Edward Burra C.B.E. (British, 1905-1976)
Gypsy Dancers

signed 'E.J. Burra' (lower right); inscribed 'Two Wine Barrel/Carmen Act I/C GYPSIES ACT II' (to the centre of sheet)
watercolour and pencil

Dimensions: 43.2 x 43.2 cm. (17 x 17 in.)

The estate of the artist, circa 1975, from whom acquired by
The Lefevre Gallery, London, circa 1985, from whom acquired by the present owner

"Burra’s designs for the stage were less about décor than about drama; each drawing hums with the tension and rhythm of performance." - Simon Bettison, Edward Burra and Theatrical Modernity” (2019)

George Bizet’s tragic opera, Carmen, was first performed at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, on 14^th January 1947. Edward Burra, a lover of opera, designed the costumes, which were copied onto parchment paper and shared with Royal Opera House staff who added swatches of fabric and notes.

Burra’s design work for Carmen stands at an intersection of fine art and theatre design. In the December 1993, The Lefevre Gallery exhibited Costume Designs by Edward Burra, the show included a number designs from different operas, including Carmen (1947), Don Juan (1948) and A Day in a Southern Port (Rio Grande) (1931), demonstrating how these sketches circulate in the art world but also remain significant in theatre history and visual culture.

In the stage designs, Burra approached each work as a unique composition in the same way he would approach a composition, they are not sketches but complete works that are visually complete. For Carmen, he merged the energy of Spanish street life with stylised, almost cinematic composition. His costumes blended the realistic (military uniforms, gypsy skirts) with the surreal or grotesque. Burra’s Carmen designs were praised and contemporary critics at The Times (1947), who found them "rich, fiery and unmistakenly Burra".