Earth and Space News: Mar-a-Lago architect Joseph Urban

Showing posts with label Mar-a-Lago architect Joseph Urban. Show all posts

Monday, July 16, 2018

Joseph Urban Designed Sets for Two World Premieres at Met Opera

Summary: Austrian American costume and set designer Joseph Urban designed sets for two world premieres at the Metropolitan Opera over an almost 16-year career.

Austrian American Art Deco architect and costume and scenic designer Joseph Urban designed sets for two world premieres at the Metropolitan Opera during his almost 16-year Met Opera career.

The Metropolitan Opera Archives Database credits Vienna, Austria-born designer Joseph Urban (May 26, 1872-July 10, 1933) with designs for 55 productions at the opera house. Urban designed for 29 new productions, 14 U.S. premieres, 10 Metropolitan Opera premieres and two world premieres.

American composer Joseph Deems Taylor (Dec. 22, 1885-July 3, 1966) composed both of the two world premiering operas designed by Urban. The King’s Henchman and Peter Ibbetson represent the first commissions offered by The Metropolitan Opera. Giulio Gatti-Casazza (Feb. 3, 1869-Sept. 2, 1940), The Metropolitan Opera’s general manager from 1908-1935, assigned the commissions to Taylor.

The King’s Henchman’s world premiere took place Feb. 17, 1927, at the Metropolitan Opera. Taylor composed his three-act opera for an English language libretto by American playwright and poet Edna St. Vincent Millay (Feb. 22, 1892-Oct. 19, 1950). The mytho-historical libretto concerns the love triangle of 10th century King of England Eadgar the Peaceful (ca. 943-July 8, 975), his eventual Queen consort Aelfrida of Devon (ca. 945-ca. 999/1001) and Aelfrida’s first husband, East Anglian ealdorman (Old English: “elder man”) Aethelwold (died 962).

The King’s Henchman received a total of 17 performances over three consecutive seasons. The opera’s premiere season featured seven performances. Six performances were offered in the next season, 1927-1928. Four performances took place in Met Opera’s 1928-1929 season. The last performance occurred March 28, 1929.

Peter Ibbetson opened Feb. 7, 1931, as the second world premiere with Urban’s designs. Taylor composed his same-named score for a libretto by English actress and scriptwriter Constance Collier (Jan. 22, 1878-April 25, 1955). Franco-British cartoonist and novelist George du Maurier’s (March 6, 1834-Oct. 8, 1896) first novel, published in 1891, inspired Collier’s libretto. Peter Ibbetson concerns a childhood dream world revisited for 30 years by star-crossed lovers Peter and Mary.

Peter Ibbetson received a total of 22 performances over four consecutive seasons. The opera’s premiere season offered 10 performances. Eight performances took place in the following season, 1931-1932. The 1932-1933 season featured three performances. Two performances occurred in the 1934-1935 season. The last performance took place April 4, 1935.

Viennese stage director Wilhelm von Wymetal Sr. (1862-Nov. 11, 1937) directed the productions of both of Taylor’s operas at Met Opera. Including the two world premieres, Urban designed for a total of 24 productions directed by Wymetal. Wymetal-Urban productions also launched four Metropolitan Opera premieres and six U.S. premieres. The Wymetal-Urban team also opened 12 new productions of operas already in the Metropolitan Opera’s repertoire.

Urban’s Met Opera career began Nov. 17, 1917, with his debut as designer for the opera house’s new production of Faust by French Romantic Era composer Charles-François Gounod (June 17, 1818-Oct. 18, 1893). Polish film and theatre director Ryszard Ordynski (Oct. 5, 1878-Aug. 13, 1953), anglicized as Richard Ordynski, was the new production’s director. Met Opera’s revivals of Urban’s Faust designs continued through the 1950-1951 season.

In addition to designing for film, opera and theatrical productions, Joseph Urban designed Art Deco buildings as an architect. Urban’s extant buildings in the United States include Palm Beach, Florida’s Mar-a-Lago and Paramount Theatre Building; Hamburg, New Jersey’s abandoned Gingerbread House; and New York City’s Hearst Tower base and New School.

