Director & Set Designer

”There is such a strong love for this work" - conversation with director Clara Svärd and set & costume designer Marika Feinsliber

Director and choreographer Clara Svärd was involved in the direction of the premiere in 2011 but looks forward to working on the production from start to finish this time, along with set and costume designer Marika Feinsilber.

Pride and Prejudice has a loyal, large, and extremely devoted "fan base." How have you approached it?
MARIKA: I've worked with a lot of newly written works, which I find enjoyable, but I have a bit of a fear of classics. It can be a numbing feeling that everything has already been done, and everything will be compared. Everyone has – as it turns out – an entry point to Jane Austen. Love or hate. This is a classic with capital letters, but we have still managed to keep ourselves free in our little world.

CLARA: It is also a novel that is so much. It would have been harder to do something that didn't have so many spin-offs and subcultures. It's a bit of a "full circle," where you become freer again – everything has already been done, so the playing field is open again.

What would you say about the story and the relevance of Pride and Prejudice today – how has it aged to the present day?
CLARA: Jane Austen makes social criticism based on psychologically credible characters. You strongly feel her identification with Lizzy. Lizzy has that critical aspect that is her superpower but also hinders her. Pride and Prejudice is also a clear story about class. We talked earlier about Mr. Wickham with Fabian, who plays him; he is very angry because of his class affiliation. He is stuck in it, and this is, of course, still highly relevant today.

How do you view the original work after working with it so intensively; has it changed?
CLARA: My strongest insight is that you know the power of this work, but you are still overwhelmed when you talk to people. It shows in those involved in the project that this is a book that affects people. That it has made a monumental impression and means so much to so many. There is such a strong love for this work.

MARIKA: Yes, Jane Austen was a master at finding the universal. Everyone can find something that feels relevant to them. I had the same experience when I read the book.

CLARA: Many say things like "my grandmother is so happy that you're doing this"; it is so relevant and evokes such broad engagement. You knew it… but still, you are touched.

It's a costume drama; can you tell us more about the inspiration for the costume?
MARIKA: Fundamentally, we have the period-appropriate corset that gives a certain posture. The corset in the 1800s was less demanding, softer, and kinder than the one in the 1700s. Then we have the basic silhouette with the puffed-up bust, cut under the bust, and then the straight cut, which was "French Revolution fashion"; everything should be simple, relaxed, and a bit nightgown fashion. We have also added fashion from our time and given our dresses a bit more volume because it is simply boring with these nightgowns on stage. And somehow, I think the Bennet sisters are not "nightgown types"; they should take up a bit of space.

CLARA: The sisters are a bit more modern.

MARIKA: Yes, we have done things that we and fashion enthusiasts today find nice, simply! With a bit more shape and contour, so that in dance, you can see feet and ankles, so it doesn't just become like big tents coming in. And then that the hair doesn't become so stiff. There were a lot of corkscrew curls and stiff hairstyles then. We have softened that, as most films have done too, with a bit more loose hair. For the guys, it's quite difficult to modernize; it's so neat with knee breeches and boots. They couldn't be sacrificed.

CLARA: They couldn't be sacrificed!

Humor is prominent in the performance. What makes comedy work in opera?
CLARA: Humor often lies in the unspoken, saying one thing while something else is going on. And opera is designed exactly that way, that the music and text can resist or complement each other and really tell different things.

What do you think is special about the opera Pride and Prejudice? CLARA: Just like the novel, it becomes a delicious package but with an incredibly touching content with credible characters. It becomes a great theater experience.

MARIKA: And it's delightful that there is warmth in the work, and that it's not a farce or a musical – it's precisely an opera that really has warmth, joy, and humor in it.