Letter: Sir Ken Adam’s opera debut

http://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/mar/25/sir-ken-adam-obituary-letter

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Ken Adam made a notable debut in the opera world in 1977, designing Puccini’s La Fanciulla del West for the Royal Opera. Directed by the brilliant Piero Faggioni, the production, in which Plácido Domingo, Carol Neblett and Silvano Carroli sang at the Covent Garden premiere, was masterful in its realistic re-creation of the Californian gold rush of the 1840s. The sets were monumental and heavy, and for many revivals challenged the theatre’s technical resources. The stage crew, much as they loved Ken and his work, were heard to remark that “this scenery belongs on a bloody film set”. Last seen in 2008, the show set a benchmark in operatic design that, without his background at Pinewood and meticulous eye for detail, might never have been reached.