Olbinski and the Opera

Award-winning designer and painter Rafal Olbinski has created 40 extraordinary posters as opera advertisements. This collection represents an extraordinary talent for combining graphic design, painting, and opera in the great tradition of the Polish poster — a tradition particularly remarkable for the rebellious freedom it expressed in the aftermath of World War II. In a similar surrealist approach, Olbinski uses surprise, witty tricks and sexual content to create a visual pun or twist as he simplifies the essence of a particular opera into a single emotional image. He captures the grandeur of the costumes, the music, and the tragedy in beautifully-crafted paintings that, while classical in appearance, reveal a contemporary way of interpreting the libretto.