And it’s finished! The final piece of the designs for the opera Noye’s Fludde – the winds and the storm, is off the windswept washing line, and is all packed up ready for the Performances in Tewkesbury Abbey on July 3rd and 4th.
This was too large to photograph complete, so you’ll have to imagine a ship’s sail, almost 6 metres wide, over 2 metres deep. I only had one day to design and paint it after an earlier plan for the sail fell through. And it used gallons of paint; there was no time to go shopping for fabric pants (in any case they are too expensive); I resorted to emulsion and acrylic ink!
It was next too impossible to paint it anywhere but outside. It was appropriately stormy, with strong winds and heavy showers, flipping paints and brushes around and staining the lawn blue… The fabric, meanwhile, sucks the life out the colours and this is truly the most windswept and stormy piece of art I’ve ever created. I hope that energy is preserved and comes across in the performances!
Three poles will be inserted, a central one (the “mast”) and supports at the sides. Three children will carry it high above the deck (on 4 metre poles) during the storm sequence in Britten’s opera. Director Edward Derbyshire and I have opted for a moving, fluid design rather than fixed objects; we hope it will be a very musical solution, visually simple but arresting. It will be unfurled as the congregation join in with the hymn, “Eternal Father Strong To Save”, and sea creatures will dart around the ark as we all sing “For Those in Peril on the Sea!”
In Cheltenham, the music festival people are busy finishing off the design elements being created there, while rehearsals are in full swing for the music and choreography. Just over a week to go and almost all seated tickets are sold. But standing tickets are available and offer great value and an up-front view.
To book, visit the website: http://www.cheltenhamfestivals.com/music/whats-on/list
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