The Golden Cockerel
New Opera NYC · Sheen Center for the Performing Arts, New York, NY · October 2017
Directed by: Igor Konyukhov
Conductor: J. David Jackson
Costume Design: Olga Maslova
Set Design: Zachary Crane
Lighting Design: Greg Mitchell
Rimsky-Korsakov’s satirical opera was reimagined with vivid, genre-blending visuals. The production featured a bold mix of Russian Neo-Nationalist aesthetics and 1970s Disco silhouettes. Costumes incorporated electric light elements and drew inspiration from artists such as Mikhail Vrubel and Ivan Bilibin.
Recognition:
Nominated by Opernwelt (Germany) for Best Costume Design, 2017
Featured in Opera News:
“Olga Maslova’s spectacular costumes blended the multi-hued palette of Russian Neo-Nationalist artists such as Rimsky’s collaborator Mikhail Vrubel and Ivan Bilibin with Disco-era silhouettes and sultry accouterments (including electric lights sewn onto both the Astrologer and the Queen of Shemakhan.) Beautiful stage images alternated with the cherished “high tastelessness” that Russians term poshlost”
“The costumes combine 1960s psychedelia with the primitive oriental look which Rimsky and librettist Belsky associated with czarist Russia. Day-Glo luminescent colors predominated. Rimsky would have enjoyed seeing the hippie attire of this production; he himself chose to wear blue-tinted, wire-rimmed glasses, even when he was in his 60s”
““These mad Russians, through sheer guts, improvisation, and imagination, whipped up a wild spectacle that surprised and dazzled the eye and ear.” ”
“Since fashion is increasingly becoming the default language of cultural diplomacy, costume designer Olga Maslova (University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign) has been tasked with creating a wardrobe capable of translating the tale’s universal truths into trend-savvy style symbols”...”Research into the world of new wealth and its exuberance infused with addiction to attributes of nationalism allowed me to create a royal court that I would call Babushka a la Versace...It’s fun, funny and instantly recognizable for the Instagram-ready audiences,” notes Maslova”
“The entire production team brought visual splendor to all this aural delight. The eye-popping costumes were by Olga Maslova who seemed to combine Russian folk themes with Star Wars and Hair and several other influences. We were reminded of Heartbeat Opera’s Mozart in Space last Halloween. We were constantly astonished by the originality which is difficult to describe”
