Costumes

From the sketches designed by the costume designer to the stage, or from the first prototypes designed by the costume workshops to the preparations in the dressing rooms and backstage, an opera costume passes through many expert hands. Those of cutters, tailors, seamstresses, milliners, shoemakers, dressers, and many others.

Each new production gives birth to a new world, brought to life by all these hands. New materials to work with, dye, assemble, shape, wash, care for, and maintain.

From swimsuits to crinolines, opera costumes take many, and sometimes surprising, forms. A behind-the-scenes look at their preparation.