Having worked on The Makropulos Affair, Der Rosenkavalier and Faust for Welsh National Opera, production designer and fine artist Nicola Turner makes a welcome return for the company’s take on Britten’s brooding adaptation of Death In Venice by Thomas Mann. Hannah Collins picks her artistic brain on the process this time around…

For those who might not know, what do you do as a theatre production designer?

Nicola Turner: I work closely with the director to create the visuals, space and flow of the production. The director and I meet and share thoughts and ideas as we investigate ways of telling the story. I create a scale 1:25 model and costume drawings for all the different characters, as a point of discussion, and slowly fine-tune the ideas taking into account technical advice and budget conversations. We work closely with the lighting designer and video designer, if applicable. I then work with all the technical teams to realise the ideas onto the stage, responding to any notes coming out of rehearsals.

What drew you to WNO’s Death In Venice?

Nicola Turner: Olivia Fuchs, the director, was offered the production at WNO and asked me whether I would be interested in collaborating with her on it. We have a long relationship of working together and I was excited about the opportunity to collaborate again, both with her and the technical teams at WNO. I knew the story of Death In Venice and was drawn to the prospect of developing ideas for the opera. 

How does it compare to similar productions you’ve worked on before?

Nicola Turner: Each production brings up different challenges but the process of investigating the piece is similar. The research, conversations, trying out ideas and navigating the way to the final design. 

What was your starting point from a design perspective?

Nicola Turner: I started by reading the libretto, listening to the opera, reading the novella Death In Venice, by Thomas Mann, as well as a book about Thomas Mann, called The Magician by Colm Tóibín. I then started to research and collect images together as reference points for the design process. The design has been influenced by the circus elements that we are including in our production, working with NoFit State, and the technical requirements they bring.

The themes and feel of Death In Venice are moody, romantic and sometimes bleak. Would you say it’s a good fit with your typical aesthetic?

Nicola Turner: Yes, I am interested in working with the universal themes around life and death and what goes on in our inner psyche. 

What impact do you want the production design to have on audiences?

Nicola Turner: I hope it allows audiences to follow the themes we are focusing on in the opera and to leave space for them to make their own connections to the piece. 

As a fine artist and sculpturist, how did you become interested in costume and set design?

Nicola Turner: It’s really the other way around. I was working as a costume and set designer when I went back to university to do an MA in fine art, graduating in 2019. My initial degree was in theatre design as I was encouraged to study something that led to a career. Only recently have I started developing my own artistic practice. 

How do the two sides of your profession – an exhibiting artist and designer – inform one another?

Nicola Turner: Both practices investigate materiality and space. My career as a theatre designer has equipped me with the skills to realise my ambitions as a sculptor. 

Is it a different feeling seeing your art in a gallery setting vs seeing it ‘in use’ on stage?

Nicola Turner: As a designer, it is important to serve the piece you are working on. Creating a free-flowing series of images and spaces that help tell the story and emotions of the piece clearly and interestingly. As an artist, there is no text or score to serve, so it becomes a deeply personal response to material and space. 

Death In Venice, Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay, Thurs 7 + Sat 9 Mar; Venue Cymru, Llandudno, Wed 13 Mar.

Tickets: £17-£79/£5 under-16s (Cardiff); £18-£56/£8 kids (Llandudno). Info: Cardiff / Llandudno

words HANNAH COLLINS