Department of Design Communication Design Program Course Highlight and Congratulations: Image & Color, ADES 2515, taught by Assistant Professor Douglas D. May
“To-re-a-dor en guarde…!” Thrill to some of the greatest music ever written in one of the world’s most popular operas with marketing materials designed by UNT CVAD sophomore Brennah Wagner.
Twenty CVAD sophomores in Doug May’s Fall 2022 design course were invited to participate in an opera poster competition sponsored by UNT College of Music Director of Opera Jonathon Eaton for the recently funded OperaWorks touring company. Asked to visualize a new marketing image to promote upcoming performances of the opera classic “Carmen” by Georges Bizet, the winner and runners-up received cash prizes for their outstanding efforts.
- First Prize: Brennah Wagner
- Second Place Winner: Annabelle Neher
- Runners-up: Joshua Cotsworth and Prarthana Rathore
“This collaboration is a perfect use of talent and resources — the Opera Program needs marketing materials and has the budget and resources to print and disseminate them, and graphic design students need real-life experience,” said Eaton. “This competition is a wonderful way to meet both needs. As someone who has worked for more than 20 years in the professional opera world with many designers, I am delighted with the creativity and craftsmanship these UNT student designers have brought to the project and look forward to many more successful similar competitions. Many thanks to Professor Douglas May for his vision in bringing the collaboration about.”
The winning design will be applied to print and digital promotions across campus, throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth region, and social media channels for the spring performances. The music is by Georges Bizet (1838–1875), libretto by Ludovic Halévy (1834–1908) and Henri Meilhac (1830–1897) with a story based on a novella of the same name by Prosper Mérimée (1803–1870).
Second-place winner Annabelle Neher, left, and runners-up Joshua Cotsworth and Prarthana Rathore pose with their posters at the award presentation for the UNT OperaWorks Poster Competition. This production of “Carmen” will include a new chamber version by Jonathan Eaton with orchestration by Robert Frankenberry and will be sung in French with English supertitles.
Please visit the College of Music Opera website for more information about UNT Opera.
Toreador, l'amour t'attend!
