Casanova play woos audiences

A total of 120 historical costumes appeared in the play, all designed by the award-winning designer Stefano Nicolao.

He has garnered awards and numerous nominations for films such as Marco Polo and Eyes Wide Shut. In order to reflect the essence and uniqueness of Venetian history and culture through his work, Nicolao devised a new concept for this play: while preserving the traditional silhouettes and tailoring techniques of the 18th century, he innovatively incorporated modern fabrics like denim to provide a fresh interpretation for classic characters such as Casanova, infusing the production with a contemporary flair.

The activities, battles, and performances of 21 actors on the surreal stage, coupled with the highly difficult transitions of scenes and costumes, vividly re-created the splendor of 18th-century Venice before the audience's eyes.

For Nicolao, there are many deeply resonant scenes in the play, but his favorite is the part where Casanova, after escaping from prison, attempts to murder the countess.

"Because in this scene, through choreography, we see the countess transformed into six dancers. Through this technique of splitting the character into multiple dancers and intense interaction, we can truly captivate the audience's hearts," Nicolao says.

Fei Yuanhong, the general manager of the Shanghai Culture Square, remarks that, "the classical charm of 18th-century Venice is conveyed very well". However, more significantly, the performance of this work also contributes to the direction of developing multilingual musical theater at Shanghai Culture Square by adding a new language production, he says.

Contact the writer at heqi@chinadaily.com.cn