Experiencing opera history with all the senses

It’s a grand project for a grand art form: An exhibition on the history of opera, not only shedding light on the history of the genre but also exploring the changing social settings in which it evolved – from royal courts to today’s public opera houses, with ever more theatres being built across the globe and audiences growing. To really convey the magic of the art form, the Victoria and Albert Museum’s first major exhibition dedicated to the genre is itself presented in the manner of a grand opera.

Seven world premieres, seven global cities, seven stages of opera history – museum director Tristram Hunt describes the content of “Opera: Passion, Power and Politics” in London’s Victoria and Albert Museum (or V&A for short) as a “soundtrack to the history of Europe”. Curated by Kate Bailey, the exhibition inaugurates the 1100 m² Sainsbury Gallery, where skylights of smoky glass and steel contrast starkly with the white ceramic tiles on the floor. Part of a new wing of the arts and crafts museum, the gallery was designed by architect Amanda Levete (AL_A) and opened in June after six years’ construction work. 

Starting in the renaissance, when opera first emerged, and ending in the present, the exhibition takes the visitor on a chronological tour of seven landmark performances: from Venice to St Petersburg, via London, Vienna, Paris, Milan and Dresden. The tour is enriched by three truly compelling ingredients. Firstly, the pieces have been selected to illustrate how art and society are inter-related – opera, we are shown, does not exist in a rarefied, artificial world of its own. Secondly, the exhibition is itself a quasi-theatrical experience. Thirdly, it aims to make a broad, multi-media impact, not only within the exhibition space but also by offering a broad accompanying programme, ranging from lectures, radio and TV reports to an online introductory course for newcomers to opera. 

This stunning presentation of 400 years of opera history closes with a 360 degree video installation where visitors can immerse themselves in opera works of recent decades. 

“Opera: Passion, Power and Politics” is showing at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London until 25 February 2018.