NARS Creates the Looks for Don Giovanni
NARS Creates the Looks for Don Giovanni
James Kaliardos for NARS Cosmetics collaborated with designers Kate and Laura Mulleavy of Rodarte who custom designed all of the costumes for this production to create the beauty looks for the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s production of the famed opera Don Giovanni, which opened Friday, May 18th.
The renowned Gustavo Dudamel conducts the opera, and architect Frank Gehry designed the set at the landmarked Walt Disney Concert Hall, a building of his own design.
“The makeup is abstracted but rooted in classical theatre,” said James Kaliardos for NARS Cosmetics who created the exclusive looks for the eight principle characters and 24 member choir. “Everything about the space – both on stage and in the concert hall’s structure – is about angled planes, no straight walls. So I created a facial architecture as a base, letting the characters drive each look. We chose a stony palette and strong lip color for each of the female leads.
NARS gave us a great platform of color and texture to leap off of onto the stage. It’s totally different than fashion work.”
“Working with NARS and makeup artist James Kaliardos for Don Giovanni has been an exciting collaboration,” said Laura and Kate Mulleavy. “The brand’s depth of products and line of colors, in addition to James’ talent, has helped bring our vision to life!”
Donna Zerlina
- Skin: Siberia Sheer Glow Foundation
- Eyes: Lili Marlene Cream Eyeshadow/ Lhasa Eyeshadow/ Nuits Blanches Eyeliner Stylo
- Lips: Amazon Lip Liner Pencil/ Train Bleu Velvet Matte Lip Pencil/ Damned Velvet Matte Lip Pencil
- Cheeks: New Order Highlighting Blush/ Blondie Eyeshadow
- Act 2: Add Damned Velvet Matte Lip Pencil to eyes
Donna Anna
- Skin: Siberia Sheer Glow Foundation
- Eyes: Pandora Duo Eyeshadow/ Nuits Blanches Eyeliner Stylo/ Zardoz Eyeshadow/ Santa Monica Blvd. Larger Than Life Long-Wear Eyeliner
- Lips: Damned Velvet Matte Lip Pencil/ Red Lizard Semi Matte Lipstick/ Amazon Lip Liner Pencil
- Cheeks: Blondie Eyeshadow
- Act 2: Add Zardoz Eyeshadow to lids, and Train Bleu Velvet Matte Lip Pencil to lips
Donna Elvira
- Skin: Siberia Sheer Glow Foundation
- Eyes: Zardoz Eyeshadow/ Pandora Duo Eyeshadow/ Nuits Blanches Eyeliner Stylo/ Damned Velvet Matte Lip Pencil/Santa Monica Blvd. Larger Than Life(R) Long-Wear Eyeliner
- Cheeks: Blondie Eyeshadow
- Act 2: Add Zardoz Eyeshadow across the nose as a mask
Photo credit: LA Phil’s production of Mozart’s Don Giovanni at Walt Disney Concert Hall led by Gustavo Dudamel, in collaboration with Frank Gehry, Rodarte and Christoper Alden. Images by Autumn de Wilde
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interesting. i like the last look a lot 😀
NARS and Opera are two words I never thought I’d hear together. Next time my opera-obsessed father tells me, “One more mention of NARS and I’m leaving the room!” I’ll bring this up. <grin> (Just as a clarification, it’s with my *mother* that I discuss NARS, not my elderly father. LOL) I think the Don Giovanni collaboration is very cool, esp. as they’ve expanded beyond their usual Mad Men makeup. (NARS is the main thing used on the M/M set). That said, that first photo is not a particularly appealing advert for their wares, no matter how intentionally and necessarily theatrical, and may in fact give me nightmares tonight. But it’s really interesting to see which NARS products they considered suitable for an ultra-dramatic, theatrical look. It’s definitely none of the ones I would have thought of, with the exception of Pandora. I’m really surprised Scarlet Empress wasn’t used on the lips for that first photo because what they *have* used is just a few shades darker than that lipstick.
I about fell off my chair when this popped onto my news feed! I’m studying Vocal Performance and going into my Senior year of college…the first aria I ever learned was Zerlina’s “Batti, batti” What a funny coincidence that I am obsessed with makeup, your site, and I sing opera….hahah love it! Thank you for sharing!
I am not surprised, Nars is a very artistic brand deserves to go on stage ! Pigments are so great, even dramatic and never vulgar. Mozart’s absolute masterpiece + Nars great talent it’s a good thing !
omg, those costumes are beautiful! I love it when designers support the arts in such a fantastic way!
Wow! Beautiful photos and wonderful makeup, indeed! How many shows have they done with Nars makeup now?
Love Nars!