Opera Hipólito. Palace of Fine Arts. Mexico. 1957.

Vintage black and white gelatin silver print. With all its white margins. Measurements: 20.7 x 25.2 cm / 8.15 x 9.92 in. On the back of the work there are several handwritten annotations in blue ink: "Scene from "Hipólito" by Eurípides. Direction: Salvador Novo. Scenography: Antonio López Mancera. Production: National Institute of Fine Arts. Palace of Fine Arts. Photo: Jorge Gutiérrez" From the annotations on the back and the white framing on the front, it is evident that this beautiful image illustrated a cultural publication of the time.

Theatrical photography was, from the last third of the 19th century, a true specialty in charge of trained operators. Many of these professionals even came from theater work, so their cameras were very attentive to the key moments in the development of the play, that is, to its best scenes.

These photographers had to work silently, without interfering with the work or with the public and of course their own lighting equipment was absolutely prohibited in obtaining these shots. Working in the darkness of the stage requires good technical equipment, bright photographic lenses and very sensitive films, material that was obviously told by the Mexican photographer Jorge Gutiérrez, author of this excellent image about the well-known Greek tragedy. The scene was documented in the auditorium of the Palacio de Bellas Artes, an imposing construction that stands in the Historic Center of the Aztec capital, inaugurated in 1934.

Salvador Novo López (1904-1974), director, playwright and essayist, is considered a fundamental figure in the development of Mexican theater in that period. Here he directs a version of "Hippolytus", son of Theseus, a classical Greek tragedy by the famous poet Euripides.