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GCLOAKROOM CORRIDOR

WELCOME

MARIA CALLAS and The Royal OperaMaria Callas is one of the iconic fi gures of the 20th century. The soprano appeared with the Covent Garden Opera Company, now The Royal Opera, in six works between 1952 and 1965.

In November 2012, it will be the 60th anniversary of her debut with the Covent Garden Opera Company, in Bellini’s Norma. This small exhibition of photographs and costume items illustrates Callas’s appearances at the Royal Opera House.

Photographs on display show Maria Callas in Bellini’s Norma in 1952, Cherubini’s Medea in 1959, Verdi’s La traviata in 1958, and Puccini’s Tosca in 1964.

GCLOAKROOM CORRIDOR

Maria Callas and The Royal Opera

Georg Solti and The Royal Opera

Kenneth MacMillan: 24 September 2012

Rudolf Nureyev:22 December 2012

Frederick Ashton:12 February 2013

Rear Left Case Iconic red dress and gold shawl designed by Marcel Esco� er and worn by Maria Callas as Tosca in a new production of Puccini’s Tosca, directed by Franco Ze� relli in 1964

Rear Right CaseCostume designed by Alan Barlow and worn by Callas as Norma in Bellini’s Norma, 1952. This was Callas’s debut with the Covent Garden Opera Company, now The Royal Opera

Front Left Case Tiara and a pair of red shoes worn by Callas as Tosca in Puccini’s Tosca, 1964

Front Right CaseNecklace designed by John Tsarouchis and worn by Callas as Medea in Cherubini’s Medea, 1959

Costume and accessories worn by Callas as Floria Tosca in Act II of The Royal Opera’s new production of Puccini’s Tosca, 1964©2012, Royal Opera House/Royal Opera House Collections

Callas as Floria Tosca in Act II of The Royal Opera’s new production of Puccini’s Tosca, 1964©1964, Royal Opera House/Donald Southern

ABOUT

Royal Opera House CollectionsMaterial in the Royal Opera House Collections records the history of the three theatres that have stood on the Covent Garden site since 1732, and the performances they have housed. The majority of material in the Collections is generated through the work of the Royal Opera House and its di� erent departments. Additionally, ROH Collections commissions and generates material through specifi c project work, and houses Special Collections that have been donated or purchased. Each Season, between September and August, there are two main exhibitions at the Royal Opera House, which can be seen throughout the building.

For further details visit www.rohcollections.org.uk

Cover images: Maria Callas as Violetta in Verdi’s La traviata, 1957–8 revival©1958, Royal Opera House/Roger Wood

Georg Solti ©Terry O’Neill

Box O� ce +44 (0)20 7304 4000 Online booking www.roh.org.uk

FORTHCOMING EXHIBITIONS

Nadia NerinaPrincipal Ballerina with The Royal BalletMarch– 31 July 2013A unique opportunity to view material from Nadia Nerina’s own collection, formerly the property of Charles Gordon, Nerina’s husband, and recently donated to Royal Opera House Collections through the generosity of the Philip Loubser Foundation.

Nadia Nerina and David Blair in La Fille mal gardée, 20 January 1960 Houston Rogers/©V&A Images/V&A Theatre Collections

CLOAKROOM CORRIDOR

Isabel RawsthorneMoving BodiesMarch– 31 July 2013

The Royal Opera House is delighted to welcome this touring exhibition, created by The New Art Gallery, Walsall, to mark the centenary of artist Isabel Rawsthorne’s birth on 10 July 1912. Rawsthorne spent nearly twenty years drawing and painting dancers including Margot Fonteyn, Svetlana Beriosova, Antoinette Sibley and Rudolf Nureyev in the rehearsal studios of The Royal Ballet. Her works could be said to be as much portraits as they are an exploration of a way to depict dancers in fl ight.

GPIAZZA LINK

PIAZZA LINK Photographic exhibitions in the Piazza Link this Season commemorate three artists who have played a signifi cant part in the history of The Royal Ballet.

