Riccardo Hernandez

Riccardo Hernandez is a renowned set designer who has worked with numerous prominent directors, including Julie Taymor, Mary Zimmerman, and Robert Falls. His designs have been featured in various productions at esteemed institutions such as the Metropolitan Opera, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, and Public Theater. Hernandez's work has been influenced by his collaborations with notable artists like William Shakespeare, Tennessee Williams, and Arthur Miller. He has also been inspired by the works of Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali, and Frida Kahlo.

● Early Life and Education

Riccardo Hernandez was born in Cuba and later moved to Miami, where he developed an interest in the arts. He pursued his passion for design at the Yale School of Drama, where he studied under the guidance of Ming Cho Lee and Michael Yeargan. Hernandez's education also involved training at the Juilliard School and the New York University Tisch School of the Arts. His early influences include the works of Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Frank Lloyd Wright, as well as the designs of David Hockney and Allen Moyer.

● Career

Hernandez's career as a set designer has spanned multiple decades and has included collaborations with prominent directors such as Mike Nichols, Harold Prince, and Trevor Nunn. He has designed sets for various productions at the Broadway Theatre, West End theatre, and La Scala. Hernandez has also worked with notable companies like the Royal Shakespeare Company, National Theatre, and American Ballet Theatre. His designs have been featured in productions of Hamlet, Macbeth, and A Midsummer Night's Dream, as well as The Phantom of the Opera, Les Misérables, and Cats.

● Notable Works

Some of Hernandez's most notable works include his designs for the Public Theater production of The Tempest, directed by Julie Taymor, and the Steppenwolf Theatre Company production of The Glass Menagerie, directed by Mary Zimmerman. He has also designed sets for the Metropolitan Opera production of La Bohème, conducted by James Levine, and the San Francisco Opera production of Madama Butterfly, conducted by Donald Runnicles. Hernandez's designs have been featured in productions at the Guthrie Theater, Seattle Repertory Theatre, and Mark Taper Forum, as well as the Festival d'Avignon and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

● Awards and Recognition

Hernandez has received numerous awards and nominations for his work, including a Tony Award nomination for his design of the Broadway Theatre production of The Merchant of Venice, directed by Daniel Sullivan. He has also received a Drama Desk Award for his design of the Public Theater production of The Tempest, as well as an Obie Award for his design of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company production of The Glass Menagerie. Hernandez has been recognized by the United States Institute for Theatre Technology and the National Endowment for the Arts, and has been awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship and a Pew Fellowship.

● Personal Life

Riccardo Hernandez is married to Catherine Zuber, a renowned costume designer who has worked on productions such as The Light in the Piazza and South Pacific. The couple has collaborated on numerous projects, including the Metropolitan Opera production of La Bohème and the Public Theater production of The Tempest. Hernandez is also a professor at the Yale School of Drama, where he teaches set design and has mentored students such as David Korins and Rachel Hauck. He has also taught at the Juilliard School and the New York University Tisch School of the Arts, and has given lectures at the Princeton University and the University of California, Los Angeles.