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Nathan.\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":"Design for a stage costume by Leslie Hurry for Tchaikovsky's &lt;i&gt;Queen of Spades&lt;/i&gt;, Sadler's Wells, 1966. The design is for a costume worn by the character Count Tomsky, in Act 2, Scene 1.\nThe design shows a full-length, 3/4 view, of a male figure in a tunic, which is gathered at the waist with a striped sash. The shoulders of the tunic are decorated with stylised epaulettes and full, loose, trousers, which finished at the upper calf, are visible beneath. The figure also wears a turban decorated with a single, upstanding feather at the centre front.","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":"blue ink","id":"x45989"},{"text":"ink","id":"AAT15012"},{"text":"watercolour","id":"x33202"}],"techniques":[{"text":"drawing (image-making)","id":"AAT54196"},{"text":"painting (image-making)","id":"AAT54216"}],"materialsAndTechniques":"Black ink, watercolour and pencil drawing","categories":[{"text":"Entertainment & Leisure","id":"THES48959"},{"text":"Designs","id":"THES48968"},{"text":"Opera","id":"THES263971"}],"styles":[],"collectionCode":{"text":"T&P","id":"THES48602"},"images":["2014HF3316"],"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":"38.2","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Width","value":"19.3","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":"'Tomsky'","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 the bottom left hand side of the sketch"},{"content":"'ACT 2 SC.1'","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 in biro, bottom left hand corner"},{"content":"'NATHANS'","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, bottom centre of design."}],"objectHistory":"","historicalContext":"","briefDescription":"Costume design by Leslie Hurry for Count Tomsky in Act II, Scene I of Tchaikovsky's opera <i>The Queen of Spades</i>, Sadler's Wells Theatre, 1966\n","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.1413-2014"],"accessionNumberNum":"1413","accessionNumberPrefix":"S","accessionYear":2014,"otherNumbers":[],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE"],"assets":[],"recordModificationDate":"2025-04-16","recordCreationDate":"2014-07-23","availableToBook":true}}