Joseph’s Urban Room, perched on the 17th floor of the Grant Street addition to the William Penn Hotel in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, opened May 9, 1929, as an Art Deco “bower of beauty” with an elegant motif of black Carrara glass and gold. Urban’s multi-rayed chandelier, suspended by cascading bronze tubes, still hangs from the tree-of-life ceiling mural as the Urban Room’s centerpiece. In 1979, Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation (PHLF) designated the Urban Room as a Historic Landmark.

The takeaways for Joseph Urban’s set designs for two world premieres at the Metropolitan Opera are that the Austrian American designer decorated a total of 55 productions during his almost 16-year career at the opera house for Two World Premieres at Met Opera and that examples of his architectural output still remain in Florida, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.

Omni William Penn Hotel’s Urban Room, designed by Joseph Urban, with rayed chandelier suspended from tree-of-life muraled ceiling; Saturday, Jan. 12, 2008: John M (jsmjr), CC BY SA 2.0 Generic, via Flickr

Acknowledgment

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

Image credits:

Both world premieres designed by Joseph Urban were operas that the Metropolitan Opera commissioned from American composer Joseph Deems Taylor; Taylor’s portrait, Dec. 6, 1932, by Carl Van Vechten (1880-1964); Van Vechten Collection, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C.: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Deems_Taylor_portrait_by_Carl_Van_Vechten.jpg;
via Library of Congress (LOC) Prints & Photographs Online Catalog (PPOC) @ https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2004663611/

Anthony and Chris (The Freakin’, ‘Tiquen Guys). “The Central Park Casino, Joseph Urban’s Long, Lost New York City Night Club.” Driving for Deco. Nov. 8, 2015.
Available @ http://www.drivingfordeco.com/the-central-park-casino-joseph-urbans-long-lost-new-york-city-night-club/

Anthony and Chris (The Freakin’, ‘Tiquen Guys). “A Pittsburgh ‘Urban’ Surprise!” Driving for Deco. Nov. 26, 2016.
Available @ http://www.drivingfordeco.com/a-pittsburgh-urban-suprise/

“Debuts: Thomas Chalmers, Pierre Monteux, Joseph Urban.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 67050 New production Faust {294} Matinee ed. Metropolitan Opera House: 11/17/1917.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=67050

Marriner, Derdriu. "Mar-a-Lago Architect Joseph Urban Also Designed Sets at Met Opera." Earth and Space News. Monday, July 9, 2018.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2018/07/mar-lago-architect-joseph-urban-also.html

Mayhew, Augustus. “Building Mar-a-Lago: Majorie Merriweather Post’s Palm Beach Showplace.” The Shiny Sheet®: Palm Beach Daily News > News > Local News. Feb. 5, 2017.
Available @ https://www.palmbeachdailynews.com/news/local/building-mar-lago-marjorie-merriweather-post-palm-beach-showplace/BNcXr356xhT3AdEVKyIR3J/

The Metropolitan Opera. "100 Years Ago: The Debut of Joseph Urban, Designer of the Most Productions in Met History." The Metropolitan Opera > Archives > Notes From the Archives > This Month in Met History. Nov. 1, 2017.
Available @ https://www.metopera.org/discover/archives/notes-from-the-archives/November/

Musäus, Johann Karl August. Die Buecher der Chronika der drei Schwestern. Illustrirt von H. Lefler und J. Urban. Berlin: Verlag von J.A. Stargardt, 1900.
Available via HathiTrust @ https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/102155858

“New Production: Faust.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 67050 New production Faust {294} Matinee ed. Metropolitan Opera House: 11/17/1917.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=67050

Proctor, Samuel; Nancy K. Beinke; and F. Blair Reeves. “Mar-a-Lago.” Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS). HABS no. FLA-195. Washington DC: Office of Archeology and Historic Preservation, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, 1967-1972.
Available @ http://cdn.loc.gov/master/pnp/habshaer/fl/fl0100/fl0181/data/fl0181data.pdf

Sophia. “This Abandoned Gingerbread Castle in New Jersey Is Like Something From a Horror Movie.” Only in Your State > New Jersey. Feb. 5, 2017.
Available @ http://www.onlyinyourstate.com/new-jersey/gingerbread-castle-nj-usa/

