Barovier&Toso presents the new Opéra collection: the flair of Philippe Nigro meets the refined skills and artistry of the company.
The latest creation of Barovier&Toso is called Opéra and bears the signature of the French designer Philippe Nigro. It is a collection of lamps composed of suspensions, appliques and a table version.
Inspired by the Opéra Garnier, it stands out for its eclectic, decorative character, expressed in stylistic mixtures and remarkable compositional balance.
The opulence and grandeur of the famous Parisian theatre, with its symmetrical structure, are echoed in the design of the Opéra lamps. The collection thrives on subtle contrasts. The references to a certain Baroque splendour are tempered by more minimal, contemporary touches, generating a delicate, harmonious dichotomy.
The design challenge was to bring out the artistry and heritage of the company, a repository of the art of glass for over seven centuries. The outcome of this creative effort is a timeless, elegant design, rich but not redundant, with a direct, incisive personality.
The main feature chosen by Nigro for the collection is the rostrato. This complex technique of craftsmanship, patented by Barovier&Toso, was invented by Ercole Barovier in 1938 and consists of “freehand” shaping of Venetian Crystal to obtain a continuous series of multi-facetted prisms.
Fascinated by this process, and by the way the rostrato interacts with light, Philippe Nigro has formulated a design approach that enhances its particular character. The cylindrical form underscores the ornamental motif, multiplying the angles of impact of beams of light and creating a dense wrapping of three-dimensional points. The creations in Venetian Crystal are joined by metal parts with a very similar silhouette, which surround and support the luminous volumes: completely different textures, sharing a specific inspiration in their shapes and substance. Three options have been selected for this dialogue of materials: brushed gold, brushed copper and brushed black nickel, for three refined, trendsetting finishes.
The Opéra suspension lamps come in three different sizes, ready to be utilized in interior design projects of different types and scales: from residential spaces to contract applications, where it is possible to organize true custom installations, with asymmetrical and multiform compositions.
The wall sconce version develops vertically and is perfect to enhance walls, punctuating them with luminous accents.
The table model has an even more enveloping look, and is able to create a warm, precious atmosphere even when the lamp is off.
For the launch of the collection Barovier&Toso has set aside the windows of the Milan showroom, featuring an installation entirely devoted to Opéra. The backdrop is a dreamy springtime mood, with combinations of intense and diluted tones of pink, as in the fabrics and wallpaper by Pierre Frey. Exotic natural subjects meet soft drapes in this display that reflects the internal concept of the showroom, recently reformulated in a major restyling by Vandersandestudio.
Collaboration with prestigious internationally acclaimed designers continues to be a strategy leading to remarkable results for Barovier&Toso, opening the way each time to new interpretations and experiments, in a spirit of lively, intensely stimulating creative growth.
Secrets from the furnace
The main feature chosen by Nigro for the collection is the rostrato. This complex technique of craftsmanship, patented by Barovier&Toso, was invented by Ercole Barovier in 1938 and consists of “freehand” shaping of Venetian Crystal to obtain a continuous series of multi-facetted prisms.
Hint & Tips
The Barovier&Toso historical archive is located on the top floor of the sixteenth-century Palazzo Contarini, which is also the company’s headquarters building. More than 22.000 original drawings by Ercole Barovier, the company’s illustrated catalogues, the original booklets containing instructions for the composition of the various types of Venetian crystal, as well as a wide array of other interesting and intriguing items that provide a vivid record of centuries of the work of a highly creative and very successful business. Many of these documents are related to decorative objects and lighting fixtures created using exactly the rostrato technique.
