Salome
Pittsburgh Opera
Starring Patricia Racette
Directed by Andrew Sinclair
Scenic Design by Boyd Ostroff
Costume Design by Richard St. Clair
Lighting Design by David Ostrowski
Production Photos by David Bachman
Starring Patricia Racette
Directed by Andrew Sinclair
Scenic Design by Boyd Ostroff
Costume Design by Richard St. Clair
Lighting Design by David Ostrowski
Production Photos by David Bachman
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I was hired by the Pittsburgh Opera to design additional costumes for a production I designed for the Opera Company of Philadelphia. Patricia Racette was singing her first Salome and wanted her costumes to be redesigned for her role premiere. I worked with Ms. Racette and her choreographer who were working out the Dance of the Seven Veils in Santa Fe while she was singing there. Among the challenges for this performance was Ms. Racette’s intention of ending the dance fully nude. Function needed to drive form in the design. I convinced the production manager in Pittsburgh to hire the brilliant costume maker Maryanne Crostyne to build the dress based on my past experiences with Ms. Racette. I knew she could be very exacting in her needs. As she is a non-dancer, the choreographer added 4 male dancers to act as assistants for Ms.Racette’s dance. I designed them as well. After months of sketches and re-designs and fittings we did a photo shoot of Ms. Racette in the finished dress. She loved it - and then she hated it all within the same day as she realized she couldn’t perform some of the dance moves because of the heavy corseting she had requested. Changes were then made to the design to accommodate the soprano. Such is the life of an opera designer.
I was hired by the Pittsburgh Opera to design additional costumes for a production I designed for the Opera Company of Philadelphia. Patricia Racette was singing her first Salome and wanted her costumes to be redesigned for her role premiere. I worked with Ms. Racette and her choreographer who were working out the Dance of the Seven Veils in Santa Fe while she was singing there. Among the challenges for this performance was Ms. Racette’s intention of ending the dance fully nude. Function needed to drive form in the design. I convinced the production manager in Pittsburgh to hire the brilliant costume maker Maryanne Crostyne to build the dress based on my past experiences with Ms. Racette. I knew she could be very exacting in her needs. As she is a non-dancer, the choreographer added 4 male dancers to act as assistants for Ms.Racette’s dance. I designed them as well. After months of sketches and re-designs and fittings we did a photo shoot of Ms. Racette in the finished dress. She loved it - and then she hated it all within the same day as she realized she couldn’t perform some of the dance moves because of the heavy corseting she had requested. Changes were then made to the design to accommodate the soprano. Such is the life of an opera designer.
