Luciano Damiani
Encyclopedia
Luciano Damiani was an Italian
stage and costume designer, who worked both for theatre and opera productions.
at Milan
's Piccolo Teatro. International fame came with his famous stage designs for Goldoni's
Le baruffe chiozzote (Piccolo Teatro, 1964, staged by Strehler) and for Mozart's
Die Entführung aus dem Serail
at the Salzburg Festival
1965 (staged by Strehler, conducted by Zubin Mehta
). This production soon became legendary and was revived several times until 1975.
In 1966 Damiani created his first stage design for La Scala
(Cavalleria rusticana
, staged by Strehler, and conducted by Herbert von Karajan
). This production was filmed and eventually televised on PBS's Great Performances
.
His debut at the Vienna State Opera
was a controversial Don Giovanni
in 1967 (staged by Otto Schenk
, conducted by Josef Krips
, with Cesare Siepi
as the Don). In accordance with Schenk Damiani emphasized the opera's comic and ironic elements and chose to use elements of Northern Italian rather than Spanish architecture which surprised many viewers, resulting in controversies between Damiani and Krips. When Damiani appeared before the curtain he was both applauded and booed by the audience.
In the late 1960s Damiani started working predominantly with other directors rather than Strehler and even started directing himself. In 1969 he directed as well as designed Aida
for the Arena di Verona Festival
(revived in 1970), though from time to time Damiani returned to the Piccolo Teatro and Strehler. He designed the sets for a noted 1974 production of Anton Chekhov
's The Cherry Orchard
. In 1974 both Strehler and Damiani returned to the Salzburg Festival for an ill fated production of Die Zauberflöte conducted by Karajan.
Also in 1975 Damiani started his collaboration with Luca Ronconi
with The Birds by Aristophanes
for Vienna's Burgtheater
. In 1978 at La Scala Damiani designed the sets for Ronconi's production of Verdi's
Don Carlo, conducted by Claudio Abbado
. Verdi's Macbeth
was staged by Damiani and Ronconi for Berlin
's Deutsche Oper in 1980 (conducted by Giuseppe Sinopoli
).
In the early 1980s Damiani opened his own small theatre in Rome
, the Teatro di documenti, where he directed and designed many plays. Only occasionally did he agree to work for other theatres and opera houses. In January 1986 he staged the premiere of the opera Salvatore Giuliano by Lorenzo Ferrero
at the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma
. This production became the subject of a monograph entitled Nascita di un'opera: Salvatore Giuliano, which was published in 1987 by photographer Lorenzo Capellini. Damiani returned to Vienna's Burgtheater in 1988 for Schiller's Wilhelm Tell staged by Claus Peymann. In 1996 he again worked for the Salzburg Festival designing La Traviata
(conducted by Riccardo Muti
and staged by Lluis Pasqual).
Damiani, though not well known to the general American public, is generally regarded as one of the leading stage designers of the 20th century.
, based on the hit Broadway musical. Star Peter O'Toole
, who portrayed both Miguel de Cervantes
and his literary creation Don Quixote in the film, was only one of several who reportedly criticized Damiani's sets as being "too depressing"; however, the creators of the stage musical intended the physical look of it to be rather plain, as they specified in articles written for the original souvenir program of the show, so the drabness of the film's sets may have been quite intentional. Those who criticized them may have been expecting the standard "pretty" set designs usually found in movie musicals.
The single set for the original stage production, suggesting the interior of a dungeon, consisted of a plain four leaf clover-shaped stonelike slab, with a huge drawbridge
-like staircase to allow prisoners to enter and exit. There was also a grille overhead to allow light into the dungeon, and a trap door in the floor which opened to allow for a subterranean level. Every other scenic element was only imagined or vaguely suggested, as in an improvised play (audiences never actually saw the windmill that Don Quixote tilts at, and a single mattress with a cushion served as a bed).
The film, being more "realistic", featured more literal scenery. Don Quixote's fight with the windmill was actually shown, in an elaborately staged sequence, instead of taking place offstage as in the play. The two largest sets in the film consisted of the interior of the dungeon, and the courtyard of a shabby inn, respectively. Don Quixote's bedroom was also shown, as were the kitchen of the inn and the plains of what was supposed to be La Mancha
(but was actually Italy). There was also a vastly more colorful town square featured in the opening scene - a scene not included in the original stage version, which showed a religious festival. Three different directors, Albert Marre
, Peter Glenville
, and Arthur Hiller
were hired at separate times to make the film, with Marre and Glenville both being fired early in the project, and Hiller responsible for the final result. However, according to associate producer Saul Chaplin
, it was not Hiller who was responsible for the final physical look of the film.
