Dido and Aeneas Production 2024

I designed and crafted all 13 masks for each character in the theatre production "Dido and Aeneas" in 2024. In addition, I designed and styled the hair for Spirit, Dido and the Sorceress. BAsed on an historical analysis of the play, I aimed to blend Greek and English cultural elements while ensuring clear character differentiation for the opera Dido and Aeneas. The masks reflect the opera’s themes through colors, floral symbolism, and mythological references, emphasizing transformation and the fleeting nature of life and love. Inspired by Baroque and Renaissance aesthetics with surrealist elements, I incorporated materials like lace, leather, rhinestones, and natural elements such as leaves, ferns, and flowers. Dido’s mask feature wedding flowers in violet and rose tones, symbolizing love, while the witches' masks use chaotic greenery to represent their malevolent nature. The chambermaids' masks are colorful, with one incorporating butterflies to symbolize transformation and impermanence. Aeneas’s mask has a Greek-soldier-inspired leather design with red rhinestones representing his tears of love. The soldier’s mask pays homage to The Phantom of the Opera, connecting my personal background in Hamburg to the project.