Costume Design

During the first quarter of the 19th century, the trend of personalized costumes was more and more popular. Previously each singer was the owner of their own costumes and wore them in diverse productions, thus costume design became an important element of each production. In this way the random assembling of styles and colors was avoided and a consistent overall image was achieved, although without consulting the scenery designers.

During the 19th century, costumer designers followed the neo-historical style which dominated scenery design. These designers were rather “didactical” in nature, in the sense that the costume enhanced the character of the role. Thus light colors were frequently used for good characters and dark colors for sinister ones. Lovers had appropriate costumes. Good examples of 19th century costume design are the drawings of Brunetti and Chiappa from 1859 for the opera Vittore Pisani of Achille Peri (1812-1880). 

   

 

In contrast with the realistic and historical staging of the 19th century, Giorgio de Chirico (1888-1978) designed contemporary costumes and scenery. This costume design dates from 1933 and was intended for Bellini’s opera I Puritani. The unusual costumes created confusion with the public who were used to traditional settings. The design by Chirico was first seen during the first edition of the music festival I Maggio Muscale Fiorentino. On loan from Lo Presti.

 

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