Mozart Reimagined Launch Party

Mozart Reimagined, my beautiful photo book that has taken ten years to complete, is now available for purchase on Kickstarter! For 28 days you will be able to get the book for its lowest price!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/948510266/mozart-reimagined-photography-book-by-tyson-vick

On Sunday we had a launch party for the book! Many of the people who worked on the book came with their friends and family!

Setting up the room.

My friend Trevor came to help me set up some costumes and props that I built which were used in the book.

Trevor helps me set up by wearing Neptune’s mask from Idomeneo.

 

The party was held at the Rockin’ TJ Ranch, a large event center that usually puts on weddings!

My Der Schauspieldirektor costumes were on display.

Many of my costumes from the book were available to view.

My Don Giovanni costume from the cover of the book was on display.

It was a bit like museum displays!

My Amphitrite gown from my Idomeneo shoot.

The costumes each had their own pedestal for guests to walk around.

Tamiri’s gown from Il Re Pastore.

A few props were scattered at the feet of the mannequins.

Ilia’s costume from Idomeneo.

We had large TVs displaying the photos at the back of the room.

Judith’s costume with a severed head on display.

 

The event planner gave us a full 8 course Rococo feast, the style that would have been put on in Mozart’s day. There was a meat course from every type of game; beef, chicken, fish, ham.

We put on a feast for 55 people.

Many of the guests were overwhelmed by the sheer amount of food they were being given! Lol.

Mozart Reimagined guests having an 8 course meal.

At the end of the night, we looked at the books together and I signed them.

Here are all the models holding the book open to one single page for our friend who couldn’t make it!

 

Our book is launched on Kickstarter, but there are only 28 days to get your copy! Help us bring this book to publication!

Mozart Reimagined Preorders Now Live on Kickstarter!

Hello friends! After ten years, Mozart Reimagined is now available for Pre-Order on Kickstarter!

You can watch some preview videos below, or just click on over to Kickstarter to learn more!

I hope you will all enjoy this labor of love!

If you feel passionately about my project, I would really appreciate it if you would share the Kickstarter link ( https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/948510266/mozart-reimagined-photography-book-by-tyson-vick )on your social media sites (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr, etc.!) You can use the hashtags #tysonvickphotography and #mozartreimagined if you like to tag your posts. It would help out immensely. Thank you all for your support over the years! I’m excited to finally be producing the book!

Mozart Reimagined – Die Zauberflöte

Mozart Reimagined by Tyson Vick will feature photos illustrating Mozart’s “Die Zauberflote”, an amazing fantasy adventure opera.

Mozart Reimagined features six photos by Tyson Vick illustrating the opera Die Zauberflote

Mozart Reimagined showcases nearly 100 photos that bring to life Mozart’s operas through photography. I spent a decade building props and sets, meeting models and photographing across the country to showcase what Mozart’s music has meant to me. The book also features essays written about each opera from my own unique perspective. The book humorously points out plot-holes, gives insight into past and present performances, recites a little bit of History and overflows with my own passion for the music of Mozart.

Here’s an excerpt from the book which accompanies the Die Zauberflote pictures:

“At the end of nearly every ensemble, the fourth wall is broken as the characters reveal the moral of the story. Here they say, “Only the harmony of friendship can alleviate our hardships; without such sympathy there is no happiness on earth.” The effect is much like a children’s storybook, and makes me think that the target audience for this opera included children, an audience mostly untapped by opera, and, as we know today, the most profitable audience to tap.”

Die Zauberflote Act 1 by Tyson Vick

The adventuresome Javanese prince is played by the fantastically popular social media icon, Edward Zo who you can follow on Instagram and Youtube to get all of his latest videos, fashion tips, and more. You can see some behind-the-scenes photos of Edward and The Queen of the Night here.

Die Zauberflote Act 1c, by Tyson Vick

The most perfectly cast model, a photographer named Jon, portrays Papageno. With him as my bird-man, I really felt my photos coming together. You can get a step-by-step look at how I built the tiny buildings for the photo of Papageno below in this blog post here.

Die Zauberflote, Act 2 by Tyson Vick

I’m going to be giving you a preview of photos from every chapter of Mozart Reimagined over the next month, and then it will be time for pre-orders. I will be launching pre-orders on Kickstarter on September 14th, 2015! Until then, I wanted to give you a glimpse of some of the photos and excerpts from the book so you can see what’s in store! Subscribe to the blog for every update, or check back on September 14th for the launch of the book.

Mozart Reimagined – Cosi Fan Tutte

Mozart Reimagined by Tyson Vick will feature photos illustrating Mozart’s “Cosi Fan Tutte”, a olden-timey romantic comedy.

