The Victoria and Albert Museum in London will explore the art of the opera industry as they partnered with the Royal Opera House to stage an exhibition about the art form from the late-Renaissance Italy up to present day. The initiative is considered to be the first exhibition to explore opera on a grand scale.
Staging the show would mean the project to be a game changer in the art world. Departing Director Kasper Holten told The Guardian that it wouldn't only be an exhibition about the history of opera, but would also show the history of Europe through operand how "art can cross borders, and unite and inspire people."
V&A has been successful in staging shows of David Bowie and the You Say You Want a Revolution and will have the new initiative shown at the extension courtyard and underground gallery - London's new public art space to open later this year.
The first Opera to be staged coinciding the opening of the underground museum is the Opera: Passion, Power, and Politics. The play will center on the seven different opera premieres which include 1642 Monteverdi's L'Incoronazione di Poppea in Venice and 1934 Shostakovich's Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk in St Petersburg.
Moreover, the show will be displaying over 300 objects including from the 1949 Salome production, Manet's painting, and the original score of Verdi's Nabucco among many others. The exhibition will happen on September 30, 2017 to February 25, 2018.
The show will depict how an opera can also affect and mirrors the socio-political, economic, and artistic culture of the period. At the same time, it hopes to eliminate prejudices and stereotypes the art form can get from people.
Holten mentioned that most people think the opera is not for them or why would people sing the same phrase over again for five to seven minutes. He hopes the through the show, it will change the public's view of the art form.
