Spotlight: Costumes Revival Workroom

The Revival Workroom on preparing for the 30th year of La traviata, adapting to individual performers' needs and costume details to look out for 

Q: What is the process of beginning work on a new revival for a production that is a repertory staple?

A: A Costume Production Manager (CPM) is assigned several months in advance of the first night. Their role is to ensure the costumes are ready in time for the rehearsal period on stage, and that they look as close as possible to the original production. The CPM is in charge of the budget, buying fabrics, organising new makes if we have nothing suitable in stock to fit a particular performer, and liaising between performers, the production team, stage management and our revivals workroom, where the bulk of the alterations and maintenance takes place.

The regular chorus fittings may be done several weeks in advance, but the principals, dancers and actors arrive in time for the rehearsal period so we have less time to work on these. Before the stage rehearsals start the costumes are handed over to the performance team who dress the artists and look after the costumes during the run.

Q: How many productions does the Workroom work on at a time?

A: We are entering the start of the Season and we work on both opera and ballet, around 25 productions a year. We currently have seven productions being worked on including The Mad Hatter’s Tea Party for the Linbury Theatre and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland for The Royal Ballet, as well as four operas.

Q: Can you explain what a ‘Costume Bible’ is and how these are used?

A: The Costume Bible is a physical file which records information from the original production to aid its revival and ensure it maintains its original look. It is likely to contain designs, fabric samples – including the stockist, cost and quantity needed for a particular costume – and photographs of the performer wearing the finished costume, together with information about dyeing and printing, hats, jewellery, shoes, wigs and make-up. As each revival returns the CPM will produce a show report detailing information that may be of use, such as whether a particular set of costumes needs replacing for a future revival.

Q: Richard Eyre’s Traviata production had its premiere in 1994; this year it turns 30. How are the costumes, specifically Violetta’s dresses, maintained over such a period?

A: The three grand dresses Violetta wears are among the most complex we work on. The hems have to be accurate and the bodices should fit properly. RBO costumes are made to be altered so we can be as sustainable as possible, which means they have large seam allowances and big hems. We avoid cutting or snipping if we can and keep any scraps of fabric – even those which look too small to be useful have often saved us if we need to patch something.

The revivals team takes great pride in maintaining costumes, refitting, repairing and replacing sections which have become worn. Bacteria is the enemy of fabric preservation so anything that can be laundered during the run will be, including shirts, socks and undergarments. We have ozone boxes at the RBO, so items that can’t be washed will have a 20-minute treatment to rid them of anything that may rot the textiles or attract moths. They then get checked against a packing list to ensure nothing is missing, before being wrapped with reusable rail covers ready for transportation back to our warehouse in Aberdare. The Traviata costumes fit onto 41 rails and into 3 flight cases.

Q: What happens if a costume is damaged mid-performance? Is someone on stand-by?

A: The performance team looks after the performer once the revivals team has handed over the costumes before the on-stage rehearsals. They are prepared for instant repairs and will have a kit bag with all sorts of useful items ready for any eventuality. This sometimes means repairing split trousers during a break in the action by either stitching them or safety pinning them together until a more permanent repair can be made.

Q: What important historical styles can we find in the Traviata costumes? Can you speak on special elements audiences should look out for –materials, textures, beadwork?

A: The designer, Bob Crowley, set the production in mid-19th century Second Empire Paris, a time of great opulence and wealth. This is reflected in the costumes. It was also in this period that womens’ crinolines reached their widest.

Violetta’s Act I costume is based on a dress worn in a portrait of Empress Elisabeth of Austria (1837–98). The off-white satin dress is topped with a layer of silk mousseline onto which gold thread motifs, based on edelweiss flowers, have been machine-embroidered to the designer’s specification. The dress is worn over a separate crinoline and petticoat.

In Act II we see Violetta living with Alfredo in the country, having abandoned her former life of a courtesan. She has a more demure long-sleeved brocade pale yellow dress, with pink and blue flowers woven into the fabric. Details of this fabric feature in the cover buttons on the sleeve and bodice detail. Later in the same Act, having separated from Alfredo, we see Violetta at a party in a beautiful black gown. This features a hand-beaded neck section to cover her décolletage and is embellished with jet beads that catch the light.

Q: For opera costumes, how often do you factor in designs that allow for appropriate breathing and singing?

A: Some performers have very specific requirements – some enjoy the feeling of being corseted as it provides them something to ‘push against’, some don’t! No one likes anything tight around their neck! Hats can be a problem for performers as they can affect the sound quality of the voice. To mitigate this, we will sometimes cut holes in the brim or some performers will refuse to wear a hat and simply carry it on stage.

Q: Do singers ever have a say in costumes and how they fit or look? Have there been any unusual or challenging requests?

A: The CPMs are experts in adapting the costumes to suit the performer, so if a particular garment doesn’t suit a particular figure there is some flexibility to produce something more flattering – but it should be in keeping with the original design. We have stitched sweets pockets into costumes, and we have had the odd performer who needs a garment let out to fit over a recently acquired plaster cast!