Earth and Space News: father-daughter Met Opera designers Joseph Urban Gretel Urban

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Monday, August 27, 2018

Gretel Urban Designed Costumes for Newly Staged Les Contes d’Hoffmann

Summary: Gretel Urban designed costumes for the debut of a new staging of Offenbach's Les Contes d’Hoffmann in the Metropolitan Opera's 1924-1925 season..

Gretel Urban designed costumes and her father, Joseph Urban, designed sets for the Metropolitan Opera’s second of six new productions of Jacques Offenbach’s “opéra fantastique": The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera, via Facebook July 6, 2017

Gretel Urban designed costumes for the newly staged Les Contes d’Hoffmann by German-born French composer Jacques Offenbach (June 20, 1819-Oct. 5, 1880) for the Metropolitan Opera’s 1924-1925 season.

Opening night for the new production was Nov. 13, 1924. The Metropolitan Opera Archives Database records nine performances for the season.

Viennese stage director Wilhelm von Wymetal Sr. (1862-Nov. 11, 1937) directed the new production. Gretel’s father, Austrian-American architect, illustrator and set designer Joseph Urban (May 26, 1872-July 10, 1933), designed the settings.

Music critic Oscar Thompson (Oct. 10, 1887-July 3, 1945) lauded the newly staged Les Contes d’Hoffmann. “After a sleep of ten seasons, Offenbach’s ‘Tales of Hoffmann’ was sung once more at the Metropolitan Opera House on the evening of Nov. 13 before an immense audience,” he stated in a review in the Nov. 22, 1924, issue of Musical America.

Les Contes d’Hoffmann numbered as the tenth collaboration between Gretel and her father. Gretel designed costumes for 18 productions in her almost 13-year career at the Metropolitan Opera. She collaborated with her father on 17 productions.

The Metropolitan Opera premiere of Guillaume Tell by Italian composer Gioachino Rossini (Feb. 29, 1792-Nov. 13, 1868) was the only production on which Gretel worked without her father. Guillaume Tell, which premiered Jan. 5, 1923, at Met Opera, was Gretel’s eighth costume production.

Les Contes d’Hoffmann represented Gretel’s second of nine productions directed by von Wymetal. She first appeared on his design team for the Metropolitan Opera’s new production of Thaïs by Jules Massenet (May 12, 1842-Aug. 13, 1912) for the 1922-1923 season.

Gretel’s last Met Opera costumes were designed for the opera house’s 1927-1928 new production of Hänsel und Gretel by German composer Engelbert Humperdinck (Sept. 1, 1854-Sept. 27, 1921). Opening night was Nov. 5, 1927. Wilhelm von Wymetal directed the production. Gretel’s father designed the sets.

Les Contes d’Hoffmann opened as a Metropolitan Opera premiere Jan. 11, 1913. Jules Speck, who was the Metropolitan Opera's stage manager for French and Italian operas, directed the premiere production. Burghart & Co. designed the sets. Italian designer Attilio Giuseppe de Comelli von Stuckenfeld (1858-Sept. 8, 1925), known as Attilio Comelli, costumed the premiere production. The last performance of Speck’s production took place April 27, 1915.

Including the 1913 premiere and the 1924 new production, the Metropolitan Opera has launched six productions of Les Contes d’Hoffmann. The third production replaced the 1924 staging 31 years later, debuting Nov. 14, 1955. Australian screen, stage and television actor and director Cyril Joseph Trimnell-Ritchard (Dec. 1, 1898-Dec. 18, 1977), known professionally as Cyril Ritchard, directed the third production. Production designs were conceived by German-American artist and designer Rolf Gérard (Aug. 9, 1909-Nov. 19, 2011). The third production’s last performance occurred April 17, 1971.

The fourth production debuted Nov. 29, 1973. American director Bliss Hebert marked his Metropolitan Opera debut as the production’s director. American costume and scenic designer Allen Charles Klein was the fourth production’s designer. The fourth production’s performances did not extend past the 1973-1974 season.

The fifth production debuted March 8, 1982. Austrian actor and opera and theater director Otto Schenk directed the production. His production team included German-Austrian stage designer Günther Schneider-Siemssen (June 7, 1926-June 2, 2015) as set designer and Gaby Frey as costume designer. The fifth production’s last performance happened Jan. 8, 2005.

The sixth and current production debuted Dec. 3, 2009. American theater director Barlett Sher is the production director. His production team includes Michael Yeargan as set designer and Catherine Zuber as costume designer.

The takeaways for Gretel Urban’s costume designs for the newly staged Les Contes d’Hoffmann during Metropolitan Opera’s 1924-1925 season are that the Austrian-American costumer was involved in her tenth Met Opera production and that the new production revitalized Offenbach’s “opéra fantastique” as a recurring fixture in Met Opera’s active repertoire.

