{"meta":{"version":"2.1","_links":{"self":{"href":"https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/object/O1296428"},"collection_page":{"href":"https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1296428/"}},"images":{"_primary_thumbnail":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2014HF3251/full/!100,100/0/default.jpg","_iiif_image":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2014HF3251/","_alt_iiif_image":[],"imageResolution":"low","_images_meta":[{"assetRef":"2014HF3251","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false}]},"see_also":null},"record":{"systemNumber":"O1296428","accessionNumber":"S.1401-2014","objectType":"Costume design","titles":[{"title":"The Queen of Spades","type":"generic title"}],"summaryDescription":"Costume design by Leslie Hurry for male singers in Act II, Scene I of Tchaikovsky's opera <i>The Queen of Spades</i>, Sadler's Wells Theatre, 1966. The singers are Cyril Crook, Paul Crookand Neville Griffiths (tenors) and Charles Draper and Kenneth Fawcett (basses).\n\nThis production of the three-act opera, <i>The Queen of Spades </i>by Peter Tchaikovsky, with its libretto based on Alexander Pushkin’s story by Modest Tchaikovsky, was performed in an English translation by Rosa Newmarch. The first production of this opera at Sadler’s Wells Theatre opened on 14 September 1966. The production was directed by Anthony Besch with choreography by Harry Haythorne and Leslie Hurry’s designs were lit by Charles Bristow. \n\nLeslie Hurry (1909-1978) trained at the Royal Academy and during the 1930s became known as a surrealist painter. A one-man show in London in 1942 was seen by the theatre director, Michael Benthall, who recommended Hurry to the dancer and choreographer, Robert Helpmann, then planning a ballet based on Shakespeare's <i>Hamlet</i>.  The success of his designs set Hurry on a second career as one of the most distinguished theatre designers of his generation.  He designed operas, ballets and plays, notably <i>Swan Lake</i> for the Sadler's Wells Ballet in 1943, a production which stayed in the repertoire for thirty years; <i>Venice Preserv'd</i> for Peter Brook (1953); the Ring Cycle at Covent Garden (1954), and <i>Troilus and Cressida</i> at Stratford for Peter Hall (1960), famous for being staged in a sand pit.\r\n\r\nLeslie Hurry’s designs for <i>The Queen of Spades </i>were criticised for their lack of colour, and for failing to convey the lavish dress and wealth of aristocratic society in 18th-century St Petersburg. <i>The Sunday Times</i>, however, considered the sets ‘harmoniously coloured’ and ‘suitably uncluttered and oppressive’ and a reviewer writing for <i>The Times</i> found the costumes of Russian officers in the gambling scene particularly 'appealing'.\r\n","physicalDescription":"Costume design by Leslie Hurry for male singers in Act II, Scene I of the 1966 production of <i>The Queen of Spades</i> at Sadler's Wells Theatre.\n\nThe design shows a full-length, profile image of a male figure dressed in a close-fitting cutaway coat over tight knee breeches. The coat is a deep blue/green and the knee breeches are pale blue. There is a striped blue and yellow sash at the waist. A selection of five fabric swatches, two of silk velvet and three of closely woven wool, are pinned to the lower right hand corner and each swatch is labelled with a two digit number in pencil. The colours range from a deep dark brown to a pale blue and purple. A handwritten annotation at the bottom of the design indicates that these costumes were made up by the costumiers, Angels, a company run by Morris Angel in London.