Matthew Xavier

Stunning Images of World Famous Opera Houses by David Leventi

Photographer David Leventi’s series “David Leventi: Opera” will open May 7 at Rick Wester Fine Art in New York City for all art and architecture enthusiasts to admire. Although we often view images of grand-scale and monumental buildings on photograph, Leventi’s approach differs from most photographers. His uniquely structured and intelligent take lies in the fact that he has chosen to document opera houses’ beauty from the view of the operatic singer. 

This unorthodox perspective stems from Leventi’s family history. He is the son of two architects and the grandchild of Anton Gutman, a famous Danish operatic tenor trained after World War II. Gutman sang and interned at a prisoner-of-war camp in the Soviet Union. This series is a dedication to the spaces his grandfather was never able to perform in. 

The advantage of taking an image from the focal point of the space reverses its perceived function. Depth, beauty, and grandeur almost seem larger and far more majestic from the stage.