Die Zauberflöte

Die Zauberflöte Costume Sketches Utah Opera March 2006
Production	Thaddeus Strassberger
Conductor	Robert Tweten
Scenic Design	Thaddeus Strassberger
Costume Design	Susan Memmott Allred

Time and Place: Egypt. Early 1800's -- Napoleon's forces have invaded Egypt in a vain attempt to expand the empire ever-southward. The Ottomans have resisted and successfully driven the European forces out. In their panicked flight, an a young, but high-ranking, officer named Tamino was left behind. In a strange, unknown land, he confronts many things he's never seen before. Our Egypt is filled with a myriad of influences from the "mysterious East" -- enchanting women in sarees, looking as if they've escaped from the set of 10001 Arabian Nights, indigenous African tribesmen, Persian scholars, Berber bedouins, traders from all points on the globe, selling silks, jewelery, spices, and exotic perfumes. The overall effect is the fusion created when the worlds of an chaos of an Indiana-Jones style marketplace, meets the sublime elegance of Persian courtly poetry and the quest for a truer, deeper understanding of a universal human spirituality. CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO SEE A LARGER VERSION

Tamino is a "hero" by Western standards in his formal military uniform, but he is woefully under-equipped for the challenges that will face him the harsh desert climate of the uncharted Egypt.	As he undergoes the various trials in his initiation process, he is slowly transformed into a more enlightened young man. He sheds his artificial valor for a more humble garment.

Much like the traditional images of Satan in Western literature, the Queen of the Night is a shape-shifter, appearing to others as they would like to see her. Hence, her first appearance takes on the guise of western-style riding jacket as she descends from the clouds on her flying camel. Imploring with the intially terrified Tamino, she appears so familiar that his anxiety eventually diminishes.	Seen in the second act in a more intimate setting with her daughter Pamina, we see the Queen as she really is -- a vain, aging temptress who is quickly losing power to the Forces of Light.

Beautiful sarees give these women and ancient, yet timeless elegance. Color, sparkle and movement make it impossible for you not to watch their every sly gesture as they manipulate the men around them.	The Three Boys, in an inversion of their more commonplace personfication of the air, are creatures of the earth. From dust we are created, and to dust we will return. They appear as spritely, wily "lost children" from the depths of the bosom of the powerful Mother Earth. Covered in very mud from which we once sprang forth, they are immediately trustworthy, clever and strangely wise for the tender years they show us. Dressed simply in natural materials such as grass, bark, clay and earth, they adorn themselves with the detritus of society whether we notice it or not.

Culture determines status, not some absolute pre-ordained hierarchy. Monostatos once thrived in another society where his complete body-markings were a sign a prestige and honor. Having been defeated, his outer appearance now identifies him as someone to be loathed and detested.	In a vain attempt to distract from his indelible tatuage, he dresses in all sorts of colorful indigenous fabrics. Ultimately, his "blackness" is not something that he was born with, but something that he acquired in life, and he cannot find peace.

The Speaker and the Slaves are representatives of Sarastro, but not Initiates themselves. The opposite of lightness, they are cloaked in darkness.	Sarastro, the most enlightened of them all, creates energy and radiates it to others. A combination of symbols -- Masonic, Christian, Persian and Muslim -- create a sense of awe and wonderment amongst his disciples. He has risen above the factions that man has created and towards a more universal truth.

Hermetic in nature, the men who are still seeking the path towards the light have renounced all worldly comforts in their quest.	While performing the rituals of Isis and Osiris, and the Trials of Fire, they are required to create a more acceptable facade, not yet believing themselves to be worthy before their gods.

Women wearing the traditional three piece salawaars, found widely throughout northern Africa, the Middle East, and India, are the bringers of life and the keepers of the outside world. Serving no less an important task, they are relieved of the task of initiation, having already eaten the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge. When assisting in performing the rituals in the temple, however, they too are required to cloak themselves in humility before the awesomeness of the gods.	The women apply decorative face painting in honor of the successful union of Tamino and Pamina.