Gretel Urban’s designs for the Chorus, Act II, Les Contes d’Hoffmann: Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera, via Twitter July 6, 2017

Acknowledgment

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

Image credits:

Gretel Urban’s designs for the Chorus, Act II, Les Contes d’Hoffmann: Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera, via Twitter July 6, 2017, @ https://twitter.com/MetOpera/status/883014149462216704;
The Metropolitan Opera, via Facebook July 6, 2017, @ https://www.facebook.com/MetOpera/posts/10159091435920533/; via Facebook July 6, 2017, @ https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10159091435920533&set=a.134969600532; via Facebook July 6, 2017, @ https://www.facebook.com/MetOpera/photos/a.134969600532/10159091435920533/

For further information:

“Debut: Gretel Urban.” 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

“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

“Debuts: Paul Bender . . . Wilhelm von Wymetal.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 82040 Der Rosenkavalier {28} Matinee ed. Metropolitan Opera House: 11/17/1922.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=82040

Fitzgerald, Gerald, ed. Annals of the Metropolitan Opera: The Complete Chronicle of Performances and Artists. Boston MA: G.K. Hall & Co.; New York NY: The Metropolitan Opera Guild, Inc., 1989.

Marriner, Derdriu. "Gretel Urban Designed Costumes for U.S. Turandot Premiere at Met Opera." Earth and Space News. Monday, July 30, 2018.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2018/07/gretel-urban-designed-costumes-for-us.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Joseph Urban Designed Sets for 10 Metropolitan Opera Premieres." Earth and Space News. Monday, Aug. 13, 2018.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2018/08/joseph-urban-designed-sets-for-10.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Joseph Urban Designed Sets for 14 U.S. Premieres at Met Opera." Earth and Space News. Monday, July 23, 2018.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2018/07/joseph-urban-designed-sets-for-14-us.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. "Joseph Urban Designed Sets for Two World Premieres at Met Opera." Earth and Space News. Monday, July 16, 2018.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2018/07/joseph-urban-designed-sets-for-two.html

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

Marriner, Derdriu. "Maria Jeritza Sang Title Role in U.S. Turandot Premiere at Met Opera." Earth and Space News. Monday, Aug. 6, 2018.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2018/08/maria-jeritza-sang-title-role-in-us.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

McGillan, Jennifer. “Von Wymetal Family (1862-1970) Collection: Biographical Sketch, William (Wilhelm) von Wymetal Senior and Junior.” Carnegie Mellon University Libraries Web Space > Hunt Library > Arts > Music.
Available @ https://libwebspace.library.cmu.edu/arts/music/wymetal

Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera. “#TBT Costume designs from the 1924-25 production of Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann.” Twitter. July 6, 2017.
Available via Twitter @ https://twitter.com/MetOpera/status/883014149462216704

The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera. "#TBT to the 1924–25 production of Les Contes d'Hoffmann. Offenbach's spellbinding opera returns Sept 26 starring Vittorio Grigolo. Tickets: bit.ly/2tBOS09. Costumes by Gretel Urban / Courtesy of the Metropolitan Opera Archives." Facebook. July 6, 2017.
Available via Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/MetOpera/posts/10159091435920533/
Available via Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10159091435920533&set=a.134969600532
Available via Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/MetOpera/photos/a.134969600532/10159091435920533/

The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera. “#TBT to the 1924-25 production of Les Contes d’Hoffmann. Offenbach's spellbinding opera returns Sept 26 starring Vittorio Grigolo. Tickets: bit.ly/2tBOS09. Costumes by Gretel Urban / Courtesy of the Metropolitan Opera Archives.” Facebook. July 6, 2017.
Available via Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/MetOpera/posts/10159091443910533

“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

“New Production: Guillaume Tell [William Tell].” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 82700 New production Guillaume Tell [William Tell] {15} Metropolitan Opera House: 01/5/1923.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=82700

“New Production: Hänsel und Gretel.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 97060 United States Premiere (Violanta) New Production (Hänsel und Gretel) Violanta {1} Hänsel und Gretel {93} Matinee ed. Metropolitan Opera House: 11/5/1927.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=97060

“New Production: Les Contes d’Hoffmann.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 88120 New production Les Contes d’Hoffmann {14} Metropolitan Opera House: 11/13/1924.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=88120

“New Production: Les Contes d’Hoffmann.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 170000 New production Les Contes d'Hoffmann {70} Metropolitan Opera House: 11/14/1955.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=170000

“New Production: Les Contes d’Hoffmann.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 235730 New production Les Contes d’Hoffmann {121} Metropolitan Opera House: 11/29/1973.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=235730

“New Production: Les Contes d’Hoffmann.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 267800 New production Les Contes d’Hoffmann {140} Metropolitan Opera House: 03/8/1982.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=267800

“New Production: Les Contes d’Hoffmann.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 353209 New production Les Contes d’Hoffmann {241} Metropolitan Opera House: 12/03/2009.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=353209

Salazar, David. “Metropolitan Opera 2017-18 Preview: Looking Back at All 6 ‘Les Contes d’Hoffmann’ Productions.” Opera Wire. Sept. 21, 2017.
Available @ http://operawire.com/metropolitan-opera-2017-18-preview-looking-back-at-all-6-les-contes-dhoffmann-productions/

“United States Premiere: Così Fan Tutte.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 80750 United States Premiere Così Fan Tutte {1} Metropolitan Opera House: 03/24/1922.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=80750

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/

Monday, August 20, 2018

Joseph Urban Designed Sets for 29 New Productions at Met Opera

Summary: Austrian American costume and set designer Joseph Urban designed sets for 29 new productions at the Metropolitan Opera over his almost 16-year career.

