Maquette for shift from street to Dr. Bartolo's house in The Barber of Seville
Maker and role
Artist: Helen Pond, American, 1924-2017
Artist: Herbert Senn, American, 1924-2003
Year
ca. 1979
Object detail
Media/Materials
Painted paper and board, with wire and plastic
Measurements
22 1/2 x 34 3/4 x 19 3/4in (57.2 x 88.3 x 50.2cm)
Credit line
Gift of Robert L. B. Tobin
Accession number
TL1999.249
Object type
Department
Location
Theatre production
Opera by Gioachino Rossini. Produced by the Opera Company of Boston, 1979.
Further information
This is a model for the complete set of this two-act opera, made possible by Pond and Senn's ingeniously engineered moving or rotating parts. The second floor "bird cage" room has a transparent floor so that stage light from above will reach the first floor room as well. At Beverly Sills' request, the New York City Opera took this set on a year-long tour, and it was the first opera to be televised on "Live from Lincoln Center."
Pond and Senn note: "The 'birdcage' room is symbolically important to the plot. You see the lovely heiress Rosina is being kept a virtual prisoner by her guardian, Dr. Bartolo, who hopes to keep her away from young suitors so that he might marry her. But her cage as a balcony, and already she has attracted a serenader - a poor student. Except that he is not poor at all, but the Count Almavira in disguise. Allied with the clever barber, Figaro, they eventually outwit Dr. Bartolo.
Pond and Senn note: "The 'birdcage' room is symbolically important to the plot. You see the lovely heiress Rosina is being kept a virtual prisoner by her guardian, Dr. Bartolo, who hopes to keep her away from young suitors so that he might marry her. But her cage as a balcony, and already she has attracted a serenader - a poor student. Except that he is not poor at all, but the Count Almavira in disguise. Allied with the clever barber, Figaro, they eventually outwit Dr. Bartolo.
Associated person
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