Click on the black box to view the GIF

While reading Gogol’s “The Nose” all I could think about and visualize was Russia. The libretto epitomized Russian culture and social standing; reminding me of my high school and my old Russian peers. However, after seeing The Nose in opera form at the Met,  Soviet Russian society entered into the mix. Not only was the play about Russia, but now encompassed a specific time period in which Russia was a growing communist giant.

The gif I created is centralized around the Soviet Russia portrayed in the opera and how immersed Kovalyov is in that culture. According to my interpretation and my animation, Russia is the main character of the opera and not the man who loses his nose. However, the nose itself is an important aspect of the story. The nose encompasses Kovalyov, taking over his character and dominating his person in my final collage image. Despite how prominent and central the nose is, the location, time period, and society the opera takes place in are the most vital components of both the libretto and the opera. Therefore, that is why my construction depicts Russia as the foundation of the story and my destruction characterizes it as the last “man” standing instead of either Kovalyov or his nose. Russia cannot be erased nor covered up.Final Collage Image