In mid-December, the guidelines of the health department forced Hollands Diep to give up its preferred performance location of the Wantij-dike due to insufficient safe public capacity. That change left the costume design untouched for the time being, but required a radically different approach to set design. The naturally stepped decor of the Wantij-dike was replaced by the large, tree-lined grass plain of the VDH site. I designed an orchestra space enclosed by an accolade of stepped stage decks, with two ascending stands for the audience directly opposite. The wide strip of grassland in between served as a playing field.
Top view of the design proposal for the VDH site
Side view with stage deck construction, playing field and space for the audience
VFront view of the stage deck construction with a panel applied to the front, on which a quote from the city rights* and five flagpoles with three successive combinations of 'heraldic' banners
* I, Willem, by the grace of God Count of Holland, and my wife Maria announce to the people who live now as well as to posterity in Dordrecht:
At the beginning of 2021, the board decided that Maria, Empress of Dordt would be postponed until the summer of 2022. In order to offer the MHD board and those directly involved an overview of the results achieved, an internal - online - presentation was inserted in which all parts of the production were reviewed. The libretto is then written, the score composed and all sets, costumes and props conceived and designed. This concluded the design phase.
