Herzog and de Meuron take on Attila

For their 2009-2010 season, the Metropolitan Opera commissioned architects Herzog and de Meuron to design the sets for the opera Attila by Giuseppe Verdi. They, along with fashion icon Miuccia Prada who designed the costumes, decided to focus the production's look on the characters, instead of on the pageantry common in 19th century operas.

“Our approach is to stay very close to the descriptions supported by Verdi,” says Herzog. “Destruction, rubble, lagoon, forest, darkness—all in a very naturalistic way.” He continues, “Attila describes the moment in history where an old world, an
antique world, is collapsing and something new is rising out of the
rubble. It’s a moment of uncertainty and
instability, and new powers are emerging. It is not unlike a situation
we live in right now.”