\n ","artistMakerPerson":[{"name":{"text":"Hurry, Leslie","id":"A9404"},"association":{"text":"designer","id":"AAT25681"},"note":""}],"artistMakerOrganisations":[{"name":{"text":"Sadler's Wells","id":"AUTH323842"},"association":{"text":"producer","id":"AAT197742"},"note":""}],"artistMakerPeople":[],"materials":[{"text":"ink","id":"AAT15012"},{"text":"paper","id":"x30308"},{"text":"graphite","id":"AAT11098"},{"text":"watercolour","id":"x33202"},{"text":"velvet","id":"AAT133711"},{"text":"wool","id":"x40131"}],"techniques":[{"text":"drawing (image-making)","id":"AAT54196"},{"text":"painting (image-making)","id":"AAT54216"}],"materialsAndTechniques":"Ink, watercolour and pencil with attached fabric swatches","categories":[{"text":"Entertainment & Leisure","id":"THES48959"},{"text":"Designs","id":"THES48968"},{"text":"Opera","id":"THES263971"}],"styles":[],"collectionCode":{"text":"T&P","id":"THES48602"},"images":["2014HF3251"],"imageResolution":"low","galleryLocations":[{"current":{"text":"009","id":"THES356600"},"free":"","case":"","shelf":"","box":""}],"partTypes":[[{"text":"design","id":"AAT54190"}]],"contentWarnings":[{"apprise":"","note":""}],"placesOfOrigin":[{"place":{"text":"Great Britain","id":"x32019"},"association":{"text":"drawn","id":"x30545"},"note":""}],"productionDates":[{"date":{"text":"1966","earliest":"1966-01-01","latest":"1966-12-31"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"associatedObjects":[],"creditLine":"Given by Mrs Caro Rathbone","dimensions":[{"dimension":"Height","value":"38.7","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Width","value":"17.6","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""}],"dimensionsNote":"","marksAndInscriptions":[{"content":"'Queen of Spades'","inscriber":{"name":{"text":"","id":""},"association":{"text":"","id":""}},"date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"description":"","interpretation":"","language":"","medium":"","method":"","position":"","script":"","translation":"","transliteration":"","type":"","note":"Handwritten annotation in ink, at centre top"},{"content":"'Singers, Act II, Sc I/vary tone + colour keep to grey/[illegible]'","inscriber":{"name":{"text":"","id":""},"association":{"text":"","id":""}},"date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"description":"","interpretation":"","language":"","medium":"","method":"","position":"","script":"","translation":"","transliteration":"","type":"","note":"Handwritten annotation in purple ink at the bottom left of the sketch"},{"content":"'C.CROOK/P.CROOK/N.GRIFFITHS/C.DRAPER/K.FAWCETT/A.N.OTHER'","inscriber":{"name":{"text":"","id":""},"association":{"text":"","id":""}},"date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"description":"","interpretation":"","language":"","medium":"","method":"","position":"","script":"","translation":"","transliteration":"","type":"","note":"Handwritten annotation in pencil, left hand side"},{"content":"'ANGELS'","inscriber":{"name":{"text":"","id":""},"association":{"text":"","id":""}},"date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"description":"","interpretation":"","language":"","medium":"","method":"","position":"","script":"","translation":"","transliteration":"","type":"","note":"Handwritten annotation in red biro, bottom left hand corner."},{"content":"'Rubans/D.Brown - Borovick/Dormal x51046/x51054/x51052'","inscriber":{"name":{"text":"","id":""},"association":{"text":"","id":""}},"date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"description":"","interpretation":"","language":"","medium":"","method":"","position":"","script":"","translation":"","transliteration":"","type":"","note":"Handwritten annotation in pen on the rear of the design"}],"objectHistory":"","historicalContext":"","briefDescription":"Costume design by Leslie Hurry for male singers in Act II, Scene I of Tchaikovsky's opera <i>The Queen of Spades</i>, Sadler's Wells Theatre, 1966","bibliographicReferences":[],"production":"","productionType":{"text":"","id":""},"contentDescription":"","contentPlaces":[],"associatedPlaces":[],"contentPerson":[],"associatedPerson":[],"contentOrganisations":[],"associatedOrganisations":[],"contentPeople":[],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[],"associatedEvents":[],"contentOthers":[],"contentConcepts":[],"contentLiteraryRefs":["Queen of Spades"],"galleryLabels":[],"partNumbers":["S.1401-2014"],"accessionNumberNum":"1401","accessionNumberPrefix":"S","accessionYear":2014,"otherNumbers":[],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE"],"assets":[],"recordModificationDate":"2025-04-16","recordCreationDate":"2014-07-11","availableToBook":true}}