Research Catalog

Title

Die Puppenfee [graphic].

Author

Roller, Alfred, 1864-1935.

Publication

[1930?]

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Additional Authors

• Littlefield, Caroline.
• Littlefield, Catherine.

Description

1 drawing : ink, watercolor, gouache, crayon, color; 24 x 32 cm., line border 20 x 28 cm.

Summary

Set design for the toyshop setting of the ballet Die Puppenfee. Its three walls are lined with glass-doored cabinets, through which can be glimpsed the figures of large dolls; above them is a double row of shelves. A profusion of dolls, boats, trains, and other objects hang from the ceiling; a large pink stuffed bear sits atop the shelves at far right. The toyshop's floor is occupied by a long counter at center, chairs, and figures that appear to be costumed dolls, including a knight in armor.

Subjects

• Philadelphia Grand Opera Company
• Set design drawings
• Puppenfee (Choreographic work)

Genre/Form

Set design drawings.

Note

• The numeral 1 appears after the title, probably indicating scene 1 of the ballet.

Source (note)

• Molly O'Gorman.

Biography (note)

• This set design is believed to have been made for the Philadelphia Grand Opera's production of the "ballet spectacle" Die Puppenfee (The fairy doll; music, Josef Bayer), first presented on Dec. 20, 1930 following a performance of Engelbert Humperdinck's opera Hansel and Gretel. The ballet director and possibly choreographer was Caroline Littlefield, the matriarch of the Littlefield clan; the cast was led by her daughter Catherine Littlefield as the Fairy Princess Doll and Douglas Coudy as Prince Charming. Others in the cast included another daughter, Dorothie Littlefield (marionette), as well as William Dollar (Harlequin) and Thomas Cannon (captain of Hussars). Lucille Bremer, who later danced opposite Fred Astaire in Yolanda and the thief (1945), played a Tyrolean doll.
• Alfred Roller, an Austrian painter, graphic designer, and set designer, was a co-founder of the Vienna Secession, a group of artists (among them Gustav Klimt) who rebelled against the conservative academic art of the late 1890s. He subsequently discovered his gift for stage design, and served as chief set designer of the Vienna State Opera until 1909. He is said to have designed a number of ballets in the United States, but seldom signed his drawings.

Call Number

*MGZGD Rol A Pup 1

OCLC

824794948

Author

Roller, Alfred, 1864-1935.

Title

Die Puppenfee [graphic].

Imprint

[1930?]

Biography

This set design is believed to have been made for the Philadelphia Grand Opera's production of the "ballet spectacle" Die Puppenfee (The fairy doll; music, Josef Bayer), first presented on Dec. 20, 1930 following a performance of Engelbert Humperdinck's opera Hansel and Gretel. The ballet director and possibly choreographer was Caroline Littlefield, the matriarch of the Littlefield clan; the cast was led by her daughter Catherine Littlefield as the Fairy Princess Doll and Douglas Coudy as Prince Charming. Others in the cast included another daughter, Dorothie Littlefield (marionette), as well as William Dollar (Harlequin) and Thomas Cannon (captain of Hussars). Lucille Bremer, who later danced opposite Fred Astaire in Yolanda and the thief (1945), played a Tyrolean doll.

Alfred Roller, an Austrian painter, graphic designer, and set designer, was a co-founder of the Vienna Secession, a group of artists (among them Gustav Klimt) who rebelled against the conservative academic art of the late 1890s. He subsequently discovered his gift for stage design, and served as chief set designer of the Vienna State Opera until 1909. He is said to have designed a number of ballets in the United States, but seldom signed his drawings.

Local Note

Cataloging funds provided by Friends of Jerome Robbins Dance Division.

Source

Gift, Molly O'Gorman.

Added Author

Littlefield, Caroline. Associated name

Littlefield, Catherine. Associated name

O'Gorman, Molly. Donor

Research Call Number

*MGZGD Rol A Pup 1