Opera by Antonín Dvořák, presented at Opéra Royal de Wallonie, Liège in 2024
“…a very visually successful version which owes a lot to the teamwork of Cordelia Chisholm on the sets, Simon Corder on the lights and Dick Straker on the video. All three compose a dreamlike universe specific to the fairy tale which delicately evokes both the underwater iridescence of the mermaid and the munificence of the prince’s palace.” – Tania Bracq, forumopera.com, 1 February 2024
Continue readingA triple bill of operas: Il segreto di Susanna by Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari; Zanetto by Pietro Mascagni; Rita by Gaetano Donizetti. Presented by the Guildhall School of Music & Drama at the Barbican Silk Street Theatre in times of Covid-19. Without an audience, the seating removed to make space for a socially distanced orchestra of fifty players. The production was live-streamed. Continue reading
Opera by Giuseppe Verdi. Presented at Opera Holland Park in the summer of 2018.
The production was revived at Opera Holland Park in the summer 2021, and again in 2025!
Simon Corder was honoured as a Knight Of Illumination in 2017.
Winner of The Robert Juliat Award for Opera for his lighting of The Queen of Spades – “Simon utilised the natural decay of the evening light. His lighting design constantly controlled the audience’s eye, guiding to where the focus was supposed to be. Unlike the natural, comfortable and exciting darkness, he created a claustrophobic, suffocating and intense darkness.” – Alexandra Coghlan
Sunday 17th September marked the tenth anniversary of the prestigious Knight of Illumination (KOI) Awards and the reveal of the 2017 Winners, was held at the Eventim Apollo in London. During the dazzling evening event, many respected designers were ‘knighted’ – and bestowed with the iconic KOI sword.
Opera by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, presented by Opera Holland Park in the summer of 2016.
“The nightmarish hallucinatory quality of the music in the final scenes is reflected in lighting designer Simon Corder’s shifting play of light and shadows.” – Clare Colvin, Daily Express, 7 August 2016
“There are some wonderful moments early on, where sudden tricks of light make Herman’s social world look sinister and grotesque, and we become acutely aware of the proximity of reality and nightmare in his mind.” – Tim Ashley, The Guardian, 3 August 2016 Continue reading
Opera by Bohuslav Martinů, written in 1958 – presented in a Martinů double bill with Alexandre Bis at the Silk Street Theatre at the Barbican for Guildhall School of Music & Drama. Continue reading
Opera by Alessandro Stradella. The first opera production in the new Milton Court Theatre at The Barbican, in a baroque double bill with The Cooper, for Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Continue reading
Opera by Thomas Arne. The first opera production in the new Milton Court Theatre at The Barbican, in a baroque double bill with San Giovanni Battista, for Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Continue reading