Costume for Tamerlano, Act III designed by Judy Levin

From November 19, 1998 to January 23, 1999, the Equitable Gallery will present an exhibition which juxtaposes brilliant costumes for Handel’s Tamerlano with Islamic and European Orientalist works of art that inspired the costume designs. The Glimmerglass presentation of Handel’s baroque opera Tamerlano, under the direction of Jonathan Miller, was acclaimed for its magnificent and imaginative production design. The opera presents the story of the confrontation between the Ottoman Turkish Sultan Bayezid I and his grim Central Asian conqueror, the Tatar emperor Timur, known in the West as Tamerlane. The centerpiece of the production, and of this exhibition, are the sumptuous costumes created by renowned designer Judy Levin. Extravagantly detailed in multiple layers of rich fabrics, the costumes evoke the “Orientalism” that fascinated Europe and was so influential on styles in art, music, fashion and architecture in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Ottoman fabric, Istanbul, later 16th century Courtesy of Francesca Galloway, London

The exhibition was organized by the Kent State University Museum with cooperation from Glimmerglass Opera, Cooperstown, New York. The Equitable Gallery is sponsored by The Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States, a member of the global AXA Group.

Captivated by its “exotic” settings and subjects, European artists, writers and travelers created extensive visual and written interpretations of the Middle East. Many of these paintings and writing served as sources for the costume designs of Tamerlano and are included in the exhibition, through loans from private and museum collections. A number of Orientalist paintings and prints – engravings of the Ottoman sultans, costume prints and portraits of the men and women of the Middle East will be on view. In addition, the show includes objects from within the art traditions of Turkey and the Ottoman Empire: manuscript paintings, rare antique textiles and garments, jewels, armor and decorative arts.

To illustrate the process of design, from initial inspiration to executed costumes, the show will include working drawings by the designer, Judy Levin, a set and costume designer who works internationally in the fields of opera, theater and dance. Judy Levin has collaborated with Jonathan Miller on several productions, including The Coronation of Poppea at Glimmerglass and the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Metropolitan Opera’s The Rake’s Progress, and The Magic Flute for the Santa Fe Opera.

Melchior Lorichs Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent, ca. 1570 Edwin Binney, 3rd Collection of Orientalist Prints

The exhibition will be accompanied by an illustrated catalogue with essays by Dr. Walter Denny, Professor of Art History and Director, Middle East Studies Program at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, who is the curator for the exhibition and will write on images of Turks and the European imagination; Dr. Aileen Ribeiro, Reader in the History of Art and Head, History of Dress Section, the Courtauld Institute of Art, London, who will write on European travelers’ accounts of the Orient; Judy Levin, who will reflect on designing costumes for the Glimmerglass production of Tamerlano; and Jean L. Druesedow, Director of the Kent State University Museum, who will comment on the production of the opera.

Ottoman belt buckle, Turkey, 17th century Courtesy of a Private Collection

The Equitable Gallery presents works from all fields of the visual arts, including exhibitions originating outside of New York that would not otherwise have a presence in the city, as well as works from New York collections that would benefit from preservation and public presentation. The Equitable Gallery is located in the Atrium lobby of The Equitable Building at 787 Seventh Avenue in New York City. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturday, from noon to 5 p.m. Admission is free.