30 April 2008 – 13 July 2008

Scenography and modernism: drawings by Genevan artist Adolphe Appia (1862-1928)

In the history of musicology and theatre, the Geneva artist Adolphe Appia (1862-1928) is held to be a pivotal reformer of opera scenography. Although few of his projects were staged during his lifetime, his writings and drawings bear testimony to the modernity of his scenic conceptions, issued from his research into Wagnerian drama. On the occasion of the international Wagner conference to be held in Geneva and for the first time
in Switzerland from 1 to 4 May 2008, the Cabinet des Dessins will present a selection of large
drawings by the artist from its collection, essentially projects for Tristan and Isolde by Wagner and
for a number of other operas, notably by Gluck. Influenced as well by the rhythm theories of Geneva pedagogue Émile Jaques-Dalcroze, Appia’s drawings feature spare, uncluttered sets with simplified architectural lines amplified by contrasting effects of chiaroscuro. Unsettling to his contemporaries, his ideas finally began to be understood more thoroughly from the end of the 1950s and even now continue to serve as a reference model.

Address

Maison Tavel
Rue du Puits-Saint-Pierre 6
1204 Genève
phone +41 22 418 37 00
http://www.ville-ge.ch/musinfo/mahg/musee/tavel/tavel.html

Opening Hours

Daily 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., closed on Monday.

Within 10 days
starting exhibitions
ending exhibitions