Berman, Eugene. (1899-1972): Costume Design for Don Giovanni, 1952

Description: Berman, Eugene. (1899-1972): Costume Design for Don Giovanni, 1952 Berman, Eugene. (1899-1972): Costume Design for Don Giovanni, 1952 Berman, Eugene. (1899-1972) Costume Design for Don Giovanni, 1952 Original Costume Design for Don Juan, by the eminent Russian Neo-romantic painters and theater and opera designers. Ink on paper. Signed and dated E.B. 1952 (lc); inscribed Bride (lr) and Don Juan (uc). 14 3/4 x 11 inches (37.5 x 27.9 cm). Nicely framed. Unexamined out of frame but in apparently fine condition. Eugene Berman was one of the world's most acclaimed theatrical designers of his time. Born in Russia, he emigrated first to Paris, and then to America and his career had two parallel strands, one painting and one theatre design, although the two overlapped stylistically. Berman was heavily influenced by nineteenth-century Romanticism and many of his images have a sense of melancholy, of the sublime and of the theatrical. Though we have not been able to identify a production associated with this 1952 drawing, it is possible the artist was designing without commission. Berman designed the sets and costumes for five productions at The Met under the watch of Rudolf Bing, the General Manager between 1950 and 1972. These were Rigoletto, La Forza del Destino, Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Don Giovanni and Otello . All were critically-acclaimed, uséd for many seasons and marked a high point in the history of theatrical design. To design Don Giovanni, in particular, had been a life-long ambition for Berman. In 1941 he wrote to Edward Johnson (an earlier General Manager at The Met): "I don't know if you are aware of it or not, but my great interest in the theatre lies even more in the opera than in the Ballet and my greatest desire is to design a classic or romantic opera, Mozart, Gluck or Verdi. Most of all: Don Giovanni , no opera is more beautiful and complete to me than this.". His desire was fulfilled when Bing wrote to him in October 1956 with an official invitation to design Don Giovanni for the 1957/58 season. The director for the production was Herbert Graf. Over the next year designs for the set and costumes flew back and forth between Berman, Bing and Graf. The opera premiered on 31 October 1957. Berman's dreamlike designs were a triumph and proved so popular in subsequent seasons at The Met that they were only replaced in 1990. [Tuggle, Robert. Eugene Berman. Drawings for the Stage. Wheelock Whitney & Company. 1989; Duncan, Michael. High Drama. Eugene Berman and the Legacy of the Melancholic Sublime. Hudson Hills. 2004.] Schubertiade Music & Arts LLC - BUY WITH CONFIDENCE! ***ALL AUTOGRAPHS GUARANTEED AUTHENTIC WITHOUT LIMIT*** I was the President of the Professional Autograph Dealers Association from 2013-2018 and a leading and trusted authenticator of autographs, including for many of the world's auction houses and for James Spence (JSA). Schubertiade Music & Arts are also members in good standing of ABAA/ILAB, the most exclusive consortium of Rare Book and Manuscript Dealers in the world, as well as the MLA (Music Librarian Association), and MARIAB (Massachusetts and Rhode Island Antiquarian Booksellers). You can read more about us by searching for Schubertiade Music & Arts and may buy with utmost confidence! SCHUBERTIADE MUSIC & ARTS deals in Music, Entertainment, Literary and other Autographs, Antiquarian Music, Books, Prints, Photographs & Paintings and Ephemera. Please read more about us in our "about me" page by clicking next to our username / feedback listing. We issue seasonal and occasional catalogues - please contact us if you would like to receive notifications or let us know about your collection. Everything we offer is guaranteed authentic without limit and is so stated on the signed and detailed receipt which comes with every item. Because this Guarantee is attached to an actual and meaningful money-back guarantee (see our Terms for further details), this is much more significant than most COAs which are generally but worthless pieces of paper if not issued by recognized experts in the field and backed by a real authenticity return policy. We accept payment by ALL MAJOR CREDIT CARDS, Check, and by Paypal. Shipping Charges are as listed and are not subject to negotiation. We will of course be happy to combine shipments and do NOT charge multiple shipping charges except for large/heavy items which naturally affect the cost. We ship exclusively via insured FedEx and pride ourselves on our thorough and expert packaging. Berman, Eugene. (1899-1972) Costume Design for Don Giovanni, 1952 Original Costume Design for Don Juan, by the eminent Russian Neo-romantic painters and theater and opera designers. Ink on paper. Signed and dated E.B. 1952 (lc); inscribed Bride (lr) and Don Juan (uc). 