“A naive yet shrewd face. Its elegance equals that of an ancient British nobleman, an "old-young" man just like Verdi, old but young in spirit, when he wrote this fresh comic opera, a masterpiece of humour and irony. The result is a classic bust, dark grey verging on black, an elf with a bizarre somewhat alien-like appearance. Green hair recalling the lush crown of a tree. The nose, eyes, brow, ears and cheeks are applied onto the face, which is as flat as a gong.”