Attilio Comelli Designed Costumes for Met Opera and U.S. Premieres

Summary: Attilio Comelli designed costumes for Met Opera and U.S. premieres of Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann and Borodin’s Prince Igor, respectively.

Attilio Comelli’s costume designs for the Metropolitan Opera premiere of Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann Jan. 11, 1913: via Metropolitan Opera Archives Database

Attilio Comelli designed costumes for Met Opera and U.S. premieres of Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann and Borodin’s Prince Igor in 1913 and 1915, respectively.

Comelli made his Metropolitan Opera debut Jan. 11, 1913, as costume designer in the Metropolitan Opera’s premiere of Les Contes d’Hoffmann by German-born French composer Jacques Offenbach (June 20, 1819-Oct. 5, 1880). The production’s director was Jules Speck, who served as the Metropolitan Opera’s stage manager for French and Italian operas from 1908 to 1917. The set was designed by Burghart & Company.

Including the premiere, Les Contes d’Hoffmann received nine performances during the opera’s Metropolitan Opera premiere season. The 1913-1914 season’s last performance of Les Contes d’Hoffmann took place April 25, 1913.

The Metropolitan Opera’s first revival of Speck’s production occurred during the 1913-1914 season. Les Contes d’Hoffmann received three performances during the revival. Winter performances were offered Dec. 6 and Dec. 13, 1913. The season’s closing performance of Speck’s production took place March 12, 1914.

The second revival of Speck’s production took place during the 1914-1915 season. Les Contes d’Hoffmann received only one performance during the second revival. The April 27, 1915, performance marked the last performance of Speck’s production.

Les Contes d’Hoffmann languished in the opera house’s inactive repertoire for nine years. A new production debuted Nov. 13, 1924. Viennese stage director Wilhelm von Wymetal’s (1862-Nov. 11, 1937) production team comprised the father-daughter team of Joseph Urban (May 26, 1872-July 10, 1933) as set designer and Gretel Urban (Jan. 7, 1898-Dec. 6, 1997) as costume designer.

Nine months after the 13th and final appearance of Comelli’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann costumes, the Metropolitan Opera hosted the United States premiere of Prince Igor by Georgian-Russian Romantic composer Alexander Borodin (Nov. 12, 1833-Feb. 27, 1887). Prince Igor opened Dec. 30, 1915, with costumes designed by Attilio Comelli. Jules Speck was the production’s director.

Including the premiere, Prince Igor received five performances during the 1915-1916 Met Opera season. The season’s last performance took place March 1, 1916.

The Metropolitan Opera revived Speck’s production in the next season. Prince Igor received three performances in the 1916-1917 season. The season’s last performance occurred Dec. 6, 1916.

A second revival in the 1917-1918 offered two performances. The season’s closing performance of Prince Igor took place Dec. 15, 1917.

The December 1917 performance marked the Metropolitan Opera’s last staging of Prince Igor with Comelli’s costumes. After a total of 10 performances over three seasons, Speck’s production retired to the Metropolitan Opera’s inactive repertoire.

Prince Igor remained absent for the opera house’s active repertoire for 96 years. A new production debuted Feb. 6, 2014, under the directorship of Russian theatre director Dmitri Tcherniakov and with costumes designed by Russian costume designer Elena Zaitseva. Prince Igor received nine performances during the 2013-2014 Met Opera season. The season’s closing performance took place March 8, 2014.

The Metropolitan Opera has not staged Prince Igor since the 2013-2014 season.

The United Kingdom’s Royal Opera House (ROH) in central London’s Covent Garden holds a collection of approximately 1,500 costume and accessory designs dating from 1898 to 1925. The Royal Opera House’s Collections Online website credits Attilio Comelli with “the majority of these designs.” The ROH Collections Online website tallies Comelli’s artwork at 1,408 designs, mostly watercolor on board, for 78 ballet and opera productions. Comelli’s designs stem from his appointment in the 1890s as house designer to the Royal Opera House

Attilio Giuseppe de Comelli von Stuckenfeld (1858-Sept. 8, 1925) was known professionally as Attilio Comelli. He was born in Gradisca d’Isonzo, a northeastern Italian town then claimed by Austria’s House of Habsburg. Comelli’s father, Federico de Comelli von Stuckenfeld (March 17, 1826-Aug. 10, 1892), was an engineer and cave explorer.

The takeaway for Attilio Comelli costume designs for Met Opera and U.S. premieres is that the Italian designer’s costumes for Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann and Borodin’s Prince Igor represent a small, precious portion of Comelli’s designing output as he primarily designed for Covent Garden’s Royal Opera House.

Comelli-designed headdresses worn by New Zealand-born, Australian-rased operatic soprano Frances Alda (May 31, 1879-Sept. 18. 1952), in the lead role of Yaroslavna, in United States premiere of Borodin’s Prince Igor Dec. 30, 1915, at the Metropolitan Opera: via Metropolitan Opera Archives Database

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Attilio Comelli’s costume designs for the Metropolitan Opera premiere of Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann Jan. 11, 1913: via Metropolitan Opera Archives Database @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/Imgs/Contes1913.Design.htm

Comelli-designed headdresses worn by New Zealand-born, Australian-rased operatic soprano Frances Alda (May 31, 1879-Sept. 18, 1952), in the lead role of Yaroslavna, in United States premiere of Borodin’s Prince Igor Dec. 30, 1915, at the Metropolitan Opera: via Metropolitan Opera Archives Database @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/Imgs/AldaHeadress1.jpg

For further information:

“Debut: Attilio Comelli.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 54574 Metropolitan Opera Premiere Les Contes d’Hoffmann {1} Matinee ed. Metropolitan Opera House: 01/11/1913.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=54574

Marriner, Derdriu. “Gretel Urban Designed Costumes for Newly Staged Les Contes d’Hoffmann.” Earth and Space News. Monday, Aug. 27, 2018.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2018/08/gretel-urban-designed-costumes-for.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Joseph Urban Designed Sets for 29 New Productions at Met Opera.” Earth and Space News. Monday, Aug. 20, 2018.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2018/08/joseph-urban-designed-sets-for-29-new.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Metropolitan Opera’s Gallery Met Short for The Tales of Hoffmann.” Earth and Space News. Monday, Sept. 11, 2017.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2017/09/metropolitan-operas-gallery-met-short.html

“Metropolitan Opera Premiere: Les Contes d’Hoffmann.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 54574 Metropolitan Opera Premiere Les Contes d’Hoffmann {1} Matinee ed. Metropolitan Opera House: 01/11/1913.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=54574

Royal Opera House. “Attilio Comelli Design Collection.” Royal Opera House Collections Online.
Available @ http://www.rohcollections.org.uk/CollectionComelli.aspx

“United States Premiere: Prince Igor.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 61530 United States Premiere Prince Igor {1} Metropolitan Opera House: 12/30/1915.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=61530