Mozart Reimagined features five photos by Tyson Vick illustrating the opera Cosi Fan Tutte

Mozart Reimagined showcases nearly 100 photos that bring to life Mozart’s operas through photography. I spent a decade building props and sets, meeting models and photographing across the country to showcase what Mozart’s music has meant to me. The book also features essays written about each opera from my own unique perspective. The book humorously points out plot-holes, gives insight into past and present performances, recites a little bit of History and overflows with my own passion for the music of Mozart.

 

Here’s an excerpt from the book which accompanies the Cosi Fan Tutte pictures:

“The opera is unique in that while it’s a comedy, by the end (and I’m talking about the play itself here, not any particular production) nothing is really that funny anymore. The misogyny is pretty rampant, and even now, after years of hanging out with it, I’m not sure if it’s supposed to be taken at face value or if it’s meant to be seen as satirical. After turning gender and rank on its head in Figaro and Don Giovanni, the ending of Cosi Fan Tutte seems calculated to raise some eyebrows.
The story follows two young boys who are in love with two sisters. An older philosopher named Don Alfonso tells the boys that, “The Fidelity of women is like the Arabian Phoenix, everyone swears it exists, but no one has ever seen it.” Essentially, he is saying that women are incapable of staying true to men. The boys take offense to this. So, like any good teen comedy, they make a bet. In order to prove that their girlfriends are the embodiment of fidelity, they will do anything Don Alfonso tells them to do in an attempt to trick their girlfriends into cheating on them. If the girls remain faithful, the boys win the money, and if the girls cheat, Don Alfonso gets the money.”

 

Cosi Fan Tutte, Act 1 by Tyson Vick

Learn more about all of the costumes from this shoot here.

I’m going to be giving you a preview of photos from every chapter of Mozart Reimagined over the next month, and then it will be time for pre-orders. I will be launching pre-orders on Kickstarter on September 14th, 2015! Until then, I wanted to give you a glimpse of some of the photos and excerpts from the book so you can see what’s in store! Subscribe to the blog for every update, or check back on September 14th for the launch of the book.

Mozart Reimagined – Don Giovanni

Mozart Reimagined by Tyson Vick will feature photos illustrating Mozart’s “Don Giovanni”, one of the greatest works of art created by man.

Mozart Reimagined features four photos by Tyson Vick illustrating the opera Don Giovanni

Mozart Reimagined showcases nearly 100 photos that bring to life Mozart’s operas through photography. I spent a decade building props and sets, meeting models and photographing across the country to showcase what Mozart’s music has meant to me. The book also features essays written about each opera from my own unique perspective. The book humorously points out plot-holes, gives insight into past and present performances, recites a little bit of History and overflows with my own passion for the music of Mozart.

The Don Giovanni photos are also an award winning set of photos (3rd place WPPI) and remain some of the most popular photos featured in the book.

Here’s an excerpt from the book which accompanies the Don Giovanni pictures:

“One thing you will notice thematically, and this is the whole point of the opera, is that every chance someone has for vengeance or justice is thwarted by circumstance. Every attempt at resolving the issue of abuse, rape, or murder is stunted. All the characters are left in an eternal state of turmoil, as things get more and more frustrating. Don Giovanni gets away with everything, and there is nothing these people can do to find relief from their pain.”

Don Giovanni Act Two, by Tyson Vick

 

Model and actor Joshua Kuehl portrays Don Giovanni with a whole slew of extras. You can see some behind-the-scenes images here.

You can also view posts for both the men’s costumes and women’s costumes on their own pages. I built them all, so go check ’em out.

I’m going to be giving you a preview of photos from every chapter of Mozart Reimagined over the next month, and then it will be time for pre-orders. I will be launching pre-orders on Kickstarter on September 14th, 2015! Until then, I wanted to give you a glimpse of some of the photos and excerpts from the book so you can see what’s in store! Subscribe to the blog for every update, or check back on September 14th for the launch of the book.

Mozart Reimagined – Le Nozze di Figaro

Mozart Reimagined by Tyson Vick will feature photos illustrating Mozart’s “Le Nozze di Figaro”, my favorite Mozart opera, and the chapter featuring the most photos and the most personal anecdotes in the text.

Mozart Reimagined features seven photos by Tyson Vick illustrating the opera Le Nozze di Figaro

Mozart Reimagined showcases nearly 100 photos that bring to life Mozart’s operas through photography. I spent a decade building props and sets, meeting models and photographing across the country to showcase what Mozart’s music has meant to me. The book also features essays written about each opera from my own unique perspective. The book humorously points out plot-holes, gives insight into past and present performances, recites a little bit of History and overflows with my own passion for the music of Mozart.