Kenneth MacMillan 24 September–19 December

Rudolf Nureyev 22 December–8 February 2013

Frederick Ashton 12 February–31 July 2013

Exhibition ToursGeorg Solti exhibition tours are available on selected days. There may also be the opportunity to see two Solti artworks:the sculpture by Elisabeth Frink in the Pit Lobby and The Magician of Music, the Wizard of the Wand by AndrewLogan that hangs behind the stage. These can also be seen on the daily backstage tours.

Please check with the Box O� ce or visit www.roh.org.uk/tours

Frederick Ashton in Façade, 1935Gordon Anthony/©V&A Images/V&A Theatre Collections

Above: Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev in Marguerite and Armand, 1963©Frederika Davis

Left: Kenneth MacMillan, Beryl Grey and John Field in Ballet Imperial, 1950©1950 Royal Opera House /Roger Wood

Right: Callas as Norma in Bellini’s Norma in 1952©1952, Royal Opera House/Roger Wood

Below: Necklace worn by Callas as Medea in Cherubini’s Medea, 1959

Margot Fonteyn as Chloë: gouache, charcoal and white chalk on paper (c1967–9) by Isabel Rawsthorne (1912–92)Courtesy of the artist’s estate

Solti-Callas leaflet final.indd 1 13/09/2012 09:13

WELCOME

GEORG SOLTI and The Royal OperaThis exhibition from Royal Opera House Collections is one of a series of events worldwide marking the centenary of the birth of Georg Solti on 21 October 2012. Solti played a vital role in the development of The Royal Opera during his decade-long tenure as Music Director (1961–71), building up the resident company of British singers and raising musical standards to unprecedented heights. For more than 30 years Solti continued a fruitful association with The Royal Opera and in 1992 was created Music Director Laureate on the occasion of his 80th birthday. The exhibition provides an overview of his work here at the Royal Opera House and includes costumes, designs and photographs. A particular highlight is material kindly lent by Lady Solti and the Solti Family Archive.

The exhibition starts in the Carriage Entranceway and can be followed

using this leafl et. Please note that there are no longer any exhibition

cases in the Paul Hamlyn Hall.

Left: Georg Solti and Amy Shuard in rehearsal for Schoenberg’s Erwartung, 1962Photographer unknown

Far left: Georg Solti in rehearsal for Wagner’s Parsifal, 1979 ©1979, Royal Opera House/Donald Southern

Maria Callas and The Royal Opera

Georg Solti and The Royal Opera

Kenneth MacMillan: 24 September 2012

Rudolf Nureyev:22 December 2012

Frederick Ashton:12 February 2013

CARRIAGE ENTRANCEWAY COSTUME GALLERYG

FOYER LINKG

CARRIAGE ENTRANCEWAY The costumes on display here recall just a few of the many operas Georg Solti conducted with The Royal Opera.

Far Left Case

Georg Solti knew and was inspired by the composer Richard Strauss. His favourite Strauss work was Salome and he conducted a new production of the opera at the Royal Opera House in 1970.

The highly detailed costumes designed by Andrzej Majewski were worn by Grace Bumbry as Salome and Ragnar Ulfung as Herod.

Left Case

Solti conducted a new and highly successful production of Verdi’s La traviata with The Royal Opera in 1994. Violetta was sung by the young Romanian soprano Angela Gheorghiu and the performance confi rmed her international career.

The replica of the silver rose used in Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier was presented to Solti by the Royal Opera House Props department in 1992.

Right Case

In 1962, early in his tenure as Music Director, Georg Solti conducted an evening of three short operas directed by Peter Ustinov. The yellow ball dress was designed by Jean-Pierre Ponelle and worn by Mary Costa as Concepcion in Ravel’s L’Heure espagnole.

The simple mushroom-coloured dress was designed by Günther Schneider-Siemssen and worn by Amy Shuard as The Woman in the fi rst performance of Schoenberg’s Erwartung at the Royal Opera House.

Far Right Case

Solti returned to the Royal Opera House in 1992 to conduct a revival of Verdi’s Otello to mark his 80th birthday. Kiri Te Kanawa was Desdemona and Plácido Domingo Otello, with costumes designed by Peter J. Hall. In recognition of his special relationship with the Royal Opera House Solti was made Music Director Laureate of The Royal Opera, the only conductor to have been so honoured.

