Ariodan. Opera by Étienne Nicolas Méhul. Stage design for the second scene. The gardens by Edgar’s palace

This backdrop was used as part of the second stage design (featured in the second scene). It provides the setting of a night-time garden party: a broad set of steps leads town to the sea, flanked to the left and right by dark pine woodlands. The woods and the steps are lined with braziers, whose glow (and that of the torch light illuminating the castle) lend the prevailing gloom of the scene an altogether more sinister aspect. The spots of light emitted by the torches seem like terrestrial counterparts to the crescent moon and stars in the lightly clouded night sky. The menacing mood created by the backdrop effectively reflects the dramatic events on stage: after Otto, a knight with an infamous reputation, is spurned by Ina, the daughter of a Scottish prince, he hatches a plot to slander her good name.