Costumer Le Pouvoir À L’opéra Et Au Cinéma (Costumer Le Pouvoir À L’opéra Et Au Cinéma)

From the gods of Olympus to the anointed sovereigns of God, from the saber to the bottle brush, from the Republic to dictatorships… The new exhibition presented by the CNCS will focus on showing how the stage and the cinema deal with the representation of power, of the simple evocation to the faithful reconstruction of famous portraits of sovereigns.

From barbarian antiquity to contemporary crazy baroque …

The exhibition leads the visitor into representations of power , from the most realistic to the most phantasmagoric, in particular through characters and eras that have marked history . Thus transported from barbarian antiquity to the present day, passing through great historical periods, the visitor will travel through time and genres, discovering staging by Joan of Arc , Boris Godunov or Don Carlos , by meeting Vladimir Poutine, Louis XIV and many others… About 130 costumes shows, cinema and opera will be presented, coming from the collections of the CNCS, the National Library of France, the Cinémathèque Française, the Comédie-Française, the Gaumont Museum, the Opéra de Bordeaux, the Opéra de Lyon, the Opéra national de Paris, the Théâtre du

Capitole in Toulouse …

Cinema costumes, a first at the CNCS!

Influenced by historical theater, the cinema in its infancy abused without moderation crowns and scepters, powdered wigs and basket dresses. Appreciated by the public, the historical film had few eclipses, but its theme evolved in the sixties, with Roberto Rossellini’s telefilm, The Seizure of Power by Louis XIV. If the “cloak and sword” genre and the mythical figures of power , Joan of Arc, Louis XIV, Marie-Antoinette or Napoleon, have not disappeared from the screens, the filmmakers now take an in-depth look at the mysteries of power and its representation.

The exhibition invites you to relive the very rich hours of the historic film of The Assassination of the Duke of Guise , shot in 1908, Joan of Arc by Luc Besson and Vatel by Roland Joffé, Marie Walewska revisited by Greta Garbo and Hollywood, The Queen Margot by Patrice Chéreau and Farewell to the Queen by Benoît Jacquot. Without forgetting our ancestors the Gauls, Astérix and Obélix in the films of Claude Zidi then of Thomas Langmann and Frédéric Forestier.

Representations of power at the opera

The opera, a high place of power and power , will be highlighted by comparisons of several productions of symbolic works such as The Coronation of Poppea by Monteverdi, Don Carlos by Verdi or Boris Godunov by Mussorgsky. Some shows will be presented mirroring cinematographic works. The black-clad court of the absolute monarch of Atys will meet the young Louis XIV of Vatel and his colorful suite. Others will complete a picture, that of parodies of power, mixing genres with costumes from Jean Genet’s Balcony for the theater, Salomé by Richard Strauss for the opera and Fifth Element.for cinema. History and fantasy will work together, as in the comic strip, so that the costumes for the operas Le Roi d’Ys and Robert le Diable correspond to the legendary one from the film Atlantis . But it will come back to the symbols to open this preview of scenes of power, sex and blood, with Gold (The Golden Fleece of Medea ) and Evil (The Black Angels of Simon Boccanegra). These costumes, signed by Gérard Audier, Patrice Cauchetier, Bernard Daydé, Jacques Dupont, Pet Halmen, Anna Maria Heinreich, Iannis Kokkos, Florica Malureanu, Tomio Mohri, Daniel Ogier, Franca Squarciapino, Carlo Tommasi, José Varona, Jean-Pierre Vergier, Francesco Zito… come mostly from shows presented in recent years in major regional opera houses , such as Bordeaux, Lyon and Toulouse. Made in their workshops, they vividly testify to the excellence of the work accomplished. The CNCS is proud to be able to pay them homage in this way.

Complements to the exhibition

The visitor will be immersed in the world of power with numerous stage photographs and film sets, costume models and inspiration documents, as well as accessories and attributes of power, such as jewelry, crowns, weapons. and armor, thrones … He finally find reproductions of portraits of symbolic representation of power (like those of Louis XIV by Hyacinthe Rigaud, Francis I st by Clouet or Philip II of Spain by Titian …) and film clips , such as the coronation of Elizabeth II or the campaign of Vladimir Poutin, broadcast continuously throughout the exhibition.

Images courtesy of Centre National du Costume de Scene. Photo © Florent-Giffard