Jun 24, 2021 - Sale 2574
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Sale 2574 - Lot 192

Price Realized: $ 7,500
?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 6,000 - $ 9,000
ADRIANNE LOBEL (1955-)
"L'Allegro." 33 original scenic concept designs for the award-winning 1988 modern dance work "L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato" choreographed and directed by Mark Morris Dance Group. Ink, water-soluble marker, and graphite (earliest designs also contain colored pencil). 280x212 mm;11x8 1/2 inches, sheets, with two designs to a sheet, several double-sided, many with her captions and notes. See additional images in condition report.

The complete set of original designs for this timeless masterpiece of modern dance set to Handel's 1740 Baroque oratorio "L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato" which draws from Milton's 1645 poems.

A major element of L'Allegro's magic was Lobel's set designs which brilliantly captured its mood and movement. Rather than illustrate the verses literally - which would have been impossible - she opted for a more abstract approach inspired by the paintings of Josef Albers and Mark Rothko to properly express its non-linear narrative.

Inspired by their color field works, she created solid and geometric panels that were transferred onto movable translucent and opaque scrims. These could be changed in a matter of moments to suit the shallow and deep spaces that the scenes required, move precisely with the music, and draw the mood and emotional responses those changes were intended to evoke. These designs showcase her masterly command of color, texture, composition, and stage mechanics. Ultimately, they reveal the creative process of this skilled female artist who produced one of the most visually stunning and enduring works of modern stage design.

Link to interview with Lobel and Morris during "L'Allegro Week 2021"

Lobel has designed sets for Broadway, off-Broadway, and metropolitan and regional theater productions worldwide, including the Metropolitan Opera, Le Chatelet, The Royal National Theater, BAM, the Yale Repertory Theatre, Théatre Royal de la Monnai, New York City Opera, SUNY Purchase, and Central Park's Delacorte Theater. Her prolific work for the Mark Morris Dance Group is widely acclaimed. Many of her stage maquettes and designs are housed in the permanent collection of the McNay Art Museum, San Antonio, Texas, including those for the Houston Grand Opera productions of "Nixon in China" and "Street Scene." In 2002 she produced and was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Musical for "A Year With Frog and Toad" based upon the famous children's books by her late father, Arnold Lobel, whom she credits for instilling much of her work ethic and love of art.
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