Tufaro, Nicholas. “The Gingerbread Castle.” Historic American Landscapes Survey (HALS). HALS No. NJ-4. Washington DC: National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, Dec. 18, 2009.
Available via Library of Congress @ https://cdn.loc.gov/master/pnp/habshaer/nj/nj1800/nj1833/data/nj1833data.pdf

“World Premiere: The King’s Henchman.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 95450 World Premiere The King's Henchman {1} Metropolitan Opera House: 02/17/1927.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=95450

“World Premiere: Peter Ibbetson.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 107390 World Premiere Peter Ibbetson {1} Matinee ed. Metropolitan Opera House: 02/7/1931.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=107390

Monday, July 9, 2018

Mar-a-Lago Architect Joseph Urban Also Designed Sets at Met Opera

Summary: Mar-a-Lago architect Joseph Urban also designed sets at the Metropolitan Opera for almost 16 years, from November 1917 until his death in July 1933.

Mar-a-Lago architect and Met Opera set designer Joseph Urban conceived Mar-a-Lago's interior design and exterior ornamentation; entrance hall, looking toward main entrance, at Mar-a-Lago, Palm Beach County, southeastern Florida; April 1967; NPS (National Park Service) Historic American Buildings Survey HABS FL-95: No known restrictions on images made by the U.S. Government, via Library of Congress Photo, Print, Drawing

Mar-a-Lago architect Joseph Urban also designed sets at the Metropolitan Opera for almost 16 years, from his debut in November 1917 until his death in July 1933.

Vienna, Austria-born architect, illustrator and set designer Joseph Urban (May 26, 1872-July 10, 1933) made his Metropolitan Opera debut Nov. 17, 1917, as designer for the opera house’s new production of Faust by French Romantic Era composer Charles-François Gounod (June 17, 1818-Oct. 18, 1893). The Metropolitan Opera continued to revive Urban’s Faustian designs through the opera house’s 1950-1951 season.

The Metropolitan Opera Archives Database credits Urban with 55 production designs during his almost 16-year career as a Met Opera set designer. Ten of the productions comprised Metropolitan Opera premieres:
Boccaccio by Franz von Suppé (April 18, 1819-May 21, 1895);
Don Carlo by Giuseppe Verdi (Oct. 10, 1813-Jan. 27, 1901;
Don Quichotte by Jules Massenet (May 12, 1842-Aug. 13, 1912);
Donna Juanita by von Suppé;
Elektra by Richard Strauss (June 11, 1864-Sept. 8, 1949);
La Vestale by Gaspare Spontini (Nov. 14, 1774-Jan. 24, 1851);
Le Roi d’Ys by Édouard Lalo (Jan. 27, 1823-April 22, 1892);
Luisa Miller by Verdi;
Oberon by Carl Maria von Weber (Nov. 18/19, 1786-June 5, 1826);
Pelléas et Mélisande by Achille-Claude Debussy (Aug. 22, 1862-March 25, 1918).

Fourteen of Urban’s production settings were designed for the Metropolitan Opera’s staging of U.S. premieres:
Così Fan Tutte by Wolfgang Mozart (Jan. 27, 1756-Dec. 5, 1791);
Die Ägyptische Helena by Strauss;
Eugene Onegin by Pyotr Tchaikovsky (May 7, 1840-Nov. 6, 1893);
Fra Gherardo by Ildebrando Pizzetti (Sept. 20, 1880-Feb. 13, 1968);
Il Signor Bruschino by Gioachino Rossini (Feb. 29, 1792-Nov. 13, 1868);
Jonny Spielt Auf by Ernst Krenek (Aug. 23, 1900-Dec. 22, 1991);
La Campana Sommersa by Ottorino Respighi (July 9, 1879-April 18, 1936);
La Cena delle Beffe by Umberto Giordano (Aug. 28, 1867-Nov. 12, 1948);
La Rondine by Giacomo Puccini (Dec. 22, 1858-Nov. 29, 1924);
La Vida Breve by Manuel de Falla (Nov. 23, 1876-Nov. 14, 1946);
Saint Elizabeth by Franz Liszt (Oct. 22, 1811-July 31, 1886);
Schwanda the Bagpiper by Jaromír Weinberger (Jan. 8, 1896-Aug. 8, 1967);
Turandot by Puccini;
Violanta by Erich Korngold (May 29, 1897-Nov. 29, 1957).

