Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro) by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart at Aspen Music Festival, Summer 2024
Director: Sara Erde | Conductor: Matthew Aucoin | Scenic Designer: Michelle Harvey | Costume Designer: Sharné van Ryneveld Nel | Wig and Makeup Designer: Nicole Alvarez | Lighting Designer: Josh Hemmo | Prop Master: Avi Miller | Scenic Painter: Bridget Poulter
Fashion Magazine research
The Countess flips through a fashion magazine from the early 1930’s in our production. We needed her to be able to flip to a page of a specific dress and show it to the audience, so I collaborated with the costume designer, Sharné, to find some accurate photos. I researched vintage Vogue magazines then edited them into a cohesive magazine.
Chair Re-upholstery and Staining
We needed four matching chairs, and we only had three; the fourth one was missing a cushion and was a different color. I sanded and stained all four chairs to match each other. I then upholstered a cushion for the last seat and reupholstered the other three. Unfortunately, we didn’t get any great stage pictures of them.
Steamer Trunk
This scene required a steamer trunk that actors could easily open, move, and stand on. The only trunk we had in storage needed some modification to better fit the time period and desired style: I added leather around the chest, wrapped the handles in leather, added a wood grain, and attached strings inside so that the top could open without slamming against the floor.
Breakable Boards
In the opening scene, Figaro has two wooden boards with crude paintings that represent the Count and Countess. While the Countess’ board stays the same, the Count board was broken over Figaro’s knee every night. With some troubleshooting, I landed on cutting the wood board most of the way through with just enough to keep it together so that Figaro’s actor could comfortably break it and make a satisfying snap sound of the wood breaking.
Avi Miller 