Description

Who illustrates opera scores? What do these illustrations tell us about the stage sets, stage management, performance traditions, dramatic art and editorial strategies of the period? What use can they be today within the context of a historically informed  interpretation? Using two case studies taken from the collections of the Hector-Berlioz media library, Pierre Girod and Charlotte Loriot show that an analysis of iconology, cross-referencing these images with other sources, can provide a wealth of information about numerous aspects of an opera production and can often get to the heart of not only the works, but also the intentions of the composers and directors.