Klingsor's garden, Joseph Urban's set design for the Metropolitan Opera's new production of Wagner's Parsifal, which debuted Feb. 19, 1920: Kenny Dread @KennyDread, via Twitter Feb. 17, 2018

Austrian American costume and scenic designer Joseph Urban designed sets for 29 new productions at the Metropolitan Opera during his nearly 16-year career, from his debut in November 1917 until his death in July 1933.

Urban’s Met Opera career total of 55 productions included two world premieres and 14 U.S. premieres. Ten productions launched Metropolitan Opera premieres.

Urban’s designs for 29 new productions were intended to revitalize operas already in Met Opera’s repertoire. He collaborated with his costume designer daughter, Gretel, on nine new productions.

Urban debuted Nov. 17, 1917, as designer for the Metropolitan Opera’s new production of Faust by Charles-François Gounod (June 17, 1818-Oct. 18, 1893). Polish film and theatre director Richard Ordynski (Oct. 5, 1878-Aug. 13, 1953) directed. Met Opera revived Urban’s designs through the 1950-1951 season.

Le Prophète by Giacomo Meyerbeer (Sept. 5, 1791-May 2, 1864) opened Feb. 7, 1918. Richard Ordynski directed.

La Juive by Fromental Halévy (May 27, 1799-March 17, 1862) opened Nov. 22, 1919. Richard Ordynski directed.

Parsifal by Richard Wagner (May 22, 1813-Feb. 13, 1883) opened Feb. 19, 1920. Richard Ordynski directed.

Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde opened Nov. 20, 1920. Viennese American stage manager Samuel Thewman (Feb. 27, 1872-March 22, 1940) directed.

Wagner’s Lohengrin opened Feb. 2, 1921. Samuel Thewman directed. Gretel designed costumes.

Verdi’s La Traviata opened Nov. 14, 1921. Samuel Thewman directed.

Verdi’s Ernani opened Dec. 8, 1921. Samuel Thewman directed. Gretel designed costumes.

Madama Butterfly by Giacomo Puccini (Dec. 22, 1858-Nov. 29, 1924) opened Nov. 24, 1922. Viennese stage director Wilhelm von Wymetal Sr. (1862-Nov. 11, 1937) directed.

Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette opened Nov. 25, 1922. Samuel Thewman directed. Gretel designed costumes.

Thaïs by Jules Massenet (May 12, 1842-Aug. 13, 1912) opened Dec. 14, 1922. Wilhelm von Wymetal directed. Gretel designed costumes.

Wagner’s Tannhäuser opened Feb. 1, 1923. Samuel Thewman directed. Mathilde Castel-Bert designed costumes. The Metropolitan Opera Archives Database notes that Joseph may have designed some costumes.

Meyerbeer’s L’Africaine opened March 21, 1923. Samuel Thewman directed. Gretel designed costumes.

L’Amico Fritz by Pietro Mascagni (Dec. 7, 1863-Aug. 2, 1945) opened Nov. 15, 1923. Samuel Thewman directed.

Carmen by Georges Bizet (Oct. 25, 1838-June 3, 1875) opened Nov. 22, 1923. Wilhelm von Wymetal directed. Gretel designed costumes.

Fedora by Umberto Giordano (Aug. 28, 1867-Nov. 12, 1948) opened Dec. 8, 1923. Wilhelm von Wymetal directed. Billy Wheeler and Ethel Fox designed costumes.

Martha by Friedrich von Flotow (April 27, 1812-Jan. 24, 1883) opened Dec. 14, 1923. Wilhelm von Wymetal directed.

Der Freischütz by Carl Maria von Weber (Nov. 18/19, 1786-June 5, 1826) opened March 22, 1924. Samuel Thewman directed. Mathilde Castel-Bert designed costumes.

Les Contes d’Hoffmann by Jacques Offenbach (June 20, 1819-Oct. 5, 1880) opened Nov. 13, 1924. Wilhelm von Wymetal directed. Gretel designed costumes.

Verdi’s Falstaff opened Jan. 2, 1925. Wilhelm von Wymetal directed. Gretel Urban and German designer Adolfo Hohenstein (March 18, 1854-April 12, 1928) designed costumes.

Der Barbier von Bagdad by Peter Cornelius (Dec. 24, 1824-Oct. 26, 1874) opened Nov. 7, 1925. Samuel Thewman directed. Metropolitan Opera Archives Database notes that some costumes, ". . . designed by Georg Heil, derived from the 1912-1923 production of Die Zauberflöte."

Il Barbiere di Siviglia by Gioachino Rossini (Feb. 29, 1792-Nov. 13, 1868) opened Jan. 12, 1926. Italian stage director Armando Agnini (July 11, 1884-March 27, 1960) directed.

Fidelio by Ludwig van Beethoven (bapt. Dec. 17, 1770-March 26, 1827) opened Jan. 22, 1927. Wilhelm von Wymetal directed.

