Ottoman Origins and Design

for Handel's Tamerlano at the Glimmerglass Opera

A unique exhibition featuring sumptuous costumes designed by,
international theatrical designer, Judy Levin

January 24th, 2001 - March 23rd, 2001

Organised by Kent State University Museum, Kent, Ohio and AXA Gallery, New York

"True to the Baroque practice, the costumes by Judy Levin [are] magnificent, just what Handel's audiences would have imagined exotic Turks and Tatars wear."

Anthony Tommasini, for The New York Times

Come to the Brunei Gallery (SOAS) to see an exhibition of "flowing gold-embroidered robes and costumes reminiscent of Scheherazade" and step into a world of Orientalism. Judy Levin's celebrated costumes for Jonathan Miller's 1995 much-acclaimed Glimmerglass Opera production (Cooperstown, New York) are juxtaposed with Islamic and European Orientalist works of art that inspired the costume designs, in a show reflecting the fascination with the vast historical tapestry of orientalist depictions. Extravagantly detailed in multiple layers of rich fabrics, the costumes evoke the 'Turkomania' which was so influential on styles in art, music, fashion and architecture in the 18th and 19th centuries. The exhibition offers a behind-the-scene opportunity - appealing to opera goers, designers, art students and the general public alike - to see the mechanism of the choices made by a contemporary designer faced with the task of designing for an opera composed in the 18th century, but set in the 15th.

Sponsored by: John P. Murphy Foundation, Continental Airlines, Kent State University, and SOAS

For further information on exhibition details, please contact:

The Brunei Gallery (SOAS):

Tel: 020 7898 4046 - Recorded Information
Tel: 020 7898 4915 - Reception
Fax: 020 7898 4259
e-mail: gallery@soas.ac.uk

Specific press enquiries for this exhibition to Roxane Zand:
Tel: 0976 297 339; e-mail: roxzand@aol.com