“One of the highlights of Gaitanou’s production is Takis’ set and costume designs – from the crumbling set pieces riddled with what seems to be bullet holes but become stars, to the gender bending costumes of the masquerade ball, the concepts have been carefully thought out. The set also features neon elements that are green to symbolise trees or yellow to symbolise lightning or the fracture between the families.” — Stage Whispers, Barry Hill OAM
Roméo et Juliette | Her Majesty’s Theatre, Adelaide, October 23 – November 1, 2025
World premiere production of Charles Gounod’s romantic opera based on Shakespeare’s tragedy. Presented by State Opera South Australia in co-production with Irish National Opera and West Australian Opera. The production features soprano Siobhan Stagg as Juliette and tenor Kyle Stegall as Roméo, conducted by Dane Lam and directed by Rodula Gaitanou.
takis designed the set and costumes for this new staging, creating a visual world that serves Gounod’s soaring arias and intense duets. The design addresses the opera’s shifts between the violent feud of Verona’s streets and the intimate romance of the lovers, using lighting design by Bernie Tan-Hayes to enhance the dramatic transformation from daylight conflict to moonlit garden encounters. The production runs 2 hours 40 minutes with a 20-minute interval, performed in French with English surtitles.
Gounod’s 1867 opera premiered at the Théâtre Lyrique in Paris, becoming one of his most successful works alongside Faust. While Shakespeare’s play emphasizes fate and family conflict, Gounod’s adaptation focuses on the psychology of young love, with the famous “Je veux vivre” waltz capturing Juliette’s joie de vivre before tragedy unfolds. This tri-country co-production marks an important collaboration between three major Australian and Irish opera companies.
Creative Team: Composer: Charles Gounod | Librettists: Jules Barbier & Michel Carré | Director: Rodula Gaitanou | Designer: takis | Conductor: Dane Lam | Lighting: Bernie Tan-Hayes
Press
“Takis’s set and costume design is equally as impressive. The set, mostly made of several giant movable walls or columns made of mesh and crumbling concrete, were easily moved around the stage to create the different scenes.” — Ben Stefanoff, Glam Adelaide, 24 October 2025
“Set and costume designer takis has given a modern twist to the 400-year-old story with a cross between New York gangster and Berlin underground party atmosphere. Crumbling industrial LED-lit structures inlaid with mesh give way to an ethereal expanse of star-studded lights, symbolising a connection between solid family ties and the freedom of true love and emotion.” — John Goodridge, The AU Review, 26 October 2025
“The lighting is finely embedded within the set by the designer Takis: a post-industrial/renaissance blend of towers of wire, castle and LEDs moved into varying configurations to create the different locations.” — Russell Fewster, The Conversation, October 2025