A moonlit night on a carioca hill: Oscar Niemeyer´s scenography for Orfeu da Conceição

Abstract

In 1954, the poet and composer Vinicius de Moraes published Orfeu da Conceição, adapting the classical Greek myth to Brazilian culture. When it comes to taking the work on stage, de Moraes surrounds himself with friends and regular collaborators, including Oscar Niemeyer, who will be in charge of building the spatial framework in which the piece will take place, for its premiere at the Municipal Theater in Rio de Janeiro in 1956. Niemeyer, in one of his few forays into the field of scenography, will design an installation with a clear architectural character. In addition to reflecting the spatial concretion proposed by de Moraes in his text, the architect will collect some of the recurring ideas in his own work, building an architectural object full of references and symbolism, whose complexity will go beyond the small size and the ephemeral nature of the theatrical production.