In the 1990's the classical-record label Deutsche Grammophon commissioned cartoonist Roz Chast to create covers for their Mad About series of reissues.
As Chast describes it:
I like classical music. I like all sorts of music. Deutsche Gramophone came to me and said that we’re doing these series called “Mad About,” and would you be interested? And the money was good, and the job was fun, and it was wonderful. It was a very, very fun job. They had Mad About Puccini. I do like opera. Not all opera. I like the classics. I like La Boheme, and I like Carmen. I like Puccini, I like Verdi. It was just a lot of fun, and there were tons. There were Mad About the Piano, Mad About Music from Films, Mad About Music from Cartoons.... And they had a sense of humor. They were all cartoons. If I was drawing Carmen, she would be my version of Carmen. They didn’t expect me or ask me to draw in some weird style. That would not have worked out.
Several of these covers are included in the gallery's Roz Chast exhibition from May 3 to June 8, 2025.