Hänsel und Gretel by Engelbert Humperdinck (Sept. 1, 1854-Sept. 27, 1921) opened Nov. 5, 1927. Wilhelm von Wymetal directed. Gretel designed costumes.

Norma by Vincenzo Bellini (Nov. 3, 1801-Sept. 23, 1835) opened Nov. 16, 1927. Samuel Thewman directed.

Massenet’s Manon opened Dec. 22, 1928. Wilhelm von Wymetal directed.

Don Giovanni by Wolfgang Mozart (Jan. 27, 1756-Dec. 5, 1791) opened Nov. 29, 1929. Wilhelm von Wymetal directed.

Louise by Gustave Charpentier (June 25, 1860-Feb. 18, 1956) opened March 1, 1930. Wilhelm von Wymetal directed.

Bellini’s La Sonnambula opened March 16, 1932, as the last new production designed by Joseph Urban. Russian opera and theatre director Alexander Sanine (April 15, 1869-May 8, 1956) directed.

The takeaways for Joseph Urban’s set designs for 29 new productions at the Metropolitan Opera are that he collaborated with his costume designer daughter, Gretel, on 10 new productions and that he designed a total of 55 productions during his almost 16-year career at Met Opera.

Joseph Urban's scenic design for the Metropolitan Opera's new production of Fromental Halévy's La Juive; Kenneth Macgowan, The Lesson of Urban, Shadowland (1919), page 17: Library of Congress has determined that this item is not in copyright, via Internet Archive

Acknowledgment

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

Image credits:

The Metropolitan Opera’s new production of Parsifal, with Joseph Urban’s set designs, debuted Feb. 19, 1920: Kenny Dread @KennyDread, via Twitter Feb. 17, 2018, @ https://twitter.com/KennyDread/status/964977056282038273

“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

Italian Genealogical Group and German Genealogy Group. "Samuel Thewman in the New York, New York, U.S., Extracted Death Index, 1862-1948." Ancestry.com > New York, New York, U.S., Extracted Death Index, 1862-1948 [database online]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014.
Available via Ancestry @ https://search.ancestrylibrary.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=9131&h=4020416

Kenny Dread @KennyDread. “@RTElyricfm Gorgeous Opera Night of Wagner ‘Parsifal’ from The Met... Remembering that my great-grandfather Artur Bodanzky conducted the Joseph Urban production there in 1920.” Twitter. Feb. 17, 2018.
Available @ https://twitter.com/KennyDread/status/964977056282038273

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

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: Carmen.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 85200 New production Carmen {284} Matinee ed. Metropolitan Opera House: 11/22/1923.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=85200

“New Production: Der Barbier von Bagdad.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 91060 New production (Der Barbier von Bagdad) Metropolitan Opera Premiere (L'Heure Espagnole) Der Barbier von Bagdad {13} L'Heure Espagnole {1} Matinee ed. Metropolitan Opera House: 11/7/1925.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=91060

“New Production: Der Freischütz.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 86880 New production Der Freischütz {7} Matinee ed. Metropolitan Opera House: 03/22/1924.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=86880

“New Production: Don Giovanni.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 103440 New production Don Giovanni {75} Metropolitan Opera House: 11/29/1929.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=103440

“New Production: Ernani.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 79300 New production Ernani {5} Metropolitan Opera House: 12/8/1921.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=79300

“New Production: Falstaff.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 88800 New production Falstaff {33} Metropolitan Opera House: 01/2/1925.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=88800

“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

“New Production: Fedora.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 85420 New production Fedora {9} Matinee ed. Metropolitan Opera House: 12/8/1923.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=85420

“New Production: Fidelio.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 95100 New production Fidelio {49} Matinee ed. Metropolitan Opera House: 01/22/1927.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=95100

“New Production: Il Barbiere di Siviglia.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 91950 New production Il Barbiere di Siviglia {127} American Academy of Music, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: 01/12/1926.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=91950

“New Production: La Juive.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 73070 New production La Juive {19} Matinee ed. Metropolitan Opera House: 11/22/1919.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=73070

“New Production: La Sonnambula.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 110790 New production La Sonnambula {21} Metropolitan Opera House: 03/16/1932.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=110790

“New Production: La Traviata.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 79000 New production La Traviata {110} Metropolitan Opera House: 11/14/1921.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=79000

“New Production: L’Africaine.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 83730 New production L'Africaine {25} Metropolitan Opera House: 03/21/1923.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=83730

“New Production: L’Amico Fritz.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 85110 New production (L'Amico Fritz) L'Oracolo {40} L'Amico Fritz {2} Metropolitan Opera House: 11/15/1923.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=85110

“New Production: Le Prophète.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 68010 New production Le Prophète {52} Metropolitan Opera House: 02/7/1918.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=68010

“New Production: Les Contes d’Hoffmann.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 88120 New production Les Contes d'Hoffmann {14} Metropolitan Opera House: 11/13/1924.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=88120

“New Production: Lohengrin.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 76980 New production Lohengrin {308} Metropolitan Opera House: 02/2/1921.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=76980

“New Production: Louise.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 104670 New production Louise {15} Matinee ed. Metropolitan Opera House: 03/1/1930.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=104670

