Golovin designed the set of Agamemnon's Palace in Mykonos for Richard Strauss' (1864-1949) one-act opera 'Elektra' based on new archaeological findings by Arthur Jones Evans (1851-1941) in Crete. Golovin's preparation for the creation of any new performance always included a search for new materials and a thorough and comprehensive exploration of their possibilities.

The artist stated: 'More than anything, knowledge is necessary to allow oneself complete freedom of fantasy'; knowledge of this sort was critical to Golovin in his work on 'Elektra'. The opera's author, the composer Richard Strauss, took a lively interest in the staging of 'Elektra' at the Mariinsky Theatre. On 16 January 1913, he visited the D...