MIRJAM AIMLA

FIDELIO

Author: Ludwig van Beethoven

Tutor: Inga Vares

Stage design model of

Estonian National Opera Theatre

Model in the scale of 1:50

2015

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        “Fidelio” is Ludwig van Beethoven’s only opera. The plot of Jean-Nicolas Bouilly tells a story about a brave woman Leonore, who masks herself into a young man named Fidelio. She starts working as a prison guard to save her husband – nobleman Florestan – from political imprisonment, which he got himself into when threatening to disclose the crimes committed by the prison warden Pizarro. The joy – or tragedy – is addedto the opera by a love triangle: Marzelline, the daughter of the prison guard Rocco, unexpectedly falls in love with Fidelio, while Jacquino, the assistant of Rocco is in love with the girl and asks her to marry him. “Fidelio” is an opera about unjust suffering, self-sacrifice, heroism and the grandiose victory of justice.

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        Upon creating the design for the opera, I was mostly inspired by the surrounding environment and nature. Since I studied in the Knighthood House at the period, I was inspired by the walls of the Old Town and used a giant leaning stone wall as the prison house in the first act, which looks like it is falling upon the protagonists any minute. The wall is held up by two golden trees. The design elements stress the anguished mood that grows in the first scene. I solved the underground prison cell of Florestan as bars created by the giant roots of the same trees. The floor is covered by a soil-like carpet. In costume design, I used the possibilities offered by the opera genre, creating grand attention-grabbing costumes. To balance the massive forms, I used pastel hues, which harmonize with the decorations inspired by nature. In the costumes of the prisoners I used metal hoops, which symbolize that the characters are chained to the prison regime and obeying the prison ward Pizzarro. In choice of the material, I kept in mind the position and traits of the character.