Adele Änggård (born Adele Hankey, 31 July 1933) is a British-Swedish stage and costume designer whose career has spanned some of the most significant major stages across Europe and Scandinavia. In parallel she's actively pursued

archeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

and writing, and in later life contributed new interpretations on early European civilizations.

Background and education

Adele Hankey was daughter of Robert Hankey, 2nd Baron Hankey. From 1948 to 1953 she studied ballet at the

Elmhurst Ballet School Elmhurst Ballet School is an independent school for professional classical ballet in the United Kingdom. It takes students aged 11–19 years who intend to pursue a career in professional classical ballet. Elmhurst provides a full academic day i ...

with a focus on art and design, as well as theatre at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. From 1960 to 1963 she took a series of design courses under Paul Colin, and studied art at the

Académie Julian The Académie Julian () was a private art school for painting and sculpture founded in Paris, France, in 1867 by French painter and teacher Rodolphe Julian (1839–1907) that was active from 1868 through 1968. It remained famous for the number a ...

and with

André Lhote André Lhote (5 July 1885 – 24 January 1962) was a French Cubist painter of figure subjects, portraits, landscapes and still life. He was also active and influential as a teacher and writer on art. Early life and education Lhote was born ...

at his studio. In 1972 she studied television and film at the College of San Mateo.

Career

Änggård has had a long and prolific career in theatre, contributing to some 80 productions between 1957 and 2000. Her designs were often noted for an essential simplicity, which integrated the visual part of a performance with the drama and acting as a whole.

Prominent opera productions

* '' Mäster Pedros Marionetter'', Drottningholm Palace Theatre (1957) directed by

Göran Gentele Göran Gentele (29 September 1917 – 18 July 1972) was a Swedish actor, director, and opera manager. He was briefly the general manager of the Metropolitan Opera in New York City in 1972. Biography Born in Stockholm, Gentele studied from 19 ...

* '' The Bear'' (1978) * ''

Il Pastor Fido ''Il pastor fido'' (''The Faithfull Shepherd'' in Richard Fanshawe's 1647 English translation) is a pastoral tragicomedy set in Arcadia by Giovanni Battista Guarini, first published in 1590 in Venice. Plot summary To redress an ancient wrong ...

'', National Opera, Oslo (1979) * '' Les Mamelles de Tiresias'', Oslo (1980) * '' Paris and Helena'', Drottningholm Palace Theatre (1987) * '' La Bohème'' (1994) directed by Bengt Peterson * ''Väntarna/Herkules'', Royal Opera, Stockholm (1995) * ''

Noye's Fludde ''Noye's Fludde'' is a one-act opera by the British composer Benjamin Britten, intended primarily for amateur performers, particularly children. First performed on 18 June 1958 at that year's Aldeburgh Festival, it is based on the 15th-century ...

'', Vasa Museum (1995)

Prominent ballet productions

* '' Coppelia'',

Royal Swedish Ballet The Royal Swedish Ballet is one of the oldest ballet companies in Europe. Based in Stockholm, Sweden, King Gustav III founded the ballet in 1773 as a part of his national cultural project in response to the French and Italian dominance in this fi ...

(1958) choreographed by

Mary Skeaping Mary Emma Skeaping (15 December 19029 February 1984) was an English ballerina who is better known as a ballet teacher, director, choreographer, and producer. She served as director of the Royal Swedish Ballet in Stockholm for nine years (19531 ...

* ''While the Spider Slept'',

(1966) and

Royal Winnipeg Ballet The Royal Winnipeg Ballet is Canada's oldest ballet company and the longest continuously operating ballet company in North America. History It was founded in 1939 as the "Winnipeg Ballet Club" by Gweneth Lloyd and Betty Farrally (who also fou ...

(1967) choreographed by Brian Macdonald * ''Kampen om kungakronan'', Nyköping,

Malmö Stadsteater Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal populat ...

and SVT (1987) choreographed by Birgit Cullberg

Prominent theatrical productions

* ''

King Lear ''King Lear'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters. He becomes destitute and insane an ...

'',

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and produces around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, St ...

(assistant designer, 1962) directed by Peter Brook * ''

Serjeant Musgrave's Dance ''Serjeant Musgrave's Dance, An Un-historical Parable'' is a play by English playwright John Arden, written in 1959 and premiered at the Royal Court Theatre on October 22 of that year. In Arden's introductory note to the text, he describes it as ...

'' (1962) * '' The Deputy (Le Vicaire)'' (1963) * ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

'' (1991) directed by Anita Blom * ''

Othello ''Othello'' (full title: ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'') is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare, probably in 1603, set in the contemporary Ottoman–Venetian War (1570–1573) fought for the control of the Island of Cypru ...

'' (1992) * ''Ion'' (1993) * ''Vintergatan'' (1995) directed by

Harald Leander Harald or Haraldr is the Old Norse form of the given name Harold. It may refer to: Medieval Kings of Denmark * Harald Bluetooth (935–985/986) Kings of Norway * Harald Fairhair (c. 850–c. 933) * Harald Greycloak (died 970) * Harald Hardrada ...

* ''The Oresteia'', Skillinge teater (1996) directed by Anita Blom * ''Don Juan'', Skillinge teater (2000) directed by Mario Gonzales

Film production

* ''King Lear'' (1971), directed by Peter Brook

Archaeology

In parallel to her theatre career she developed a lifetime interest in

ancient Greece Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity ( AD 600), that comprised a loose collection of cult ...

and

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

, starting in childhood with archaeologist Vronwy Hankey, a

Minoan The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age Aegean civilization on the island of Crete and other Aegean Islands, whose earliest beginnings were from 3500BC, with the complex urban civilization beginning around 2000BC, and then declining from 1450B ...

and

Mycenae Mycenae ( ; grc, Μυκῆναι or , ''Mykē̂nai'' or ''Mykḗnē'') is an archaeological site near Mykines in Argolis, north-eastern Peloponnese, Greece. It is located about south-west of Athens; north of Argos; and south of Corinth. Th ...

specialist and included visits to the caves of Altamira and

Lascaux Lascaux ( , ; french: Grotte de Lascaux , "Lascaux Cave") is a network of caves near the village of Montignac, in the department of Dordogne in southwestern France. Over 600 parietal wall paintings cover the interior walls and ceilings of ...

. Later, as an extension of her theatrical career – so as to better understand Greek play scripts – she studied archaeology at

Södertörn University Södertörn University ( sv, Södertörns högskola, abbreviated as SH) is a public university college ( sv, högskola) located in Flemingsberg in Huddinge Municipality, and the larger area called Södertörn, in Stockholm County, Sweden. In 20 ...

, receiving a bachelor's degree. Following extensive research, she published ''A Humanitarian Past'' in 2016. The book adds a sophisticated social dimension to early European history, and challenges modern conceptualizations of the earliest European ancestors as being underdeveloped and

prehistoric art In the history of art, prehistoric art is all art produced in preliterate, prehistorical cultures beginning somewhere in very late geological history, and generally continuing until that culture either develops writing or other methods of rec ...

as primitive.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Änggård, Adele Swedish costume designers British costume designers British scenic designers Daughters of barons 1933 births Living people Women scenic designers