Franz Xaver Gerl low vocal range; Branscombe (1991) observes that the very low notes that Mozart included in the part of Sarastro have been "the despair of many a bass singer since." By 1787 he had joined the theatrical company of Emanuel Schikaneder, for which he sang the demanding role of Osmin in Mozart's opera "The Abduction from the Seraglio" and other roles. In 1789 the troupe settled at the Theater auf der Wieden in Vienna. Gerl participated in a system of joint composition used by Schikaneder's troupe, in which "Singspiele" were produced rapidly by having several composers collaborate. As such, Gerl may
Stefanos Lazaridis Nightingale". He attracted attention for his designs for Antony Tudor's "Knight Errant" for the Royal Ballet's touring company in 1968, and was invited to design a new production of "Carmen" for the director John Copley at Sadler's Wells Opera in 1970. Lazaridis's early designs were naturalistic and lavish, and suited Copley's approach to production. They worked together both at English National Opera (ENO) ("The Seraglio", 1971, "Il trovatore", 1972) and Covent Garden ("Le nozze di Figaro", 1971, "Don Giovanni", 1973). In the 1980s, Lazaridis worked a great deal with David Pountney at ENO. His design style moved away from opulent