Photo by Costin Radu.
The intrigue, melancholy, and charm of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake have not faded in its nearly 150 years in production. So when director Nikolaj Hübbe called upon Mikki Kunttu, who had done lighting design for The Royal Danish Ballet a number of times previously, to design sets, lighting, and video for the Royal Danish Theatre production at Copenhagen Opera House, Kunttu was in. “Actually, I also programmed the whole show and created a part of the screen content,” the multi-talented designer says.
With the creative team including choreographer Silja Schandorff and costume designer Mia Stensgaard, this is was what Kunttu calls “a dream team. And to work with Mia is always just perfect; she’s so super-talented. I think everything she does turns into signature design. That is why I call her Her Royal Highness.”
The parameters of the story came first for Kunttu, who says that the ballet is timeless because of the incredible score and the universal and enduring message. “With a classic such as Swan Lake, there is a lot of history there,” he says. “This obviously also plays a big role in the process, and I like to think it’s like a canvas you start to paint on. The history with all its weight is always there. For me, it was the highest hill to climb in this production, to make peace with that tradition and still be able to blow away all its dust.”
Photo by Mikki Kunttu.
Peter M. Rasmussen, production manager for The Royal Danish Theatre, notes what is special about this production. “Right from the sketch presentation, the Swan Lake production has been characterized by the fact that the set designer and light designer is the same person. Where you often see that set and light are two separate things, it is obvious in this production that the set and the light is a whole. The one thing is nothing without the other.”
The set design, naturally, came next in order to establish the space for what the company itself has publicized as “a minimalist and cinematic version dramatized by visual effects and lighting.” Kunttu notes that he wanted his set design to be “visually modern and of my own signature, but still drawing its strengths from the romantic dynamics of the choreography, the music, and the story.” His inspiration for the set borrows primarily from Art Deco—Kunttu says he particularly loves the era—but keeping it not completely in that style. “The basic idea of the sets is a huge cut-out shape, and it actually creates its own big gobos on stage, which is brilliant to light through, of course.”
From The Dark Side
Photo by Costin Radu.
Because the stage in ballet is mostly dominated by the space needed for the dancers to perform, Kunttu is restricted in just how much of a set he can design for the genre. “The sets really push the walls of the stage,” he says. “I wanted it to be as large as possible, and you can really create sets up in the air or far in the wings. I wanted to overcome this basic obstacle, turn it into strength instead, and so the idea of flying sets was born.” The ten pieces of cut-out legs, which Kunttu calls “shape legs,” stand 9m tall and hang on individual Triple E Unitrack Systems that can be moved independently, using custom-built Wahlberg motors controlled via wireless DMX from an ETC Insight 3 console. The cut-out borders—“shape borders”—also hang independently and can move up and down, and left to right, to create a collapse that occurs in a scene when travelling to the lakeside, for example. All moving set pieces are battery-powered, and The Royal Theatre crew did the rigging.
With the story encompassing themes of youth, beauty, unrequited love, and tragedy, dark and light were important counterpoints in the designs. “I’m mostly drawn into the dark side, which is I guess quite evident in the design, as well,” says Kunttu. “As the sets are very monochromatic—read: black—there is more headroom for saturation and hues in the lights and costumes. The sets, and a lot of times also the lighting, tend to be very graphical and directional; at the same time, the costumes can take a softer and more organic role. On the other hand, I really like the ‘shape legs’ making a completely silent, feather-like, poetic movement, being big, graphical, and heavy-looking at the same time. I really love to find a stage contrast, and I believe it was found here in a perfect way.”
Photo by Mikki Kunttu.
Once the initial ideas for the set framework were solidified, the other elements progressed in parallel. “The first design draft had a few more elements in it, but as I advanced to scale-model presentation, I realized what we have now on stage is really enough,” he says. “In the end, it actually feels there was more to explore with the sets, but there’s only so much time and only so many things that can fit in the production. Also, the first version of the sets had some more traditional elements that we did not feel necessary in the end, though at the same time, the most adventurous ideas of using laser and such were also cut.”
Kunttu notes that some challenges arose with the weight of the borders and legs, he says, “since we had to design the set to be used at both the opera house and the Old Stage, which is smaller, and even to go on tour. We had several meetings discussing materials and how to build the set and finally ended up with an old-fashioned construction with wood, core plaster, and Forex on top.”
Rasmussen adds that the set he saw in sketches is very close to the final result. “Even though it is a big production, it has actually been quite simple,” he says. “From a workshop point of view, the production has been pretty much painless, and the result on stage is, in my opinion, just awesome.” The set construction was done by Engelbrecht Construction and the set painting by Colour Compagniet.
Check out Part Two, which features the lighting design and projections.