2AMPHITHEATRE BAR

2AMPHITHEATRE GALLERY

Georg Solti and The Royal Opera

FOYER LINK During his fi rst month as Music Director Georg Solti conducted a new production of Wagner’s Die Walküre directed by the singer Hans Hotter and designed by Herbert Kern. The design of the production was not successful and Günther Schneider-Siemssen was engaged to design the complete Ring cycle over the next two years.

In 1964, Solti conducted the complete Ring cycle for the fi rst time, in a production directed by Hans Hotter. The Cycle was revived in 1966, 1967, 1968 and 1970.

The wall cases hold material illustrating both of these Ring productions and include one of Solti’s scores for Götterdämmerung, on loan from Lady Solti and the Solti Family Archive.

A mixture of photographs, including images of Georg Solti in rehearsal, set and costume designs and posters illustrate Georg Solti’s work at the Royal Opera House.

Solti’s early life is explored with the help of material loaned by Lady Solti and the Solti Family Archive that gives an insight into what drove him to become one of the great musicians and conductors of the 20th century.

His fi rst appearance at the Royal Opera House conducting for Colonel de Basil’s Ballets Russes de Monte Carlo season in 1938 and his fi rst appearances conducting the Covent Garden Opera Company in Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier in 1959 are recalled. In 1961 Solti was appointed Music Director of the Covent Garden Opera Company, a post he held until 1971. Material recalls productions from 1961–4 and the curved wall holds material illustrating Solti’s Ring cycle.

Highlights of the Solti years at the Royal Opera House from 1964–71 are recalled through photographs, designs and posters.

Solti’s stated aim when he became Music Director was to turn the Covent Garden Opera Company into the best company in the world. By the late 1960s it became clear that he had succeeded. The Company received the Royal Charter in 1968 and became The Royal Opera, the national opera company. Solti also took The Royal Opera on its fi rst overseas tour to Berlin and Munich in 1970.

Solti returned regularly to the Royal Opera House to conduct The Royal Opera between 1971 and 1997.

At the end of the Amphitheatre Gallery there is a rare opportunity to see the portrait of Georg Solti painted by Maggi Hambling in 1985, which is on loan from Lady Solti and the Solti Family Archive.

Information panels throughout the exhibition provide further details of Solti’s career at the Royal Opera House.

AMPHITHEATRE GALLERY

AMPHITHEATRE BAR In the le© hand case is a costume designed by Franco Ze� relli and worn by Geraint Evans as Leporello in a new production of Mozart’s Don Giovanni in 1962. In the photograph to the right of the case, Georg Solti can be seen conducting a rehearsal of this production in the orchestra pit at the Royal Opera House.

The far case has a costume designed by Lila de Nobili and worn by Peter Glossop as Rigoletto in the 1964 new production of Verdi’s Rigoletto directed by Franco Ze� relli.

Left: Georg Solti at the Farewell Gala, 14 July 1997©Rob Moore

Top right: Lisa Della Casa

and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau

in Strauss’s Arabella, 29

January 1965©1965, Royal

Opera House/Donald Southern

Below right: Georg Solti

with Elisabeth Schwarzkopf

during a break in rehearsals for

Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier,

1959©1959, Royal Opera House/Roger Wood

Replica silver rose from Der Rosenkavalier©2012, Royal Opera House/Royal Opera House Collections

Detail from Concepcion’s dress in L’Heure espagnole©2012, Royal Opera House/Royal Opera House Collections

Left: 1964 poster for Rigoletto

Solti’s scores for GötterdämmerungCourtesy of the Solti Family Archive

Right: Costume worn by Geraint Evans as

Leporello in a new production of Mozart’s

Don Giovanni, 1962

Costume designed by Günther Schneider-Siemssen and worn by Noreen Berry as Siegrune in

Die Walküre, 5 September 1964, and the sword for Siegfried designed by Herbert Kern, used in the 1962

revival of Die Walküre

©2012, Royal Opera House/Royal Opera House Collections

Solti-Callas leaflet final.indd 2 12/09/2012 07:32