Two of Urban’s sets were designed for the Metropolitan Opera’s staging of world premieres of two operas by American composer Joseph Deems Taylor (Dec. 22, 1885-July 3, 1966). The King’s Henchman, with an English libretto by American poet Edna St. Vincent Millay (Feb. 22, 1892-Oct. 19, 1950), premiered Feb. 17, 1927. Peter Ibbetson, inspired by Franco-British author George du Maurier’s (March 6, 1834-Oct. 8, 1896) same-named novel (1891), premiered Feb. 7, 1931.

Urban designed sets for 29 new stagings of operas already in the Metropolitan Opera’s repertoire:
Carmen by Georges Bizet (Oct. 25, 1838-June 3, 1875);
Der Barbier von Bagdad by Peter Cornelius (Dec. 24, 1824-Oct. 26, 1874);
Der Freischütz by Weber;
Don Giovanni by Mozart;
Ernani by Verdi;
Falstaff by Verdi;
Faust by Gounod;
Fedora by Giordano;
Fidelio by Ludwig van Beethoven (bapt. Dec. 17, 1770-March 26, 1827);
Hänsel und Gretel by Engelbert Humperdinck (Sept. 1, 1854-Sept. 27, 1921);
Il Barbiere di Siviglia by Rossini;
La Juive by Fromental Halévy (May 27, 1799-March 17, 1862);
La Sonnambula by Vincenzo Bellini (Nov. 3, 1801-Sept. 23, 1835);
La Traviata by Verdi;
L’Africaine by Giacomo Meyerbeer (Sept. 5, 1791-May 2, 1864);
L’Amico Fritz by Pietro Mascagni (Dec. 7, 1863-Aug. 2, 1945);
Le Prophète by Meyerbeer;
Les Contes d’Hoffmann by Jacques Offenbach (June 20, 1819-Oct. 5, 1880);
Lohengrin by Richard Wagner (May 22, 1813-Feb. 13, 1883);
Louise by Gustave Charpentier (June 25, 1860-Feb. 18, 1956);
Madama Butterfly by Puccini;
Manon by Massenet;
Martha by Friedrich von Flotow (April 27, 1812-Jan. 24, 1883);
Norma by Bellini;
Parsifal by Wagner;
Roméo et Juliette by Gounod;
Tannhäuser by Wagner;
Thaïs by Massenet;
Tristan und Isolde by Wagner.

The last set designed by Joseph Urban was for the U.S. premiere of Rossini’s Il Signor Bruschino Dec. 9, 1932. According to the Metropolitan Opera Archives Database, the opera house’s 1961-1962 season staging of Strauss’ Elektra marked the last revival of a set designed by Joseph Urban.

Three years after Joseph’s 1917 debut, his daughter Margarete (Jan. 7, 1898-Dec. 6, 1997), known as Gretel or Gretl, debuted. Gretel’s debut as a costume designer occurred for the Metropolitan Opera’s premiere of Verdi’s Don Carlos Dec. 23, 1920. Gretel collaborated with her father on 17 productions.

Joseph Urban immigrated to the United States to complete designs for spring 1912 operas commissioned by Massachusetts’ Boston Opera Company. He maintained his stage career while also accepting architectural commissions. Extant examples of his architectural work include the base of New York City’s Hearst Tower and Hamburg, northern New Jersey’s now decrepit Gingerbread House, both completed around 1928.

Urban also conceived the Art Deco-styled interior design and exterior ornament of Mar-a-Lago. Located at 1100 South Ocean Boulevard, Palm Beach, southeastern Florida, the lavish mansion was constructed for cereal heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post (March 15, 1887-Sept. 12, 1973) between 1923 and 1927.