“New Production: Madama Butterfly.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 82120 New production Madama Butterfly {160} Matinee ed. Metropolitan Opera House: 11/24/1922.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=82120

“New Production: Manon.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 100720 New production Manon {76} Matinee ed. Metropolitan Opera House: 12/22/1928.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=100720

“New Production: Martha.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 85500 New production Martha {72} Metropolitan Opera House: 12/14/1923.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=85500

“New Production: Norma.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 97200 New production Norma {7} Metropolitan Opera House: 11/16/1927.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=97200

“New Production: Parsifal.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 74150 New production Parsifal {85} Matinee ed. Metropolitan Opera House: 02/19/1920.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=74150

“New Production: Roméo et Juliette.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 82140 New production Roméo et Juliette {111} Matinee ed. Metropolitan Opera House: 11/25/1922.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=82140

“New Production: Tannhäuser.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 83050 New production Tannhäuser {215} Metropolitan Opera House: 02/1/1923.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=83050

“New Production: Thaïs.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 82400 New production Thaïs {20} Metropolitan Opera House: 12/14/1922.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=82400

“New Production: Tristan und Isolde.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 76050 New production Tristan und Isolde {144} Matinee ed. Metropolitan Opera House: 11/20/1920.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=76050

U.S. National Archives. "Samuel Thewman." Ancestry.com > New York, U.S., State and Federal Naturalization Records, 1794-1943 [database online]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013.
Available via Ancestry @ https://search.ancestrylibrary.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=2280&h=3980662

Monday, August 13, 2018

Joseph Urban Designed Sets for 10 Metropolitan Opera Premieres

Summary: Austrian American architect, designer and illustrator Joseph Urban designed sets for 10 Metropolitan Opera premieres during his 16-year career.

Joseph Urban's debut set design for the Metropolitan Opera's new production of Gounod's Faust; Kenneth Macgowan, "The Lesson of Urban," Shadowland (November 1919), page 18: Library of Congress has determined that this item is not in copyright, via Internet Archive

Austrian American architect, costume and scenic designer and illustrator Joseph Urban designed sets for 10 Metropolitan Opera premieres during his almost 16-year career at the opera house, from November 1917 until his death in July 1933.

Joseph Urban (May 26, 1872-July 10, 1933) debuted Nov. 17, 1917, as designer in the Metropolitan Opera’s new production of Faust by French Romantic Era composer Charles-François Gounod (June 17, 1818-Oct. 18, 1893). Revivals of Urban’s designs for Faust continued through the Metropolitan Opera’s 1950-1951 season.

Urban’s almost 16-year career at the Metropolitan Opera yielded designs for 55 productions. Ten of the productions opened as Metropolitan Opera premieres.

Oberon by German Romantic composer Carl Maria von Weber (Nov. 18/19, 1786-June 5, 1826) opened as a Metropolitan Opera premiere Dec. 28, 1918. Polish film and theatre director Ryszard Ordynski (Oct. 5, 1878-Aug. 13, 1953), anglicized as Richard Ordynski, directed the new production, with Joseph as designer. The Metropolitan Opera has not revived the romantic opera since the 13th performance Jan. 6, 1921.

Don Carlo by Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi (Oct. 10, 1813-Jan. 27, 1901) premiered Dec. 23, 1920. Viennese American stage manager Samuel Thewman (Feb. 27, 1872-March 22, 1940) directed the production. Joseph’s daughter Gretel’s debut as costume designer for Don Carlo initiated a father-daughter designing collaboration that encompassed 17 Metropolitan Opera productions.

Pelléas et Mélisande by French Impressionist composer Achille-Claude Debussy (Aug. 22, 1862-March 25, 1918) premiered March 21, 1925. Wilhelm von Wymetal’s production team included both Urbans. Russian-born French artist and designer Romain de Tirtoff (Nov. 23, 1892-April 21, 1990), known as Erté, joined the production as title role costume designer for Spanish lyric soprano Lucrezia Bori (Dec. 24, 1887-May 14, 1960).

Pelléas et Mélisande received four performances in the 1924-1925 season. The Urbans’ designs appeared in a total of 47 performances, with the last appearance in the 1948-1949 season.

Greek American stage director Konstantinos “Dino” Yannopoulos (Dec. 15, 1919-April 6, 2003) directed a revised production, which opened Nov. 27, 1953. American abstract-surrealist painter and scenic designer Horace Armistead (1918-1975) was the production’s designer. Metropolitan Opera Archives Database notes: “In revising the sets for Debussy’s opera, Armistead utilized elements from the previous production designed by Joseph Urban.”

Pelléas et Mélisande numbers among 29 productions scheduled for the 2018-2019 Metropolitan Opera season. The 2018-2019 season’s staging revives English opera and theatre director Jonathan Miller’s new production, which debuted March 23, 1955.

La Vestale by Italian opera composer and conductor Gaspare Spontini (Nov. 14, 1774-Jan. 24, 1851) premiered Nov. 12, 1925. The Urbans collaborated on Wilhelm von Wymetal’s production team. The Metropolitan Opera has not performed Spontini’s “tragédie lyrique” with a happy ending since the ninth performance Jan. 4, 1927.

