Spanish subtitles) Act III: Sull aria (On the air) The Countess and Susanna write a letter to entice the Count to meet who he thinks will be Susanna in the garden that night. It is really a trick, however, and the Countess will be the one to win him back. Cherubino: (mezzo-soprano) A young page for the Count, he is constantly flirting with the women in the castle, especially Barbarina and the Countess. He and Susanna are friends. (Cherubino is a pants role, meaning it is played by a woman dressed like a man.) Listening Example: (aria begins at 2:00) Act II: Voi che sapete (You who know what love is) Cherubino sings a song to Susanna and the Countess explaining how he feels about love. Dr. Bartolo: (bass) A doctor from Seville who was once the Countess guardian. He holds a grudge against Figaro Educational Programs page 3 of 12

4 The Marriage of Figaro Characters cont d Marcellina: (soprano) Dr. Bartolo s housekeeper. Figaro owes her money and she tries to cause trouble for Susanna. Don Basilio: (tenor) The gossiping music master who is always trying to cause trouble. Barbarina: (soprano) Antonio s daughter, she is in love with Cherubino. The Marriage of Figaro, full performance, Metropolitan Opera 1985: Educational Programs page 4 of 12

5 Act I The Marriage of Figaro Synopsis Figaro measures the room while Susanna flirts with him. When Figaro tells her that the room is to be their bedroom after their wedding, Susanna tells him that the Count wants her to submit to the droit du seigneur, a custom the Count abolished when he married the Countess, and that Basilio, the music teacher, has been arguing the Count s case. Susanna is called away to serve the Countess. Figaro declares that he will outwit the Count s plan ( Se vuol ballare ), and departs. Bartolo and Marcellina come looking for Figaro, who has borrowed money from Marcellina with a promise to marry her if he cannot pay it back. Bartolo sees this as his opportunity to get revenge on Figaro for helping the Count win the Countess ( La vendetta ). He goes to find a lawyer. Susanna returns just in time to trade insults with Marcellina. As soon as Marcellina leaves, Cherubino rushes in, saying the Count caught him visiting Barbarina and has banished him. He wants Susanna to ask the Countess to intercede. Susanna teases him, but he says he can t help being in love with every woman he meets ( Non so più cosa son, cosa faccio ). Cherubino hides when they hear the Count approaching. The Count is asking Susanna to meet him in the garden that night when they hear Basilio approaching, and the Count hides. Basilio tells Susanna that she should avoid Cherubino because the lad s displays of affection for the Countess are sure to get him in trouble as soon as the Count notices them. The Count emerges from hiding and starts barking orders for Cherubino to be found. Susanna and Basilio try to calm the Count; he tells them how he went to visit Barbarina that morning and found Cherubino hiding beneath a table. During his demonstration, the Count reveals Cherubino s current hiding place, to the consternation of Susanna and the delight of Basilio. The Count s growing rage is interrupted by Figaro and a chorus of peasants who bring flowers and praise the Count s abolishment of the droit du seigneur. Figaro asks the Count to bless his marriage to Susanna and renew that pledge. The Count pretends to agree, but resolves to find Marcellina. After the peasants leave, the Count appoints Cherubino captain of his regiment in Seville and orders him to depart immediately, despite Figaro, Susanna, and Basilio pleading for Cherubino to stay through the wedding. The Count and Basilio leave together. Figaro salutes the new officer and comically describes his new life in the army ( Non più andrai ) Educational Programs page 5 of 12

6 The Marriage of Figaro Synopsis cont d Act II Alone in her room, the Countess wonders how to reclaim the Count s affection ( Porgi, amor, qualche ristoro ). Susanna returns from an errand, then Figaro comes in and describes his plan to confuse the Count with a letter saying the Countess plans to meet a lover, then to have the Count make an assignation with Susanna in the garden that evening, which will be kept by Cherubino dressed as a woman. The Countess and Susanna agree. Figaro leaves and sends Cherubino in to be dressed. The Countess asks Cherubino to sing the song he has composed ( Voi, che sapete ). They begin dressing Cherubino as a woman, teasing him mercilessly. Susanna leaves by one door just before the Count knocks at another, which is locked. Cherubino hides in the closet, which the Countess locks before she admits the Count. The Count has received Figaro s letter and demands an explanation. At a noise from the closet, he assumes that the Countess has a lover hidden there, though she claims that it is just Susanna, who is trying on her wedding dress and doesn t want to be seen. Susanna returns in time to hear the Count demand that she come out of the closet and hides before he sees her. The Count locks both doors and takes the Countess with him to get tools to force the closet open. Susanna tells Cherubino the coast is clear; he jumps out the window into the garden, and Susanna hides in the closet. When the Count and Countess return, the Countess confesses that Cherubino is in the closet; both she and the Count are amazed when he opens the closet and finds Susanna there. The Countess and Susanna tell the Count that the letter and the story of Cherubino being in the closet were a test of the Count s loyalty to the Countess. Figaro comes to get the Count to bless the wedding, but the Count challenges him with the letter. Thanks to timely prompting from the women, Figaro passes that test, but the gardener, Antonio, bursts in, demanding that the Count punish the man who jumped from the Countess s window and crushed his flowers. Figaro quickly takes the blame, and Antonio starts to give him a paper he found under the window. The Count intercepts the paper and demands that Figaro identify it. Once again, the women manage to save the situation by prompting Figaro. Just then, Bartolo, Basilio, and Marcellina come and demand that the Count hear Marcellina s suit against Figaro. The act ends in an uproar of contesting claims, which the Count agrees to settle later Educational Programs page 6 of 12