Here’s an excerpt from the book which accompanies the Le Nozze di Figaro pictures:

“The Marriage of Figaro is the play that opened my mind to forgiveness, my ears to music and my heart to joy. This is where my passion for this photography project came from.
It began with Riconosci in questo amplesso (Dearest son, in this embrace Recognise your mother). This is an ensemble where Figaro discovers who his parents are. The song is mostly a set-piece of comedic moments, but it features a unique moment of pathos where Figaro says “This is my mother, she’ll say so herself, and This is my father, he’ll say so himself.” The whole song has been funny up until that point, and those lines have already come and gone separately, but when put one after the other, the music seems to say that Figaro has been fulfilled, that what was lost was found, that what was broken has been fixed – he’s found his wife, his mother, his father and his family — and the four characters’ voices flutter away, like leaves on a breeze, into a hymn of love, leaving the other characters separate, apart.
At the time my mother was suffering from depression and my father had been growing more and more disappointed with me and began calling me “worthless” and “useless.” This scene in the opera meant so much to me as a young man, because that was a feeling that I had longed for — to be loved and accepted by my parents – no matter what evils had gone on between us, just like Figaro and his parents. The first time I had ever felt that feeling was possible thanks to Mozart’s music. I knew, then, that there was more to be found in opera, and more to life.
In the end, I did actually experience that feeling of love and acceptance with my parents, after much struggle and healing, my father apologized and made things right; my mother found help, and we reunited and it was everything Mozart said it would be! (And let the Count burst with our happiness!)”

Most of the models in this set are close friends and family members. You can see some behind-the-scenes shots here.

You can also get some in-depth costuming info here, from fabric to garment here, and wig styling here.

I’m going to be giving you a preview of photos from every chapter of Mozart Reimagined over the next month, and then it will be time for pre-orders. I will be launching pre-orders on Kickstarter on September 14th, 2015! Until then, I wanted to give you a glimpse of some of the photos and excerpts from the book so you can see what’s in store! Subscribe to the blog for every update, or check back on September 14th for the launch of the book.

Mozart Reimagined – Der Schauspieldirektor

Mozart Reimagined by Tyson Vick will feature photos illustrating Mozart’s “Der Schauspieldirektor”, a play about staging a play.

Mozart Reimagined features three photos by Tyson Vick illustrating the opera Der Schauspieldirektor

Mozart Reimagined showcases nearly 100 photos that bring to life Mozart’s operas through photography. I spent a decade building props and sets, meeting models and photographing across the country to showcase what Mozart’s music has meant to me. The book also features essays written about each opera from my own unique perspective. The book humorously points out plot-holes, gives insight into past and present performances, recites a little bit of History and overflows with my own passion for the music of Mozart.

Here’s an excerpt from the book which accompanies the Der Schauspieldirektor pictures:

“Mozart’s Der Schauspieldirektor or The Impresario is a one act comedy about a theater company. It was commissioned by the Emperor for some stately visit of foreign dignitaries, intended to show off the relative values of German and Italian operetta, and to decide which was preferred (Mozart wrote the German one, and Salieri wrote the Italian one). Both plays were performed at opposite ends of the same vast hallway, the audience turning their chairs at mid-point to watch the other. It is said that the Emperor himself came up with the plot of Der Schauspieldirektor, and the play actually comes across a bit like a bureaucratically devised entertainment, in that it introduces many different ideas and talents without ever really saying anything. Mozart only wrote four songs for the play, all of which appear towards the end, and showcase the talents of two sopranos who are vying for the position of Prima Donna in the company. ”

Mozart Reimagined features three photos by Tyson Vick illustrating the opera Der Schauspieldirektor

The photos were a hilarious family affair. Mother modeled with one daughter while the other daugheter, Lizzie, did the hair and make-up. You can see some behind-the-scenes stuff here.

The photos from this set are some of the most well documented and popular on this blog:

1. My first post follows the making of the corsets for both ladies.
2. The second post takes a look at my embroidery process, and brief reviews of some of the movies I viewed while sewing.
3. The third post shows how I put together my Jacket and Gilet.
4. My fourth post shows the inspiration and final pigeon breasted drawstring-front jacket.
5. The fifth post talks about the hats I created, and features a step-by-step construction process.

I’m going to be giving you a preview of photos from every chapter of Mozart Reimagined over the next month, and then it will be time for pre-orders. I will be launching pre-orders on Kickstarter on September 14th, 2015! Until then, I wanted to give you a glimpse of some of the photos and excerpts from the book so you can see what’s in store! Subscribe to the blog for every update, or check back on September 14th for the launch of the book.