Le Roi d’Ys by French composer Édouard Lalo (Jan. 27, 1823-April 22, 1892) premiered Jan. 5, 1922. The Urbans collaborated under Samuel Thewman’s direction. The Metropolitan Opera has not performed Lalo’s opera about northwestern France’s mythical capital since the premiere season's run of six performances.

Don Quichotte by French Romantic Era composer Jules Massenet (May 12, 1842-Aug. 13, 1912) premiered April 3, 1926. Samuel Thewman directed the production, with the Urbans as designers. Don Quichotte has not been performed since the ninth performance Dec. 12, 1926.

Verdi’s Luisa Miller premiered Dec. 21, 1929. Austrian music historian and stage director Ernst Lert (1883-1955) directed the production, with Joseph as designer. The Metropolitan Opera last performed Verdi’s tragic, love triangle opera during the 2017-2018 season, with a revival of the 2001-2002 season’s new production by Australian opera director Elijah Moshinsky.

Boccaccio by Austrian Romantic Era composer Franz von Suppé (April 18, 1819-May 21, 1895) premiered Jan. 2, 1931. Wilhelm von Wymetal directed the production. Lillian Gärtner Palmedo was costume designer. The premiere season’s 10 performances mark the comic opera’s only appearance in Met Opera’s repertoire.

Von Suppé’s Donna Juanita premiered Jan. 2, 1932. Hanns Niedecken-Gebhard (Sept. 4, 1889-March 7, 1954) directed the production. Lillian Gärtner Palmedo was costume designer. The Metropolitan Opera has not revived Donna Juanita since the comic opera’s premiere run of eight performances.

Elektra by German late Romantic and early modern composer Richard Strauss (June 11, 1864-Sept. 8, 1949) premiered Dec. 3, 1932. Russian opera and theatre director Alexander Sanine (April 15, 1869-May 8, 1956) directed the production. Lillian Gartner Palmedo was costume designer. The Metropolitan Opera last performed Strauss’ revenge-themed opera during the 2017-2018 season, with a revival of the 2015-2016 season’s new production by French opera and theatre director Patrice Chéreau (Nov. 2, 1944-Oct. 7, 2013).

The takeaway for Joseph Urban’s set designs for 10 Metropolitan Opera premieres is that he collaborated with his costume designer daughter Gretel on six of the opera house’s premieres.

1916 or 1917 glass negative portrait photograph of Joseph Urban by German-American photographer Arnold Genthe (Jan. 8, 1869-Aug. 9, 1942); Genthe photograph collection, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Washington DC: No known restrictions on publication, via Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Online Catalog (PPOC) Photo, Print, Drawing

Acknowledgment

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

Image credits:

Anthony and Chris (The Freakin’, ‘Tiquen Guys). “Vanished New York City Art Deco -- The Persian Room.” Driving for Deco. Oct. 23, 2017.
Available @ http://www.drivingfordeco.com/tag/lillian-gaertner-palmedo/

Marriner, Derdriu. “2018-2019 Metropolitan Opera Season Stages 29 Operas.” Earth and Space News. Monday, June 19, 2018.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2018/06/2018-2019-metropolitan-opera-season.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Elektra Is March 17, 2018, Met Opera Saturday Matinee Broadcast.” Earth and Space News. Monday, March 12, 2018.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2018/03/elektra-is-march-17-2018-met-opera.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Luisa Miller Is April 14, 2018, Met Opera Saturday Matinee Broadcast.” Earth and Space News. Monday, April 9, 2018.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2018/04/luisa-miller-is-april-14-2018-met-opera.html

“Metropolitan Opera Premiere: Boccaccio.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 106900 Metropolitan Opera Premiere Boccaccio {1} Metropolitan Opera House: 01/2/1931.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=106900

“Metropolitan Opera Premiere: Don Carlo.” 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

“Metropolitan Opera Premiere: Don Quichotte.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 93070 Metropolitan Opera Premiere Don Quichotte {1} Matinee ed. Metropolitan Opera House: 04/3/1926.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=93070

“Metropolitan Opera Premiere: Donna Juanita.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 109790 Metropolitan Opera Premiere Donna Juanita {1} Matinee ed. Metropolitan Opera House: 01/2/1932.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID+109790

“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

“Metropolitan Opera Premiere: La Vestale.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 91120 Metropolitan Opera Premiere La Vestale {1} Metropolitan Opera House: 11/12/1925.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=91120

“Metropolitan Opera Premiere: Le Roi d’Ys.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 79680 Metropolitan Opera Premiere Le Roi d'Ys {1} Metropolitan Opera House: 01/5/1922.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=79680

“Metropolitan Opera Premiere: Luisa Miller.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 103720 Metropolitan Opera Premiere Luisa Miller {1} Matinee ed. Metropolitan Opera House: 12/21/1929.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=103720

“Metropolitan Opera Premiere: Oberon.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 70540 Metropolitan Opera Premiere Oberon {1} Matinee ed. Metropolitan Opera House: 12/28/1918.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=70540