14 3/4 x 11 inches (37.5 x 27.9 cm). Nicely framed. Unexamined out of frame but in apparently fine condition. Eugene Berman was one of the world's most acclaimed theatrical designers of his time. Born in Russia, he emigrated first to Paris, and then to America and his career had two parallel strands, one painting and one theatre design, although the two overlapped stylistically. Berman was heavily influenced by nineteenth-century Romanticism and many of his images have a sense of melancholy, of the sublime and of the theatrical. Though we have not been able to identify a production associated with this 1952 drawing, it is possible the artist was designing without commission. Berman designed the sets and costumes for five productions at The Met under the watch of Rudolf Bing, the General Manager between 1950 and 1972. These were Rigoletto, La Forza del Destino, Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Don Giovanni and Otello . All were critically-acclaimed, uséd for many seasons and marked a high point in the history of theatrical design. To design Don Giovanni, in particular, had been a life-long ambition for Berman. In 1941 he wrote to Edward Johnson (an earlier General Manager at The Met): "I don't know if you are aware of it or not, but my great interest in the theatre lies even more in the opera than in the Ballet and my greatest desire is to design a classic or romantic opera, Mozart, Gluck or Verdi. Most of all: Don Giovanni , no opera is more beautiful and complete to me than this.". His desire was fulfilled when Bing wrote to him in October 1956 with an official invitation to design Don Giovanni for the 1957/58 season. The director for the production was Herbert Graf. Over the next year designs for the set and costumes flew back and forth between Berman, Bing and Graf. The opera premiered on 31 October 1957. Berman's dreamlike designs were a triumph and proved so popular in subsequent seasons at The Met that they were only replaced in 1990. [Tuggle, Robert. Eugene Berman. Drawings for the Stage. Wheelock Whitney & Company. 1989; Duncan, Michael. High Drama. Eugene Berman and the Legacy of the Melancholic Sublime. Hudson Hills. 2004.] Schubertiade Music & Arts LLC - BUY WITH CONFIDENCE! ***ALL AUTOGRAPHS GUARANTEED AUTHENTIC WITHOUT LIMIT*** I was the President of the Professional Autograph Dealers Association from 2013-2018 and a leading and trusted authenticator of autographs, including for many of the world's auction houses and for James Spence (JSA). Schubertiade Music & Arts are also members in good standing of ABAA/ILAB, the most exclusive consortium of Rare Book and Manuscript Dealers in the world, as well as the MLA (Music Librarian Association), and MARIAB (Massachusetts and Rhode Island Antiquarian Booksellers). You can read more about us by searching for Schubertiade Music & Arts and may buy with utmost confidence! SCHUBERTIADE MUSIC & ARTS deals in Music, Entertainment, Literary and other Autographs, Antiquarian Music, Books, Prints, Photographs & Paintings and Ephemera. Please read more about us in our "about me" page by clicking next to our username / feedback listing. We issue seasonal and occasional catalogues - please contact us if you would like to receive notifications or let us know about your collection. Everything we offer is guaranteed authentic without limit and is so stated on the signed and detailed receipt which comes with every item. Because this Guarantee is attached to an actual and meaningful money-back guarantee (see our Terms for further details), this is much more significant than most COAs which are generally but worthless pieces of paper if not issued by recognized experts in the field and backed by a real authenticity return policy. We accept payment by ALL MAJOR CREDIT CARDS, Check, and by Paypal. Shipping Charges are as listed and are not subject to negotiation. We will of course be happy to combine shipments and do NOT charge multiple shipping charges except for large/heavy items which naturally affect the cost. We ship exclusively via insured FedEx and pride ourselves on our thorough and expert packaging.eBay integration by eBay integration by

Price: 1650 USD

Location: Brooklyn, New York

End Time: 2024-12-04T20:40:36.000Z

Shipping Cost: 20 USD