Ernani

WHAT Ernani
WHEN Oct 27–Nov 23
WHERE Lyric Opera, 20 N Wacker Dr (312-332-2244, lyricopera.org)

Right now, 200 semis are hauling U2’s gigantic space-spider stage set. The rock stars’ Soldier Field ego pit stop September 12 and 13 is the epitome of modern musical theatricality. In the meantime, a modest train of trailers is shipping backdrops from a specialty construction shop in San Diego for a more aged sort of musical theater—the Lyric Opera’s production of Ernani. Though the opera house staged Verdi’s lesser-known 1844 dramma lirico during the work’s trendy revival in the 1980s, this is an all-new production, brainstormed by the Lyric’s production design director, Scott Marr.

“When I first got the assignment, I went to the Art Institute and sat in front of El Greco’s Assumption of the Virgin,” says Marr. “I pulled references from that—feeling, color.” The Renaissance painting originates from 16th-century Spain, the precise setting for Verdi’s tale of bandits, marriage and suicide. Marr found inspiration for costumes in other period oils—a wedding dress in a portrait of Eleanor del Toledo, Ernani’s monk disguise in El Greco’s depiction of Saint Bernardino. Many of the garments are being produced in a seemingly unglamorous locale: Wisconsin. Seamstress Kitty Schweitzer, an old friend of Marr’s, previously built outfits for Shrek the Musical in her small Racine-based shop.

The brush-and-canvas influence, as well an homage to tradition, doesn’t stop with the threads. “My style is very painterly. I am old fashioned in that way,” Marr explains. “A lot of scenery used to be painted when Verdi wrote this piece, and especially in the 16th century. I wanted it to have that feeling.” While the set is fairly straightforward—primarily sliding panels and dropped borders—the sensuous detail is anything but.

Moorish ornamentation covers every surface; ornate patterns overlap and layer. Marr built rose windows in the bottoms of custom chandeliers to dapple kaleidoscopic tones on the floor, a parquet star surrounded by colored marble tile. Real marble? “No, faux,” Marr says. “That would weigh a ton! The Lyric would kill me. Not to mention the cost.” This is theater, after all. Leave the marble to Bono’s bathroom.

NEXT>>

Check out the other sections in our 2009 Fall Preview:

RESTAURANTS & BARS | THE GET | AROUND TOWN | ART | BOOKS | CLUBS | COMEDY | DANCE | FILM | GAY & LESBIAN | KIDS | MUSIC | OPERA & CLASSICAL | THEATER