July 2011
White Nights Festival, St Petersburg – an appropriate occasion for a premiere of the Mariinsky’s new production of Benjamin Britten’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”.
Claudia Solti directed the opera, which was conducted by Valery Gergiev.
Isabella Bywater’s inventive design – a construction of plastic and mirrored surfaces – proved an interesting challenge for myself (projection design) and Jen Schriever (lighting design) and further challenges were met by the team of aerial acrobats who were flown from the ceiling of the venue but the collaboration of all elements resulted in a very unique look, highly appropriate to the Opera’s fairytale subject matter.
The design was nominated for a Golden Mask Award for the lighting and video design.