Famous for his wild and rumpus-filled take on children's books, Maurice Sendak also cultivated a deep love of opera and classical music that he channeled into designing sets and costumes for productions ranging from "Hansel and Gretel" to "The Nutcracker." Now the Portland Opera is bringing his first ever opera, "The Magic Flute" (May 6–14), back to the stage for the first time in more than a decade.
Sets designed by Maurice Sendak for Mozart's "The Magic Flute."
Courtesy of Houston Grand Opera, photo by Brett Coomer
How did the beloved author of “Where the Wild Things Are” and “In the Night Kitchen" begin designing for opera? He was approached by the well-known director Frank Corsaro and his assistant at the time, Christopher Mattaliano, on behalf of the Houston Opera. Neither knew if Sendak had any interest in set design or opera, but Corsaro cold-called the artist at his home anyhow, because he had loved reading Sendak's books to his son.
Courtesy Houston Grand Opera, photography Brett Coomer
“Turns out Maurice was a huge lover of opera,” Mattaliano, now the general director of The Portland Opera, says. "And to say that he was a huge lover of Mozart is really a grand understatement. Mozart was a key part of Maurice’s existence. He adored and lived for the music of Mozart.” In fact, the composer made cameos in several of Sendak's books (think the funny fellow in the 18th-century garb).
Although he was intimidated by the process of translating his small drawings into theater-size paintings, Sendak crafted more than 60 canvas backdrops and other set pieces for the Houston Grand Opera’s production of “The Magic Flute” — an unusually large amount due to the complexity of the opera. He went on to design award-winning sets for at least half a dozen more ballets and operas throughout the ‘80s and ‘90s, including Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker,” Mozart’s “Idomeneo,” and Janáček's “The Cunning Little Vixen.”
Courtesy Houston Grand Opera, photography by Brett Coomer
Over the years, Sendak and Mattaliano also developed a close friendship, with Mattaliano directing productions of "The Magic Flute" across North America through the '80s and the '90s.
Then disaster struck in 2005 when Hurricane Wilma destroyed the backdrops as they sat in a Florida storage facility.
The sets were lovingly restored under the direction of Mattaliano 36 years later, and their reappearance is something special not only for reasons of art or opera but for reasons of friendship. Mattaliano spoke to Sendak about reviving these sets only months before his death in 2012.
"It's profoundly moving to be doing this production thinking of Maurice," Mattaliano says, "but also to be laughing out loud at times. How wonderful for me personally … to be revisiting this production and to see it come together before my eyes."