Julia Trevelyan Oman: Remaining Connected

Julia Trevelyan Oman (1930-2003) is the set and costume designer responsible for the longest continually running designs created for the Royal Opera House, London. Her design for La Bohème (1974) became the longest running opera design before its’ 2015 redesign, her Enigma Variations (1968) designs, not only inspired the ballet, but are the second longest running designs currently in the Royal Ballet’s repertoire. Additionally, many of the original costumes from its’ premiere are still in use. Oman is also responsible for the iconic The Nutcracker (1984) design, performed every year. Her design work can be characterised as “highly detailed naturalism” (Vaughn) facilitated by meticulous research often centring on a period from history relating to the original conception of the narrative: the story, music or performance. Oman researched through photography, whereby she gathered vast albums, collecting details from trips, books, and museums. These raw research collections created the basis for her designs and were passed along with design drawings, paint samples and fabric swatches, to the making departments. The result is an almost complete effacement; Oman’s identity is lost within her naturalism, losing her connection to the designs. However, within each of her designs, there is a colour motif, employed as a signature. Amongst the characters, one has the primary combination of blue and white. Most notably, the principal character, ‘Natalia’ in A Month in the Country (1976) and the principal narrative character, ‘Clara’ in The Nutcracker. The ratio of colour varies as does the prominence of the character, but the shade of the blue, the quality of the white and the presence of the motif does not. Whether intentional or not it’s unknown, but its presence is undeniable. Oman’s work is relatively unresearched, with no academic work published centring on her. Outside of academia, she features within biographies centring on her male collaborators such as Sir Frederick Ashton and Sir Peter Wright, she’s also mentioned within the autobiography of Jonathan Miller. This paper explores the development and use of this motif, primarily within her ballet costuming, investigating the origin, development and intention behind its use.