Going against official critics

In New York, Herzog & de Meuron have interpreted a theme that falls outside the traditional architectural boundaries: Giuseppe Verdi's Attila.

The official critics were outraged but the Attila set design, created by Herzog & de Meuron for New York's Metropolitan Opera (conducted by Riccardo Muti, directed by Pierre Audi, costumes by Miuccia Prada), shows that creativity benefits from crossing the boundaries between disciplines.

It was obvious, the Metropolitan Opera is not a testing ground, an approach that is, by contrast, tackled bravely in Europe. In England, for instance, John Pawson (without mentioning Gae Aulenti's countless sets) recently worked on the ballet Chroma at the Royal Ballet in London, creating a refined set design featuring lightweight panels and geometric illumination.

The Swiss architects did not make the spectators' lives easy. Without indulging in romantic visions, they remained true to themselves. The ruins of Aquileia, obliterated by Attila, form an apocalyptic and harsh landscape on which slabs of reinforced concrete are broken and piled up, reminding us of the debris after a modern bombardment.

Attila echoes somewhat Arnaldo Pomodoro's Teneke, an opera that was not given a warm reception at Milan's La Scala opera house, as too the work of Anselm Kiefer. His concrete towers in the Hangar Bicocca – I Sette Palazzi Celesti– share Herzog & de Meuron's statement on the fragility of the human being. The New York Metropolitan Opera was not the right venue – for reasons of mentality and more. It would be good to try again in Milan, perhaps in a space open to all, including the younger generations. Then, Attila could unleash its full potential and defeat even the most traditional critics. Laura Bossi

Attila, Metropolitan Opera, New York
Scenes and costumes: Herzog & de Meuron and Miuccia Prada
Project architect: Claudius Frühauf
Design collaboration: Kornelia Gysel
Light designer: Jean Kalman

Stage models. Courtesy of Herzog & de Meuron.
Stage models. Courtesy of Herzog & de Meuron.

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