the floating set designed by david fielding for the bregenz opera festival lakefront performance of umberto giordano’s ‘andré chénier’ image © bregenzer festspiele / karl forster

under the artistic direction of david pountney, stage designer david fielding brings the opera ‘andré chénier’ to life for the ‘opera on the lake’ floating stage (‘seebühne’) of the 2011 bregenz opera festival in bregenz, austria.

the waterproofed set is built directly into lake constance, mounted upon a concrete core anchored into the base of the lake, while wooden poles support accessory structures of the stage. fielding’s design for ‘andré chénier’ is dominated by an oversized face and torso– modeled after the revolutionary jean-paul marat– from whose left eye streams a series of stairways. an open book to stage right of the figure is frequently highlighted throughout the performance with special lighting effects, ranging from sculptural installations to elaborate gobos that cast shadow scenes along its pages. at water level, a floating platform, ‘carried’ by what appears to be the hand of the statue, moves in response to plot action. other mobile set pieces rise in and out of the water over the course of the performance.

written by italian composer umberto giordano, the opera retells a story of love and death during the french revolution. the bregenz festival performances of the show run through august 21st, 2011, with additional performances in the summer of 2012. the proscenium theatre of the seebühne stage seats 6,800 persons in stadium seating.

more info on the festival website

andré chénier opera on the lake at bregenz the set, with the face of revolutionary jean-paul marat swung back to reveal an interior set image © bregenzer festspiele / karl forster

andré chénier opera on the lake at bregenz detail view image © bregenzer festspiele / karl forster

andré chénier opera on the lake at bregenz an oversized book to stage right is the site of performance and unusual lighting image © bregenzer festspiele / karl forster

andré chénier opera on the lake at bregenz full view of the stage on lake constance in bregenz, austria image © bregenzer festspiele / karl forster

andré chénier opera on the lake at bregenz a choreographed performance atop the statue’s head image © bregenzer festspiele / karl forster

andré chénier opera on the lake at bregenz view of stage base, during a rehearsal image © bregenzer festspiele / karl forster

andré chénier opera on the lake at bregenz performance view image © bregenzer festspiele / karl forster

andré chénier opera on the lake at bregenz set, light, sculpture, and shadow work together image © bregenzer festspiele / karl forster

andré chénier opera on the lake at bregenz the stage by night, lit in colours reminiscent of the french flag image © bregenzer festspiele / karl forster

andré chénier opera on the lake at bregenz additional view image © bregenzer festspiele / karl forster

andré chénier opera on the lake at bregenz additional view image © bregenzer festspiele / karl forster

andré chénier opera on the lake at bregenz a performer rappels between parts of the set image © bregenzer festspiele / karl forster

andré chénier opera on the lake at bregenz an oversized oval frame provides a site for acrobatic performance during the opera image © bregenzer festspiele / karl forster

director: keith warner set design: david fielding lighting design: davy cunningham costume design: constance hoffman choreography: lynne page sound design: wolfgang fritz

featuring conductors ulf schirmer, luke vasilek, and benjamin paint with the wiener symphoniker, prague philharmonic choir, and bregenz festival choir respectively.

andré chénier opera on the lake at bregenz 3D computer rendering of the structural framework of the set image © bregenz festival / simon wimmer

andré chénier opera on the lake at bregenz 3D rendering of set image © bregenz festival / simon wimmer

andré chénier opera on the lake at bregenz constructing the figure of jean-paul marat image © bregenz festival / dietmar mathis

andré chénier opera on the lake at bregenz full aerial view of the theatre during construction of the set image © bregenz festival / dietmar mathis