INTRODUZIONE IN LINGUA ITALIANA:

Laureato della Academia di Architettura ed Arte applicata in Belgrado, Miodrag Tabacki comincia 1973 la sua carriera di scenografo. Ha creato le scenografie per piu di 200 spettacoli di teatro ed opera non solamente nella sua patria ma in tanti paesi dell’ Europa. La belleza delle sue scenografie ha presentata a mostri in Serbia, Europa ed America.

2004 - una mongrafia bilingue rappresenta la opera del questo ilustre scenografo contemporaneo. Nella faculta del Arte dramatico in Belgrado professor Miodrag Tabacki insegna arte della scenografia non solo per studenti di pittura, ma anche per i futuri registi. Lui visiting professor nella Universita statale dell Ohio - USA. E premiato con Fulbright scholarship, anche con Gold Pen Award / Penna d’oro/ - 2006 del Instututo delle tecnologie di teatro degi USA / USITT/.

E’ stato vicepresidente della comisione della scenografia di OISTAT – Organisazione mondiale di scenogfari e architetti del teatro. Il regista bulgaro d ’opera Plamen Cartalov ha invitato Miodrag Tabacki per la scenografia di TURANDOT di Puccini nella Opera nazionale di Bulgaria in Sofia. Il pubblico bulgaro ha stato impresionato dello spazio visuale creato di maestro Tabacki, dove lui ha usato dei simboli forti come la Muraglia Cinese transformata in drago. Miodrag Tabaci ha stato presidente della giuria per la scenografia di competizione Eurovisione 2008 in Belgrado.

INTERVISTA IN LINGUA INGLESE:

How do you start to work a new scenography?

I start from the text or from the libretto. If it is a music production I start from the music. This time with TURANDOT it was the same as in a lot of classic operas: sometimes the libretto is very fairytale-like and naive – based on tales or legends and the music is really very serious and complex. My intention was to design and to offer the solution which would combine both – the play and the music. I was also very interested in giving a necessary dose of exotic which is partially present in the music and completely in the libretto.

What is more important- the whole or the detail?

The whole is very important, but in a music production the detail becomes very important because in the opera the power of music is essential and in the case of TURANDOT the singers and the conductor, being the part of a large whole, are perfect. I am absolutely impressed by the singers and the conductor Tabakov, who is well-known in my country too. A single detail can also be magnificent in relation to the whole. The set as a detail and part of the whole play could also be a very powerful element of the play and its concept. The set is represented by hundreds and hundreds of square meters and if used in the best way it could be one of the most important components of the play and a very powerful sign.

Are you looking for signs to express your idea? What are the signs in your set design for TURANDOT in Sofia?

The sign is always a very impressive element of the general solution. When the signs are well chosen it always contributes to the quality of the design. As a general sign in space of Turandot, I use the elements of the wall symbolizing the strength of people in power. These signs of the wall are transformed into the dragon which confirms the intended intensity. There is also a symbol of China, that is, the setting, whose design is inspired by Chinese textile patterns.

The dialogue between the costumes and the set design?

Costumes and the set are generally the two main components. Sometimes we can share tasks. It is not necessary that set and costumes answer the same questions – it is enough if the set gives the atmosphere and costumes become the sign of history or vice versa. I was happy to collaborate with costume designers of Bulgaria.

How does scenography -scene-design- help the opera to survive?

It is a difficult question. I think that visual components could be very significant for any theatrical event. If set and costume designs are the organic part of the whole and if they support the basic plot of the play and if they have personal and fine arts qualities, they could be very important elements in supporting the opera in its survival. The essential thing for me is the music, that is, the interpretation of it.

What is your main principle?

My main principle is to respect everything that is part of the play, and to try to find a place for my ideas and my design regarding the intentions of all other authors. I take care of costumes, I take care of the movement, I take care of the play, and finally, of the workshops and of the financial circumstances of the theatre. Scenographers have very complex tasks when it is necessary to fulfill all these requirements.

Being professor in Belgrade and at some universities in the USA, what are you teaching your students?

I am teaching my students to build a personal approach – this is possible in art – there are as many truths as many different creators. I teach my students to use a personal approach and to create and to shape personal designs. My students are not only the students of theater design, but also of theater directing – so I teach my students to use set and costume design in the proper way and the best possible way in their future productions. I don’t teach my students to be young Tabacki, I try to cherish their individual personalities. Usually I don’t speak about my work. I give only one presentation of my work – it is either at the end of schooling in Belgrade or as a presentation of my work to foreign students at the very beginning of our collaboration.

What is scenography in one word for you?

It is visual space – space could be physical and visual. I think the scenography is the unity of these two kinds of space. The scenography is not only visual, but also functional.

2008 is the year for Intercultural dialogue as the main program for the EU.

The dialogue is very important in art and especially in the theater, and that is why I am traveling a lot, changing places, experiences and opinions.

What do you think about the Balkans as a cultural area? Do we know each other enough?

The space of culture is always a live space and it changes and develops permanently. It is necessary to attend to the development of your cultural space and to meet it constantly. When it comes to foreign cultural space, the matter becomes more complex and demanding. Getting to know other cultural spaces leads us to the development of art, enriches our experience and makes our work more fruitful. It is extremely important to exchange experiences and broaden one’s creative capabilities.

Miodrag Tabacki