“Metropolitan Opera Premiere: Pelléas et Mélisande.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 89850 Metropolitan Opera Premiere Pelléas et Mélisande {1} Matinee ed. Metropolitan Opera House: 03/21/1925. Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=89850

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

Waszut-Barrett, Wendy, PhD (waszut_barrett@me.com). “Historical Excerpt -- ‘Women in Scenic Art,’ Lillian Gaestner.” Drypigment.net > Archives > February 2017. Feb. 6, 2017.
Available @ http://drypigment.net/2017/02/06/historical-excerpt-women-in-scenic-art-part-2/

Monday, July 30, 2018

Gretel Urban Designed Costumes for U.S. Turandot Premiere at Met Opera

Summary: Gretel Urban designed costumes for the U.S. Turandot premiere at the Metropolitan Opera, which opened during the opera company’s 1926-1927 season.

Gretel Urban’s costume designs for the U.S. Turandot premiere at the Metropolitan Opera: Festival Puccini @festivalpuccini, via Twitter Aug. 17, 2015

Gretel Urban designed costumes for the U.S. Turandot premiere at the Metropolitan Opera, which opened Tuesday, Nov. 16, 1926, and received 12 performances during the 1926-1927 season.

Gretel was part of the production’s design team, which was directed by Viennese stage director Wilhelm von Wymetal Sr. (1862-Nov. 11, 1937). The premiere’s program credits both Gretel and Tuscanese artist Umberto Brunelleschi (June 21, 1879-Feb. 16, 1949) for costume designs. The production’s set designer was Gretel’s father, Austrian-American architect, illustrator and set designer Joseph Urban (May 26, 1872-July 10, 1933).

Joseph Urban debuted at the Metropolitan Opera Nov. 17, 1917, as designer in the opera house’s new production of Faust by French Romantic Era composer Charles-François Gounod (June 17, 1818-Oct. 18, 1893). Three years later, his daughter Gretel debuted as a costume designer Dec. 23, 1920, in the Meteropolitan Opera’s premiere of Don Carlo by Italian opera composer Giuseppe Verdi (Oct. 10, 1813-Jan. 27, 1901).

The father-daughter design team collaborated on 17 Metropolitan Opera productions between 1920 and 1933. Joseph designed sets for 55 productions in his almost 16-year career at the Metropolitan Opera, from 1917 until his death in 1933.

Gretel designed costumes for 18 productions in her almost 13-year career at the Metropolitan Opera. She only worked on one production without her father. Guillaume Tell by Italian composer Gioachino Rossini (Feb. 29, 1792-Nov. 13, 1868) premiered as a new Metropolitan Opera production Jan. 5, 1923.

The new production’s director was Vienna, Austria-born stage manager Samuel Thewman (Feb. 27, 1872-March 22, 1940). The set designer was Pomponesco, northern Italy-born painter and stage designer Vittorio Rota (Nov. 8, 1864-November 1931).

Gretel worked on two production teams during her Met Opera career. In addition to Guillaume Tell, she costumed eight other productions for Samuel Thewman. In addition to Turandot, she designed costumes for eight other productions directed by Wilhelm von Wymetal Sr.

The Metropolitan Opera Archives Database credits Gretel Urban with costume designs for five productions that added to the opera house’s repertory as Metropolitan Opera premieres:
Don Carlo by Giuseppe Verdi (Oct. 10, 1813-Jan. 27, 1901;
Don Quichotte by Jules Massenet (May 12, 1842-Aug. 13, 1912);
La Vestale by Gaspare Spontini (Nov. 14, 1774-Jan. 24, 1851);
Le Roi d’Ys by Édouard Lalo (Jan. 27, 1823-April 22, 1892);
Pelléas et Mélisande by Achille-Claude Debussy (Aug. 22, 1862-March 25, 1918).

Gretel Urban designed costumes for the Metropolitan Opera’s staging of three U.S. premieres:
Così Fan Tutte by Wolfgang Mozart (Jan. 27, 1756-Dec. 5, 1791);
La Vida Breve by Manuel de Falla (Nov. 23, 1876-Nov. 14, 1946);
Turandot by Puccini.

She designed costumes for 10 new productions of operas already in the Metropolitan Opera’s repertoire:
Carmen by Georges Bizet (Oct. 25, 1838-June 3, 1875);
Ernani by Verdi;
Falstaff by Verdi;
Guillaume Tell by Gioachino Rossini (Fe. 29, 1792-Nov. 13, 1868);
L’Africaine by Giacomo Meyerbeer (Sept. 5, 1791-May 2, 1864);
Lohengrin by Richard Wagner (May 22, 1813-Feb. 13, 1883);
Roméo et Juliette by Gounod;
Thaïs by Massenet.

The last Metropolitan Opera production crediting Gretel Urban as costume designer is the opera house’s new production of Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel. Opening night was Nov. 5, 1927. Wilhelm von Wymetal was production director. Gretel’s father was set designer.

According to the Metropolitan Opera Archives Database, the opera house’s 1948-1949 season staging of Verdi’s Falstaff marked the last revival of a production costumed by Gretel Urban and designed by her father. Gretel shared costume design credits with German designer and painter Adolfo Hohenstein (March 18, 1854-April 12, 1928).

