Theatre Design & Technology - Summer 1989 - 17

South American and European opera houses, but these are
reported to be fragmentary, badly worn, or in some cases
seriously damaged. Those few collections of scenic art that
have been preserved exist for the most part in Europe.
Most theatre historians and practitioners are familiar with
the exquisite cameo settings at Drottningholm in Sweden,
at Cesky-Krumlov in Czechoslovakia, or with the scenic
models at the Mozart-Geburtshaus in Salzburg, the theatre museum in Vienna, the contemporary collection at
Bristol, and at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. 1 Significantly, with the exception of the Bristol collection, none of the collections is available for study except for
on-site visitation. one, except the expensive black-andwhite folio edition produced by Drottningholm, has been
photographically documented and made available for use.
Of even greater significance is the fact that the preservation, display, and most importantly, the accessibility of
primary materials relative to significant examples of stage
scenery has been sadly neglected in the United States.
Other than the Armbruster Scenic Studio Collection at
Ohio State University and the Twin Cities Collection at
the University of Minnesota, none of any magnitude exists. Their absence cannot be blamed on physical deterioration. Although little knowledge exists about the
maximum life and preservation of scenery, we do know
that prior to 1930 all sets and drops were made of Irish
linen, which is considerably more durable than the muslin
used today.
The drops and flattage from the NIU/Lyric Opera of
Chicago Collection are a testament to the longevity and
artistic grandeur of those stage settings. Quite frequently,
for example, various drops from the collection were used as
decor for the Lyric Opera's annual benefit dinners held on
the stage of the Civic Opera House. A recent dinner meetings favored its guests with a backdrop from the 1923
production of Boris Gudonov, withdrawn from the warehouse and hung-umetouched-to grace the stage with
its splendor. Unfurled after almost seven decades of storage, the canvas brought reactions of amazement from both
the most ardent devotees of opera and the most laconic of
stagehands.
The few scenic designs thus far identified in the NIU/
Lyric Opera of Chicago Collection are exquisite examples
of a significant inheritance from our past, and hold tantalizing hopes for the potential of the entire collection. But
as inanimate paint and canvas they can do little by themselves to reveal the lost art they so beautifully embody.
The process of curating this beautiful though unwieldy art
form is arduous and expensive. It will probably take another five to ten years before the collection is fully ready
for detailed research and exhibition, and by that time we
hope to add to it significant exan1ples by contemporary
scen.ic practitioners, thereby creating for future ages and
audiences a continuous record and living heritage of one of
the most evanescent of all the arts.
Until the beginning of the current century, all that could
be preserved of grand opera was score, libretto, and renderings of costumes or settings. The NIU/Lyric Opera of
Chicago Collection will provide the oppOrtunity for contemporary viewers and subsequent audiences to view
firsthand the splendid settings of an earlier epoch that so
expertly produced in its stage settings such a synthesis of
life, art, and philosophy. In each of the remaining production settings, the collection has preserved both the harmoTD&T'SUMMER19B9

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Summer 1989