Ales Valaseck
2009 LINBURY PRIZE OVERALL WINNER
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Selected Portfolio
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"The most valuable thing that has come from my participation were the people that I met. Anya Sainsbury and her team, all people involved in the Linbury Prize from the National Theatre, the jury, representatives of the theatre companies that took part in it, the other contestants… Sound and Fury and Fuel Company, and all people involved in the Going Dark production… I would have never met them without The Linbury Prize competition… and for that I will be forever grateful and will always remember them."
Ales Valaseck, Designer
Aleš Valášek is a set and costume designer and an architect.
He grew up in Khartoum (Sudan). In 1988 he and his family returned to Czechoslovakia where he received his education. He gained his art skills from artist Věra Ničová. Aleš received a degree in Costume Design at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague under Costume Designer Jana Zbořilová and later M. S. in Architecture and Urban Design under Professor Jiří Suchomel at Technical University in Liberec where he graduated with honors. In 2006 Aleš studied as a residency student at London College of Fashion within Dept. Costume for Performing Arts. In 2008 he studied Set and Costume Design at Motley Theatre Design Course in London led by Alison Chitty, Ashley Martin-Davis, Anthony Lamble and Cat Martin.
Aleš´s work includes design for over 100 productions and spans across all genres and scales, from alternative theatre to opera, musical theatre and film, from small
children´s theatre to large opera venues.
His portfolio has included : Giselle and La Bayadère (Moravské divadlo, Olomouc, CZ), Carmen and operetta Polish Blood (National Theatre, Brno, CZ), L'Italiana in Algeri , Swan Lake, Rusalka, Nabucco, Monteverdi's Orfeo and L'incoronazione di Poppea, Rimsky-Korsakov´s Mozart and Salieri (J. K. Tyl Theatre, Pilsen, CZ), Turandot and Il Trovatore (Revolving Theatre, Český Krumlov, CZ), Countess Maritza and Jan Móry´s operetta Miss Widow (State opera, Banská Bystrica, Slovakia), The Bat (State Theatre, Košice, Slovakia), Polish Blood (Odessa Academic Theatre of Musical Comedy, Odessa, Ukraine)...
Musical and theater projects have included: Curtains by John Kander (Hudební divadlo Karlín, Prague, CZ), Alan Menken´s Little Shop of Horrors and Gipsy Kings´ Zorro (Městské divadlo, Brno, CZ), Blythe Spirit (Městské Divadlo, Kladno, CZ), Cyrano de Bergerac and Neil LaBute´s Fat Pig (Moravské divadlo, Olomouc, CZ), Next To Normal and Tick Tick Boom (Divadlo na Prádle, Prague, CZ) to name a few.
His American debut will take place at Glimmerglass Festival (NY) and Houston Grand Opera (TX) in 2022 with a production of Sound of Music (costume design) directed by Francesca Zambello.
In 2010 Aleš developed the set and costume design alongside Alain Boublil for the new version of the West End musical Marguerite with music by Michel Legrand.
In 2018 Aleš designed costumes for German speaking premiere of Broadway musical An American in Paris in Landestheater Linz (Linz, Austria) directed by Nick Winston and German tour of An American in Paris directed by Christopher Tölle.
Very often he designs original fabrics and prints or jewellery for most of his productions to support the authenticity of the piece.
In 2019 he designed a permanent collection of sculptures for Museum Hořice in Czech Republic. The design received National prize Gloria Musaealis and Patrimonium Pro Futuro prize by National Heritage Institute in 2020.
Between 2016-2018 Mr. Valášek taught Costume Design as an external tutor at the Academy of Performing arts Prague.
Aleš also works as illustrator and concept artist.