The takeaways for Mar-a-Lago architect Joseph Urban’s Metropolitan Opera set designs are that the Austrian-American artist designed 55 sets in his almost 16-year Met career and collaborated with his daughter Gretel on 17 productions.

Acknowledgment

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

Image credits:

Joseph Urban collaborated with his brother-in-law, Austrian graphic artist, painter and stage designer Heinrich Lefler (Nov. 7, 1863-March 14, 1919), as business partners on such artworks as graphic design, illustration, interior design, scenic design and temporary architectural installations (Sarah Marie Hornie,"Heinrich Lefler (Austrian, 1863–1919) Scenic designs for 'Parsifal' c. 1913," eMuseum MFAH Museum of Fine Arts Houston); scene of bridges over water by co-illustrators Joseph Urban and Heinrich Lefler, in J.K.A. Musäus, Die Buecher der Chronika der drei Schwestern (1900), Zweites Buch (Second Book), Bertha, page 38: Public Domain in the United States, via HathiTrust @ https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=gri.ark:/13960/t9480fh68&seq=46&view=1up; Public Domain in the United States, via HathiTrust @ https://hdl.handle.net/2027/gri.ark:/13960/t9480fh68?urlappend=%3Bseq=46; "The copyright and related rights status of this item has been reviewed by The New York Public Library, but we were unable to make a conclusive determination as to the copyright status of the item. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use," via New York Public Library Digital Collections @ https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/6e5c9d6e-207d-70f3-e040-e00a1806563f

For further information:

Aronson, Arnold. "Architect of Dreams: The Theatrical Vision of Joseph Urban." Columbia University > Columbia University Libraries > E-Resources > Databases > Archives > Joseph Urban Stage Design Models & Documents Stabilization & Access Project.
Available @ http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/eresources/archives/rbml/urban/architectOfDreams/text.html

“Debut: Gretel Urban.” MetOpera Database > MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 76450 Metropolitan Opera Premiere Don Carlo {1} Metropolitan Opera House: 12/23/1920.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=76450

Horne, Sarah Marie. "Heinrich Lefler (Austrian, 1863–1919) Scenic designs for 'Parsifal' c. 1913." eMuseum The Museum of Fine Arts Houston > The MFAH Collections > All Work . Scenic designs for "Parsifal."
Available via eMuseum MFAH Museum of Fine Arts Houston @ https://emuseum.mfah.org/catalogues/aia-online-catalogue/objects/160375/scenic-designs-for-parsifal

Macgowan, Kenneth. “The Lesson of Urban.” Shadowland (November 1919): 15-18. Brooklyn NY: The M.P. Publishing Company.
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/stream/shadowland01mppu#page/n172/mode/1up

Marriner, Derdriu. "Parsifal Is Feb. 17, 2018, Met Opera Saturday Matinee Broadcast." Earth and Space News. Monday, Feb. 12, 2018.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2018/02/parsifal-is-feb-17-2018-met-opera.html

“Metropolitan Opera Premiere: Elektra.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 112150 Metropolitan Opera Premiere Elektra {1} Matinee Broadcast ed. Metropolitan Opera House: 12/3/1932.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=112150

NYPL Staff. "Digital Highlights: The Set and Costume Designs of the Music Division." New York Public Library > Blog. May 26, 2020.
Available via New York Public Library Blog @ https://www.nypl.org/blog/2020/05/26/digitized-set-and-costume-designs-music-division

Saylor, Oliver M. “Urban, of the Opera, the ‘Follies,’ and the Films. Shadowland (November 1921): 39, 72, 74. Brooklyn NY: Brewster Publications Inc.
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/stream/Shadowland0503Images/Shadowland_05_03#page/n38/mode/1up

“United States Premiere: Il Signor Bruschino.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 112240 United States Premiere Il Signor Bruschino {1} Elektra {2} Metropolitan Opera House: 12/9/1932.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=112240

Waszut-Barrett, Wendy, PhD (waszut_barrett@me.com). “Historical Excerpt -- ‘Women in Scenic Art,’ Gretl Urban.” Drypigment.net > Archives > February 2017. Feb. 8, 2017.
Available @ http://drypigment.net/2017/02/08/historical-excerpt-women-in-scenic-art-gretl-urban/