Adele Änggård (née Hankey; 31 July 1933 – 3 November 2023) was a Swedish-British

stage Stage, stages, or staging may refer to: Arts and media Acting * Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions * Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage" * ''The Stage'', a weekly Brit ...

and

costume designer A costume designer is a person who designs costumes for a film, stage production or television show. The role of the costume designer is to create the characters' outfits or costumes and balance the scenes with texture and colour, etc. The costum ...

whose career spanned some of the most significant major stages across Europe and Scandinavia. In parallel she actively pursued

archeology Archaeology or archeology is the 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 landscapes. Archaeolo ...

and writing, and in later life contributed new interpretations on early

European civilizations European, or Europeans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe and other West ...

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 boarding 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 acade ...

with a focus on art and design, as well as theatre at the

Guildhall School of Music and Drama The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a music school, music and drama school located in the City of London, England. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz al ...

. From 1960 to 1963 she took a series of design courses under Paul Colin, and studied art at the

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

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 bor ...

at his studio. In 1972 she studied television and film at the

College of San Mateo College of San Mateo (CSM) is a public community college in San Mateo, California. It is part of the San Mateo County Community College District. College of San Mateo is located at the northern corridor of Silicon Valley and situated on a 153-a ...

Career

Änggård 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 The Drottningholm Palace Theatre () is an opera house located at Drottningholm Palace in Stockholm, Sweden. It is one of the few 18th century theatres in Europe that is still used as a theatre with its original stage machinery. Currently, the r ...

(1957) directed by Göran Gentele * '' The Bear'' (1978) * ''

Il Pastor Fido ''Il pastor fido'' (''The Faithfull Shepherd'' in Sir Richard Fanshawe, 1st Baronet, Richard Fanshawe's 1647 English translation) is a pastoral tragicomedy set in Arcadia (utopia), Arcadia by Giovanni Battista Guarini, first published in 1590 ...

'', National Opera, Oslo (1979) * '' Les Mamelles de Tiresias'', Oslo (1980) * '' Paris and Helena'', Drottningholm Palace Theatre (1987) * ''

La Bohème ''La bohème'' ( , ) is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions '':wikt:quadro, quadri'', ''wikt:tableau, tableaux'' or "images", rather than ''atti'' (acts). composed by Giacomo Puccini between 1893 and 1895 to an Italian libretto b ...

'' (1994) directed by Bengt Peterson * ''Väntarna/Herkules'',

Royal Swedish Opera Royal Swedish Opera () is an opera and ballet company based in Stockholm, Sweden. Location and environment The building is located in the centre of Sweden's capital, Stockholm, in the borough of Norrmalm (borough), Norrmalm, on the eastern si ...

(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-centu ...

'',

Vasa Museum The Vasa Museum () is a maritime museum in Stockholm, Sweden. Located on the island of Djurgården, the museum displays the only almost fully intact 17th-century ship that has ever been salvaged, the 64-gun warship '' Vasa'' that sank on her maid ...

(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, Gustav III of Sweden, King Gustav III founded the ballet in 1773 as a part of his national cultural project in response to the French and Italian ...

(1958) choreographed by Mary Skeaping * ''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 City Theatre Malmö City Theatre () in Malmö, Sweden, is the main theatre of Malmö. History The first theatre in Malmö, Malmö Teater, was built in 1808 but became out of use in 1938. The Malmö City Theatre was built by the architect Sigurd Lewerentz b ...

and SVT (1987) choreographed by

Birgit Cullberg Birgit Ragnhild Cullberg (3 August 1908 – 8 September 1999) was a Swedish choreographer. Her father Carl Cullberg was a bank director and her mother was Elna Westerström. Cullberg was born in Nyköping and was married from 1942 to 1949 to act ...

Prominent theatrical productions

* ''

King Lear ''The Tragedy of King Lear'', often shortened to ''King Lear'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is loosely based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his ...

'',

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 opens around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Stratf ...

(assistant designer, 1962) directed by

Peter Brook Peter Stephen Paul Brook (21 March 1925 – 2 July 2022) was an English theatre and film director. He worked first in England, from 1945 at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre, from 1947 at the Royal Opera House, and from 1962 for the Royal Shak ...

* '' Serjeant Musgrave's Dance'' (1962) * '' The Deputy (Le Vicaire)'' (1963) * ''

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

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

Othello ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'', often shortened to ''Othello'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare around 1603. Set in Venice and Cyprus, the play depicts the Moorish military commander Othello as he is manipulat ...

'' (1992) * ''Ion'' (1993) * ''Vintergatan'' (1995) directed by Harald Leander * ''The Oresteia'', Skillinge theatre (1996) directed by Anita Blom * ''Don Juan'', Skillinge theatre (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 () was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity (), that comprised a loose collection of culturally and linguistically r ...

and

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

, starting in childhood with archaeologist Vronwy Hankey, a

Minoan The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age culture which was centered on the island of Crete. Known for its monumental architecture and Minoan art, energetic art, it is often regarded as the first civilization in Europe. The ruins of the Minoan pa ...

and

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

specialist and included visits to the caves of Altamira and

Lascaux Lascaux ( , ; , "Lascaux Cave") is a network of caves near the village of Montignac, Dordogne, Montignac, in the Departments of France, department of Dordogne in southwestern France. Over 600 Parietal art, parietal cave painting, wall paintin ...

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

Södertörn University Södertörn University (, abbreviated as SH), is a public university college () located in Flemingsberg in Huddinge Municipality, and the larger area called Södertörn, in Stockholm County, Sweden. In 2013, it had about 13,000 full-time and p ...

, 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, Prehistory, prehistorical cultures beginning somewhere in very late geological history, and generally continuing until that culture either develops writing or other met ...

as primitive.

Death

Adele Änggård died on 3 November 2023, at the age of 90.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anggard, Adele 1933 births 2023 deaths Swedish costume designers British costume designers British scenic designers Daughters of barons Women scenic designers