Man of La Mancha was Damiani's only film made for theatrical release.
A production of Verdi's Macbeth with Damiani's set designs is available on DVD, as is the film version of Man of La Mancha, and the 1968 Cavalleria Rusticana.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
stage and costume designer, who worked both for theatre and opera productions.
Theatre and opera productions
Damiani studied painting and only by chance started working for the stage. Soon he became a close collaborator of Giorgio StrehlerGiorgio Strehler
Giorgio Strehler was an Italian opera and theatre director.-Biography:Strehler was born in Barcola, Trieste to an Austrian father and a Franco-Slovene mother; he grew up speaking Italian but spoke French well and his German was passable. He became suddenly fatherless at the age of three, his...
at Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
's Piccolo Teatro. International fame came with his famous stage designs for Goldoni's
Carlo Goldoni
Carlo Osvaldo Goldoni was an Italian playwright and librettist from the Republic of Venice. His works include some of Italy's most famous and best-loved plays. Audiences have admired the plays of Goldoni for their ingenious mix of wit and honesty...
Le baruffe chiozzote (Piccolo Teatro, 1964, staged by Strehler) and for Mozart's
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
Die Entführung aus dem Serail
Die Entführung aus dem Serail
Die Entführung aus dem Serail is an opera Singspiel in three acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The German libretto is by Christoph Friedrich Bretzner with adaptations by Gottlieb Stephanie...
at the Salzburg Festival
Salzburg Festival
The Salzburg Festival is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer within the Austrian town of Salzburg, the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart...
1965 (staged by Strehler, conducted by Zubin Mehta
Zubin Mehta
Zubin Mehta is an Indian conductor of western classical music. He is the Music Director for Life of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.-Biography:...
). This production soon became legendary and was revived several times until 1975.
In 1966 Damiani created his first stage design for La Scala
La Scala
La Scala , is a world renowned opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the New Royal-Ducal Theatre at La Scala...
(Cavalleria rusticana
Cavalleria rusticana
Cavalleria rusticana is an opera in one act by Pietro Mascagni to an Italian libretto by Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti and Guido Menasci, adapted from a play written by Giovanni Verga based on his short story. Considered one of the classic verismo operas, it premiered on May 17, 1890 at the Teatro...
, staged by Strehler, and conducted by Herbert von Karajan
Herbert von Karajan
Herbert von Karajan was an Austrian orchestra and opera conductor. To the wider world he was perhaps most famously associated with the Berlin Philharmonic, of which he was principal conductor for 35 years...
). This production was filmed and eventually televised on PBS's Great Performances
Great Performances
Great Performances, a television series devoted to the performing arts, has been telecast on Public Broadcasting Service public television since 1972...
.
His debut at the Vienna State Opera
Vienna State Opera
The Vienna State Opera is an opera house – and opera company – with a history dating back to the mid-19th century. It is located in the centre of Vienna, Austria. It was originally called the Vienna Court Opera . In 1920, with the replacement of the Habsburg Monarchy by the First Austrian...
was a controversial Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and with an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It was premiered by the Prague Italian opera at the Teatro di Praga on October 29, 1787...
in 1967 (staged by Otto Schenk
Otto Schenk
Otto Schenk is an Austrian actor, and theater and opera director.-Life and career:Schenk was born to Catholic parents. His father, a lawyer, had Jewish roots and therefore lost his job after the Anschluss in 1938...
, conducted by Josef Krips
Josef Krips
Josef Alois Krips was an Austrian conductor and violinist.-Biography:Krips was born in Vienna and went on to become a pupil of Eusebius Mandyczewski and Felix Weingartner. From 1921 to 1924, he served as Weingartner's assistant at the Vienna Volksoper and as répétiteur and chorus master...
, with Cesare Siepi
Cesare Siepi
Cesare Siepi was an Italian opera singer, generally considered to have been one of the finest basses of the post-war period. His voice was characterised by a deep, warm timbre, and a ringing, vibrant upper register. On stage, his tall, striking presence and elegance of phrasing made him a natural...
as the Don). In accordance with Schenk Damiani emphasized the opera's comic and ironic elements and chose to use elements of Northern Italian rather than Spanish architecture which surprised many viewers, resulting in controversies between Damiani and Krips. When Damiani appeared before the curtain he was both applauded and booed by the audience.