Gretel, also known as Gretl, was Margarete Urban’s nickname. She was born Jan. 7, 1898, in Vienna, Austria. Her father immigrated to the United States to design for the Boston Opera Company's spring 1912 operas. In 1912, Gretl, her mother Maria (“Meizzi”) Lefler Urban and her sister Helene (“Elly”) joined Joseph in Boston.

In 1918 Joseph divorced Meizzi. In January 1919, he married his second wife, dancer and pageantry specialist Mary Porter Beegle (ca. 1880-ca. 1966).

Theater art consultant Wendy Rae Waszut-Barrett notes on her theater blog, Drypigment.net: “Very little is known about her [Gretel Urban] private life and marriage.” The 1920 census lists Gretel as married to John Thurlow and living with her mother Meizzi and her sister, Elly Urban Helliwell, on Boyleston Street Boston, Massachusetts. Music publisher Carl Fisher employed Gretel as company vice president from 1950 until her retirement in 1981. She passed away Dec. 6, 1997, at the Holiday Care Center in Toms River, Ocean County, east central New Jersey.

The takeaway for Gretel Urban’s costume designs for the U.S. Turandot premiere at Met Opera is that the Austrian-American costumer designed for 18 Met Opera productions that encompassed five Met Opera premieres, three U.S. premieres and 10 new productions.

Turandot, Act II scene 2, as Turandot (Maria Jeritza) presents first of three puzzles to The Unknown Prince (Giacomo-Lauri-Volpi); Joseph Urban, setting; Gretel Urban and Umberto Brunelleschi, costumes; photo by Acme News Pictures for Musical America, Dec. 4, 1926: The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera, via Facebook Nov. 16, 2017

Acknowledgment

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

Image credits:

Gretel Urban’s costume designs for the U.S. Turandot premiere at the Metropolitan Opera: Festival Puccini @festivalpuccini, via Twitter Aug. 17, 2015, @ https://twitter.com/festivalpuccini/status/633254699253239808

Baltz, Trudy. “Pageantry and Mural Painting: Community Rituals in Allegorical Form.” Winterthur Portfolio, vol. 15, no. 3 (Autumn 1980): 211-228.
Available @ https://smartnightreadingroom.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/pageantry.pdf

Beegle, Mary Porter; and Jack Randall Crawford. Community Drama and Pageantry. New Haven CT: Yale University Press, MDCCCCSVI (1916).
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/communitydramaa01crawgoog

“Debut: Samuel Thewman.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 76000 La Juive {29} Metropolitan Opera House: 11/15/1920.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=76000

“Debuts: Anna Meitschik, Vittorio Rota.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 45040 New production La Gioconda {28} Metropolitan Opera House: 11/15/1909.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=45040

Festival Puccini ‏@festivalpuccini. “@MetOpera i bozzetti dell'allestimento di #Turandot del 1926, realizzati da Gretel Urban.” Twitter. Aug. 17, 2015.
Available @ https://twitter.com/festivalpuccini/status/633254699253239808

Fitzgerald, Gerald, ed. Annals of the Metropolitan Opera: The Complete Chronicle of Performances and Artists. Boston MA: G.K. Hall & Co.; New York NY: The Metropolitan Opera Guild, Inc., 1989.

Marriner, Derdriu. "Joseph Urban Designed Sets for 14 U.S. Premieres at Met Opera. Earth and Space News." Monday, July 23, 2018.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2018/07/joseph-urban-designed-sets-for-14-us.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Turandot Is March 24, 2018, Met Opera Saturday Matinee Broadcast." Earth and Space News. Monday, March 19, 2018.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2018/03/turandot-is-march-24-2018-met-opera.html

Met Opera Guild ‏@MetOperaGuild. "#OTD in 1926, Puccini's TURANDOT had its U.S. premiere at the @MetOpera! Below are the original costume designs by Gretel Urban. Catch TURANDOT tonight with Oksana Dyka in the title role. #TodayInOpera #TBT.” Twitter. Nov. 16, 2017.
Available @ https://twitter.com/MetOperaGuild/status/931168029093826561

The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera. “Added a New Photo.” Facebook. Nov. 16, 2017.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/MetOpera/photos/a.134969600532.229232.20807115532/10159718785220533/

The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera. “Turandot premiered at the Met on this day in 1926. Check out costume sketches by Gretel Urban from the premiere production. Tonight, Nov 16, is the last performance of Turandot this fall. Puccini's final opera returns this spring on March 21.” Facebook. Nov. 16, 2017.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/MetOpera/posts/10159727478105533

“Metropolitan Opera Premiere: Pelléas et Mélisande.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 89850 Metropolitan Opera Premiere Pelléas et Mélisande {1} Matinee ed. Metropolitan Opera House: 03/21/1925.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=89850

“United States Premiere: La Vida Breve.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 92670 United States Premieres La Vida Breve {1} Le Rossignol {1} Matinee ed. Metropolitan Opera House: 03/6/1926.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=92670

“United States Premiere: Turandot.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 94190 United States Premiere Turandot {1} Metropolitan Opera House: 11/16/1926.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=94190