Intermezzo

Curtains for David Hockney

David Hockney used his now-favourite creative tool - the iPad - to design this new 176m² safety curtain for the Vienna State Opera. Echoing the current fetish for stage-within-a-stage productions, it features a giant prompter's box flanked by a proscenium and curtains.

The commission, unveiled yesterday, will greet visitors for a year, after which time it will be replaced by another artist's work.

It's not clear which of the several photos available reflect the true colours of the work, so I've included both extremes.

"Only the dull find opera boring"

"I never understood why anybody could think opera was boring: it's the most spectacular theatre you ever see."

As Glyndebourne revive their 35 year old production of The Rake's Progress, its designer David Hockney talks to Michael Church of the Independent.