Adolphe Appia

Swiss stage designer
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Born:
September 1, 1862 Geneva Switzerland
Died:
February 29, 1928 (aged 65) Switzerland

Adolphe Appia, (born Sept. 1, 1862, Geneva, Switz.—died Feb. 29, 1928, Nyon), Swiss stage designer whose theories, especially on the interpretive use of lighting, helped bring a new realism and creativity to 20th-century theatrical production. Although his early training was in music, Appia studied theatre in Dresden and Vienna from the age of 26. In 1891 he propounded his revolutionary theories of theatrical production. Four years later he published La Mise en scène du drame Wagnérien (1895; “The Staging of the Wagnerian Drama”), a collection of stage and lighting plans for 18 of Wagner’s operas that clarified the function of ...(100 of 265 words)