In the late 1960s Damiani started working predominantly with other directors rather than Strehler and even started directing himself. In 1969 he directed as well as designed Aida
Aida
Aida sometimes spelled Aïda, is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni, based on a scenario written by French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette...
for the Arena di Verona Festival
Arena di Verona Festival
The Arena di Verona Festival is a summer festival of opera, located in the city of Verona Italy. Since 1936, it has been organized under the auspices of an official body, first the Ente Autonomo Spettacoli Lirici Arena di Verona, , and then, following legislation in 1996 and...
(revived in 1970), though from time to time Damiani returned to the Piccolo Teatro and Strehler. He designed the sets for a noted 1974 production of Anton Chekhov
Anton Chekhov
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was a Russian physician, dramatist and author who is considered to be among the greatest writers of short stories in history. His career as a dramatist produced four classics and his best short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics...
's The Cherry Orchard
The Cherry Orchard
The Cherry Orchard is Russian playwright Anton Chekhov's last play. It premiered at the Moscow Art Theatre 17 January 1904 in a production directed by Constantin Stanislavski. Chekhov intended this play as a comedy and it does contain some elements of farce; however, Stanislavski insisted on...
. In 1974 both Strehler and Damiani returned to the Salzburg Festival for an ill fated production of Die Zauberflöte conducted by Karajan.
Also in 1975 Damiani started his collaboration with Luca Ronconi
Luca Ronconi
Luca Ronconi is an Italian actor, theater director, and opera director.- Biography :After growing up in Tunisia, where his mother was a school teacher, he graduated from the Academy of Dramatic Art in Rome in 1953. He acted in productions of Luigi Squarzina, Orazio Costa, Michelangelo Antonioni...
with The Birds by Aristophanes
Aristophanes
Aristophanes , son of Philippus, of the deme Cydathenaus, was a comic playwright of ancient Athens. Eleven of his forty plays survive virtually complete...
for Vienna's Burgtheater
Burgtheater
The Burgtheater , originally known as K.K. Theater an der Burg, then until 1918 as the K.K. Hofburgtheater, is the Austrian National Theatre in Vienna and one of the most important German language theatres in the world.The Burgtheater was created in 1741 and has become known as "die Burg" by the...
. In 1978 at La Scala Damiani designed the sets for Ronconi's production of Verdi's
Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers of the 19th century...
Don Carlo, conducted by Claudio Abbado
Claudio Abbado
Claudio Abbado, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI , is an Italian conductor. He has served as music director of the La Scala opera house in Milan, principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, principal guest conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, music director of the Vienna State Opera,...
. Verdi's Macbeth
Macbeth (opera)
Macbeth is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi, with an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave and additions by Andrea Maffei, based on Shakespeare's play of the same name...
was staged by Damiani and Ronconi for Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
's Deutsche Oper in 1980 (conducted by Giuseppe Sinopoli
Giuseppe Sinopoli
-Biography:Sinopoli was born in Venice, Italy, and later studied at the Benedetto Marcello Conservatory in Venice under Ernesto Rubin de Cervin and at Darmstadt, including being mentored in composition with Karlheinz Stockhausen...
).
In the early 1980s Damiani opened his own small theatre in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, the Teatro di documenti, where he directed and designed many plays. Only occasionally did he agree to work for other theatres and opera houses. In January 1986 he staged the premiere of the opera Salvatore Giuliano by Lorenzo Ferrero
Lorenzo Ferrero
Lorenzo Ferrero is a contemporary Italian composer with a predilection for opera, a librettist, author, and book editor. He started composing at an early age and wrote over a hundred compositions thus far, including twelve operas, three ballets, and numerous orchestral, chamber music, solo...
at the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma
Teatro dell'Opera di Roma
The Teatro dell'Opera di Roma is an opera house in Rome, Italy. Originally opened in November 1880 as the 2,212 seat Costanzi Theatre, it has undergone several changes of name as well modifications and improvements...
. This production became the subject of a monograph entitled Nascita di un'opera: Salvatore Giuliano, which was published in 1987 by photographer Lorenzo Capellini. Damiani returned to Vienna's Burgtheater in 1988 for Schiller's Wilhelm Tell staged by Claus Peymann. In 1996 he again worked for the Salzburg Festival designing La Traviata
La traviata
La traviata is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on La dame aux Camélias , a play adapted from the novel by Alexandre Dumas, fils. The title La traviata means literally The Fallen Woman, or perhaps more figuratively, The Woman...