7 The Marriage of Figaro Synopsis cont d Act III Susanna, urged on by the Countess, agrees to meet the Count in the garden that night. Overhearing Susanna as she is leaving tell Figaro that they have won, the Count rages against the perfidy of servants and determines to uphold Marcellina s claim against Figaro ( Vedrò mentr io sospiro ). Don Curzio, a lawyer, tells the parties that Figaro must either pay Marcellina or marry her. The Count upholds the verdict. Figaro claims to be nobly born and, therefore, unable to marry without his parents permission. The Count asks where those parents are, and Figaro recounts how he was stolen as a baby. Marcellina recognizes a birthmark on his arm, which identifies him as her son by Bartolo. Figaro embraces his long-lost mother just as Susanna arrives with the money to pay Figaro s debt. Susanna jumps to the wrong conclusion and slaps Figaro. Once Susanna has learned the actual situation, Marcellina and Bartolo decide to marry each other; they forgive Figaro s debt as a wedding present to their son. Waiting for Susanna, the Countess wonders if she will ever again be happy with the Count ( Dove sono i bei momenti ). Susanna arrives, and the Countess dictates a note Susanna will slip to the Count later; they seal the note with a pin. A group of girls, including Barbarina and a disguised Cherubino, comes to serenade the Countess and present her with flowers. The Count arrives with Antonio, who reveals Cherubino. Figaro comes to call them to the blessing of the couples. The Count tries to catch Figaro in his deceptions, but Figaro manages to evade his traps. March music signals the ceremony in which the Count and Countess bless the betrothed couples. During this, Susanna gives the note to the Count, who reads it and then watches the couples dance with a smile of satisfaction. Act IV In the garden, Barbarina is looking for the pin from the note. Figaro stops to help her, and she tells him the Count asked her to return it to Susanna. Figaro gives her a pin and sends her on her way. Barbarina completes her errand then hides in a nearby pavilion, where she plans to meet Cherubino. By various means, Marcellina, Bartolo, and Basilio also wind up hiding in the pavilion. Assuming that Susanna has given in to the Count s advances, Figaro posts men in hiding and, complaining about the perfidy of women ( Aprite un po quegl i occhi ), conceals himself. Susanna and the Countess, each Educational Programs page 7 of 12

8 The Marriage of Figaro Synopsis cont d dressed in the other s clothes, arrive on the scene. The Countess steps into the shadows while Susanna pretends to wait for a lover ( Deh vieni, non tardar ). Cherubino comes to meet Barbarina, but in the dark he bumps into the Countess. Assuming she is Susanna, he begins to make advances, but hides in the pavilion when the Count arrives. The Count woos the woman he thinks is Susanna and gives her a ring. Figaro interrupts the tryst, at which point the Countess (in Susanna s clothes) hides. Susanna approaches Figaro. At first he mistakes her for the Countess, but he recognizes her voice and realizes that his plan is coming to fruition. Figaro and Susanna put on a show for the Count s benefit, pretending that Figaro and the Countess are lovers. The enraged Count calls for men with torches, but Susanna slips into the pavilion before they arrive. The Count empties the pavilion of the various characters hiding there, lastly finding Susanna, who is still pretending to be the Countess. Everyone begs the Count s forgiveness. He refuses until the real Countess emerges from her hiding place and confronts him with the ring he had given to Susanna. The Count realizes that he has been caught and begs forgiveness from the Countess. She forgives him, and everyone is relieved that this day of torment has finished joyfully Educational Programs page 8 of 12

9 Costume Example 1: Susanna, Act I Design by Susan Kulkarni, for Central City Opera s 2014 production Educational Programs page 9 of 12

10 Costume Example 2: Count Almaviva, Acts III-IV Design by Delores Ringer, for University of Kansas 2006 production Educational Programs page 10 of 12

11 Costume Example 3: Pharaoh, King of Egypt Design by Peter J. Hall, for Dallas Civic Opera s 1969 production of Giuseppe Verdi s Aïda Educational Programs page 11 of 12

12 Costume Example 4: Ramfis, the High Priest Design by Peter J. Hall, for Dallas Civic Opera s 1969 production of Giuseppe Verdi s Aïda Educational Programs page 12 of 12