IDOMENEO

Idomeneo features much of Mozart’s very best music, with grandiose choruses, powerful storm scenes and arias that take the audience’s breath away — not to mention the singers’.   For the production’s contemporary art direction by designer Paul Brown, Imago was commissioned to engineer three colossal letter sculptures to float above the final scene of act one, in which Cretan troops disembarking from Idomeneo's ship are met by their families, and sacrifice to Neptune.

Professionally amateur

Designer Paul Brown’s vision called for 4-meter-tall balloon letters spelling out the Swedish word for “Home” to be brought on stage by the actors portraying the families of Idomeneo’s troops, and float overhead during the climactic sacrifice scene of act one.   A strict requirement for the letters (which were meant to have been made by the families themselves) was that they should look uneven and homemade. This required the design and construction of lightweight carbon fiber frames to maintian structural integrity, while allowing the letters to remain flexible and buoyant.

8 WEEKS AT THE
GOTHENBURG OPERA
WORKSHOPS

Idomeneo ran for a total of 13 shows, across 6 weeks, in fall of 2016. During this time, Imago had the luxury of working on location with the wonderful and incredibly talented scenographers, builders, designers, and stage crew at the Gothenburg Opera.   An unforgettable experience!