ABSTRACT
In his early operatic productions Craig achieved a remarkable unity of acting, music, scene, and costume that became his standard for subsequent work. To some extent the circumstances that allowed this were not repeatable. Arguably, it was his success under such special conditions that made him dissatisfied with his next productions. It may explain to some extent his insistence on founding a school instead of on giving practical examples of his theories on the stage, and perhaps even contributed to his eventual abandonment of the theater. The prime characteristic of Craig's style was neither the often-referred-to purple or blue of his apparently infinite skies, nor the reform of stage lighting that followed his removal of the footlights. Nor was it the imaginative use of masks, the color harmonies, or the move away from realistic settings toward a simplification that liberated the audience's imaginationthough Craig, considered solely as a scene designer, may be credited with the invention of scenic impressionism. The vital quality was Craig's symbolic choreography of patterned movement and stylized gesture. As any careful examination of his notes and directions for Dido, Acis, and The Masque of Love show, it was this that preoccupied him and gave his work its characteristic style as well as much of its powerful imaginative effect.
