(Anderson 20100218 ISRAEL BALLET (Sunday) "Don Quixote," Marius Petipa's high-spirited 19th-century interpretation of this Cervantes classic, gains contemporary vitality by being performed against a video-enhanced backdrop.
In that bubbly work, holy beings frolic against Maira Kalman's bright backdrops, enhanced by the ever-lovely Michelle Yard, who reprises her part as St. Teresa.
Mr. Kirkeby has also created backdrops, enhanced by Mark Stanley's fine lighting, that abstract emotional essence through paint and color: the bright hues of Siegfried's exuberant birthday celebration in Act I contrast with the washed-out grays of the icy nature imagery of Act IV, when Odette, the Swan Queen betrayed by Siegfried, bids the prince a bitter farewell.
The backdrop was also enhanced, which means information on the map such as traffic details, business listings, pushpins, labels, etc. could "pop".
Merce Cunningham's "Summerspace," created in 1958, is a pointillist masterpiece, a glowing evocation of nature enhanced by Robert Rauschenberg's color-splattered costumes and backdrops.
The soul of each building was enhanced in its reincarnation, its previous life providing a backdrop of intrigue, history, even humor to its current life.
The solo's visual appeal was enhanced by the way shadows of Mr. Onuki projected onto the backdrop made it look as if he were dancing a duet with himself.
Other dances were enhanced by the plainer, more egalitarian outdoor setting, complete with a white-bedsheet backdrop and roving planes and fireflies.
This dark setting is enhanced by the fact that the entire game takes place at night, a backdrop that adds to the atmosphere of conspiracies and stealth.
(Tommasini) 'TOSCA' (Friday, Sunday and Thursday) Mark Lamos's stark staging of "Tosca" for New York City Opera, enhanced by Robert Wierzel's artful lighting, updates the action to Fascist Rome, creating a menacing backdrop for the nastiness of the plot.
To create that bio-goth terra, set designer Joseph Bennett layered dozens of black garbage bags on a backdrop, then blew fans at them to create a sense of motion, which cinematographer John Mathieson enhanced with light.
