Tobias Wolff, the initiator of the project and the designated Intendant of the Leipzig Opera House, is pleased about the recognition right at the start. "Thanks to Opera Europa and Fedora, we will now analyse the life cycle of our costumes in four opera productions and draw conclusions for sustainable procurement, production, use and disposal. Particularly from the craft side and together with the artists, we can turn crucial adjustments in order to achieve and secure convincing standards of sustainability." Together with Steinunn Birna Ragnarsdóttir, CEO and Artistic Director of the Icelandic Opera, Tobias Wolff accepted the joint Next Stage Award in Prague on 17 June 2022. The project manager at the Leipzig Opera will be Katja Schmidt. The master milliner has already specialised in the topic of sustainable product development during her studies in textile and clothing technology.
Green Design
Oper Leipzig and Icelandic Opera have acknowledged the responsibility of major cultural institutions towards climate change. “Sustainable Costumes” was inspired by the work and research of Urs Dierker on sustainable transition in the field of costume design. Dierker is a textile artist, researcher, and founder of the Circular Costume Design platform. It investigates different phases of several opera productions to assess how sustainable changes can be achieved using various strategies – green design (focus on material), life-cycle thinking (focus on processes) and participatory practices (focus on social aspects of change). The “Sustainable Costumes” project will use participatory design methods to include from the start the very people who define opera productions and who design, make and handle costumes. Practical research outcomes will be directly applicable to current opera processes. They can be shared, including new models for material circularity between productions and institutions, based on research with the two partner operas and their supplier networks. This includes exploring digital tools for materials management, systems for sustainable materials procurement and logistics, and policy recommendations and design briefs as guidelines for creative teams.
Opera Europa is the leading service organisation for professional opera companies and opera festivals throughout Europe. The organisation currently serves over 215 members from 43 countries. FEDORA’s mission is to support the renewal of opera and ballet. As an association of philanthropists from across Europe, Fedora aims to bring together opera and ballet enthusiasts who share the same vision of excellence.In 2021, FEDORA and Opera Europa launched the NEXT STAGE Initiative to trigger change and recovery in the opera and dance sector. This initiative provides financial support and skills development to boost innovation through sustainability, inclusivity, and digital transformation.
http://www.fedora-platform.com
_Presentation of the sustainability projects in Leipzig at the opera house: Grüne Soirée_8 Sept 2022_7.30 pm
_Eröffnung der Spielzeit Open Air am 17.9.2022 mit Future: NOW!
_Programme and further info online spielzeit.oper-leipzig.de
The Oper Leipzig follows the tradition of over 325 years of musical theatre in Leipzig: in 1693, the first opera house on the Brühl was opened as the third civic music theatre in Europe after Venice and Hamburg. Since 1840, the world-renowned Gewandhaus Orchestra has played for all performances of the opera and the Leipzig ballet. In addition to today’s opera house on Augustusplatz, built in 1960, Oper Leipzig includes the Musikalische Komödie in the Lindenau district, a special venue for musicals and operettas. With around 700 employees, it is the city’s largest in-house cultural institution and comprises five mainstays: the opera, the Musikalische Komödie, the Leipzig Ballet, the 360° outreach division and the theatre craft studios, which work for all of the city’s theatres.
Tobias Wolff will assume the position of General Music Director and Chief Executive Officer of Oper Leipzig as of the 2022/23 season. The studied musician and cultural manager became known as Managing Director of the Göttingen International Handel Festival, one of the world’s oldest festivals for baroque music, and also as Co-founder and Spokesman of the Forum Musik Festival, an association of over 100 festival organisations throughout Germany. His Leipzig team includes Dr. Cornelia Preissinger as the new Opera Director and Vice General Music Director, as well as Chief Dramaturge Marlene Hahn. Music Director will be Christoph Gedschold. Tobias Wolff is also looking forward to continuing the collaboration with Ballet Director and Chief Choreographer Mario Schröder and with Torsten Rose as Director of the Musikalische Komödie.
Oper Leipzig
Augustusplatz 12
04109 Leipzig
Telefon: +49 (341) 1261-0
Telefax: +49 (341) 1261-300
http://www.oper-leipzig.de
Pressesprecherin der Oper Leipzig
Telefon: +49 (341) 1261-266
Fax: +49 (341) 1261-384
E-Mail: kienemund@oper-leipzig.de
