Kristian Fredrikson: Designer

... the first in-depth account of the work of one of our most acclaimed designers and one of the few books to look at the collaborative role that design has had in the performing arts in Australia and New Zealand.
- Graeme Murphy, AO
This book examines the life and career of acclaimed designer, Kristian Fredrikson (1940-2005), who worked across genres of theatre, dance, opera, film and television.
His collaborations with leading choreographers and directors saw scenes of unleashed imagination, breathtaking beauty and impeccable craftsmanship, pulsing with human emotion.

This book examines the life and career of acclaimed designer for the theatre, Kristian Fredrikson (19402005). Fredrikson worked across genres including in theatre, dance, opera, and film and television. Born in Wellington, New Zealand, Fredrikson began his design career working with asmall, amateur operetta company in Wellington. He then went on to establish a major, five decade-long career in Australia, returning to New Zealand on occasions to design for opera and ballet. During the 1970s Fredrikson worked extensively with Melbourne Theatre Company where he met the then-emerging Australian choreographer Graeme Murphy. This was to be a turning point in his life and in 1979 he made his first work for Murphys Sydney Dance Company, a mysterious and exotic Shéhérazade. Those years were also when he began an association with the Australian Opera, which included a production of Lucrezia Borgia in which Dame Joan Sutherland sang the lead.