Alison Watt Tapestry

The Butterfly tapestry was designed by artist Alison Watt and woven at Edinburgh’s Dovecot Studios by Master Weaver Naomi Robertson and team. It was commissioned by Scottish Opera for one of the walls in the Theatre Royal Glasgow’s new foyers.

You can visit the Butterfly tapestry in the theatre from January 2015.

About her inspiration for the tapestry, Alison Watt says:

“I was very aware of Madama Butterfly playing an important role in the history of Scottish Opera. It was the first opera Company founder Sir Alexander Gibson conducted for Scottish Opera and also his last. It was one of his favourite operas. I wanted to create a piece which echoed the great drama and atmosphere experienced through live performance and from the beginning Madama Butterfly was my inspiration. It’s an opera which has such an impact on the senses and I wanted to create an emotional landscape with my work; to find a way to evoke the powerful themes of love and loss which pour from Puccini’s masterpiece.”

Watch the video below to learn more about the making of the Butterfly tapestry.