“The revolving wooden interior designed by takis transforms to woodland cottage, church, garden or graveyard.” — Reviews Gate, Clare Colvin
“The set by takis works well in both operas. We are given a centre stage building constructed with rough planks which is manually revolved to provide scene changes.” — Lark Reviews, Susan Elkin
“takis’s set designs worked to the advantage of this drama; a simple but effective revolving set.” — Arcana, Richard Whitehouse
“a simple wooden hut in the countryside that becomes a Parisian bar through a single revolution.” — Classical Source, Curtis Rogers
Margot la Rouge / Le Villi | Opera Holland Park, London, 2022
A double bill of one-act operas: Frederick Delius’s Margot la Rouge and Giacomo Puccini’s Le Villi, both composed for the Sonzogno opera competition but never winning. This Opera Holland Park production closed the 2022 season, directed by Martin Lloyd-Evans with designs by takis. Conductor Timothy Myers led the City of London Sinfonia.
takis’ design unified the contrasting works—Delius’s Parisian tragedy and Puccini’s Black Forest supernatural tale—creating visual worlds for both the decadent Parisian demi-monde and the Germanic folklore of vengeful spirits. The production demonstrated how these compositional “failures” contain remarkable music worthy of revival.
Creative Team: Director: Martin Lloyd-Evans | Designer: takis | Conductor: Timothy Myers | Composers: Frederick Delius & Giacomo Puccini
Production page: Opera Holland Park · Reviews: Reviews Gate, Lark Reviews, Arcana, Classical Source