Dressing rooms
Hair and Make-up
In this dressing room, the characters in the opera start to come to life. Make-up, hair, and the fitting of wigs, toupees, and/or protheses, transform the singers into the characters they will play onstage.
It is above all a team endeavour, an exchange. Teamwork is key.
L.V., Head of Hair, Make-up, and Wigs
After the preparations in the workshop, the team backstage begins work the day before the piano dress rehearsalPiano dress rehearsal - Dress rehearsal without the orchestra. . The team meets (often, joined by temporary staff), workplaces are allocated, and the equipment is prepared.
The time required for the execution of make-up and hairstyles before the show varies from a few minutes to two hours. On average, the team arrives an hour and a half before the start of the show, but it depends on the complexity of the hairstyles and make-up to be done and on the number of people to prepare (soloists, chorus members, extras). The team is always there 1 hour before starting the make-ups. Everyone is provided with a precise schedule.
The work continues during the performance, with touch-ups or complete changes of hair and make-up. The team collaborates closely with the dressers.
Sometimes you have 1 minute 30 seconds to make a quick costume change, including the make-up and wig.
L.V., Head of Hair, Make-up, and Wigs
When the performance is finished, the work is not over yet. The wigs and prostheses must be removed, and the equipment must be put away and cleaned for the next performance.
For Frankenstein (2019), no fewer than 26 make-up artists were on duty during each performance.
The fake heads are attached using a special glue so that they remain in place and can withstand heat and perspiration.
To attach them to the face, a thinner is first applied to the edges of the fake heads, melting them slightly. Makeup is then used to hide the edges and add false veins.
Two make-up artists were tasked with preparing the singer Topi Lehtipuu, who played the part of the Creature. For each performance, the preparations took two and a half hours! Not for the faint-hearted!