(conducted by Riccardo Muti
Riccardo Muti
Riccardo Muti, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI is an Italian conductor and music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.-Childhood and education:...
and staged by Lluis Pasqual).
Damiani, though not well known to the general American public, is generally regarded as one of the leading stage designers of the 20th century.
Production designer for Man of La Mancha
Damiani designed the sets and costumes for the 1972 film, Man of La ManchaMan of La Mancha (film)
Man of La Mancha is a 1972 film adaptation of the Broadway musical Man of La Mancha by Dale Wasserman, with music by Mitch Leigh and lyrics by Joe Darion...
, based on the hit Broadway musical. Star Peter O'Toole
Peter O'Toole
Peter Seamus Lorcan O'Toole is an Irish actor of stage and screen. O'Toole achieved stardom in 1962 playing T. E. Lawrence in Lawrence of Arabia, and then went on to become a highly-honoured film and stage actor. He has been nominated for eight Academy Awards, and holds the record for most...
, who portrayed both Miguel de Cervantes
Miguel de Cervantes
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra was a Spanish novelist, poet, and playwright. His magnum opus, Don Quixote, considered the first modern novel, is a classic of Western literature, and is regarded amongst the best works of fiction ever written...
and his literary creation Don Quixote in the film, was only one of several who reportedly criticized Damiani's sets as being "too depressing"; however, the creators of the stage musical intended the physical look of it to be rather plain, as they specified in articles written for the original souvenir program of the show, so the drabness of the film's sets may have been quite intentional. Those who criticized them may have been expecting the standard "pretty" set designs usually found in movie musicals.
The single set for the original stage production, suggesting the interior of a dungeon, consisted of a plain four leaf clover-shaped stonelike slab, with a huge drawbridge
Drawbridge
A drawbridge is a type of movable bridge typically associated with the entrance of a castle surrounded by a moat. The term is often used to describe all different types of movable bridges, like bascule bridges and lift bridges.-Castle drawbridges:...
-like staircase to allow prisoners to enter and exit. There was also a grille overhead to allow light into the dungeon, and a trap door in the floor which opened to allow for a subterranean level. Every other scenic element was only imagined or vaguely suggested, as in an improvised play (audiences never actually saw the windmill that Don Quixote tilts at, and a single mattress with a cushion served as a bed).
The film, being more "realistic", featured more literal scenery. Don Quixote's fight with the windmill was actually shown, in an elaborately staged sequence, instead of taking place offstage as in the play. The two largest sets in the film consisted of the interior of the dungeon, and the courtyard of a shabby inn, respectively. Don Quixote's bedroom was also shown, as were the kitchen of the inn and the plains of what was supposed to be La Mancha
La Mancha
La Mancha is a natural and historical region or greater comarca located on an arid, fertile, elevated plateau of central Spain, south of Madrid, stretching between the Montes de Toledo and the western spurs of the Serrania de Cuenca. It is bounded on the south by the Sierra Morena and on the north...
(but was actually Italy). There was also a vastly more colorful town square featured in the opening scene - a scene not included in the original stage version, which showed a religious festival. Three different directors, Albert Marre
Albert Marre
Albert Marre is an American director and producer in the theatre.Born in New York City, Marre made his Broadway debut as an actor and associate director of the 1950 revival of John Vanbrugh's Restoration comedy The Relapse...
, Peter Glenville
Peter Glenville
Peter Glenville , born Peter Patrick Brabazon Browne, was an English film and stage actor and director.-Biography:...
, and Arthur Hiller
Arthur Hiller
Arthur Hiller, OC is a Canadian film director. His filmography includes 33 major studio releases, including the 1970 film Love Story...
were hired at separate times to make the film, with Marre and Glenville both being fired early in the project, and Hiller responsible for the final result. However, according to associate producer Saul Chaplin
Saul Chaplin
Saul Chaplin was an American composer and musical director.He was born Saul Kaplan in Brooklyn, New York.He had worked on stage, screen and television since the days of Tin Pan Alley...
, it was not Hiller who was responsible for the final physical look of the film.
Man of La Mancha was Damiani's only film made for theatrical release.
A production of Verdi's Macbeth with Damiani's set designs is available on DVD, as is the film version of Man of La Mancha, and the 1968 Cavalleria Rusticana.