John Macfarlane

Designer

Among the Scottish designer’s extensive opera credits internationally are Tosca (Metropolitan Opera), Benvenuto Cellini (Geneva), Hansel and Gretel (Welsh National Opera, Met), The Queen of Spades (WNO), War and Peace and La clemenza di Tito (Paris), Agrippina (Brussels), Boris Godunov (Amsterdam), Euryanthe (Glyndebourne), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Cologne), Les Troyens (English National Opera), Don Giovanni (Brussels, San Francisco), Idomeneo (Vienna), and Maria Stuarda (Met). Macfarlane made his Royal Ballet debut in 1985 with Giselle. He has since returned regularly to the Royal Opera House, designing Glen Tetley’s La Ronde and Liam Scarlett’s Asphodel Meadows, Sweet Violets, The Age of Anxiety, Frankenstein, and Swan Lake for The Royal Ballet and Erwartung/Bluebeard’s Castle, Peter Grimes, The Magic Flute, Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, Gianni Schicchi, and L’heure espagnole for the Royal Opera. His many other ballet designs include The Nutcracker, Le Baiser de la fée and Cinderella for Birmingham Royal Ballet. Macfarlane’s painting and printmaking are widely exhibited across the U.K. and Europe. He was created a Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 2006.

Last updated: August 12, 2021