Adolphe Appia was raised in Geneva, Switzerland, in a "strictly Calvinistic home". He attended boarding school at the Collège de Vevey starting in 1873 at the age of 11, where he remained until 1879.

He saw his first professional theatre production at the age of 16, when he attended a production of Charles Gounod's Faust. He studied music at the Leipzig Conservatory (1882–83) and at a music school in Dresden (1886–90).

Career[edit]
Appia is best known for his many scenic designs for Wagner’s operas. He rejected painted two-dimensional sets for three-dimensional "living" sets because he believed that shade was as necessary as light to form a connection between the actor and the setting of the performance in time and space. Through the use of control of light intensity, colour and manipulation, Appia created a new perspective of scene design and stage lighting.

Directors and designers have both taken great inspiration from the work of Appia, whose design theories and conceptualizations of Wagner's operas have helped to shape modern perceptions of the relationship between the performance space and lighting. One of the reasons for the influence of Appia's work and theories, is that he was working at time when electrical lighting was just evolving. Another is that he was a man of great vision who was able to conceptualize and philosophize about many of his practices and theories.

SOURCE WIKI