Erté’s ‘Der Rosenkavalier’

April 2019

One of the projects for my final year at Wimbledon College of Arts was a theatre and performance where each student chose a design from Erté’s illustrative designs for the Strauss opera Der Rosenkavalier. For this project I chose the police official which, although features as a minor role in Act 2 of the performance, was historically used as a debut for many Tenor singers over the year as an introduction to the stage.

The construction of this project involves carefully tailored pigeon-chested frock coat and pantaloons made of a dark green Melton. The cuffs, collar and epaulettes are made of a red leather for a contemporary twist.

The gold button details and sabre hilt are all designed and 3D printed by myself using Autodesk’s Fusion360 and Maya to replicate the two-headed eagle of the hat. The gold trim is painted to match the buttons in order to recreate the design more effectively.

The shako is made of buckram and melton with gold details to match the design

Modelled by Stewart Lister