Duke Bluebeard’s Castle and Erwartung
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In November COT sent out a brief notice that the double bill would be directed by Ken Cazan and designed by Peter Harrison, the same team that put together COT’s acclaimed Death in Venice a couple years ago. Serban and set designer Leiko Fuseya had “withdrawn from the production after Chicago Opera Theater was unable to realize their concepts for the project.” End of discussion, with no explanation of what the unattainable concept had been. Dead wives in bomber belts, perhaps, or video cams and electrodes in the dungeon? And how had the project unraveled? An epic clash between artistic vision and bottom line? Did Serban refuse to compromise? Had he stalked off in a snit? Like Bluebeard’s fatally curious wife, we had to know.
Serban, reached in Europe by e-mail, had a decidedly less amicable take on the change. He says the decision was a “shocking disappointment” to him. “After the wonderful success with Britten’s Dream at COT two seasons ago, Leiko and myself had been working with great enthusiasm [on the] double bill. . . . Knowing the financial limitations of the company, we searched for a long time . . . for a unique set that will allow both stories to unfold. We came [up] with a simple but stunning solution: a series of moving screens that could create walls, corridors, labyrinths, from where a chain of surprising images would unfold–images of the subconscious, a deeper reality becoming visible. Well, to our distress, we have been told the shocking news that COT has zero money to offer us and even this inexpensive solution could not be afforded.” Serban says he and Fuseya would have been “very flexible” about resolving differences, “but the answer was simply it has to be done with no set at all, just on empty stage. What a pity!”
Art accompanying story in printed newspaper (not available in this archive): Peter Harrison’s minimalist set for Erwartung; Andrei Serban.
