{"id":381,"date":"2015-08-09T19:10:00","date_gmt":"2015-08-09T19:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cinnamonstudio.com\/blog\/2015\/08\/09\/costume-magic-2\/"},"modified":"2015-08-09T19:10:00","modified_gmt":"2015-08-09T19:10:00","slug":"costume-magic-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinnamonstudio.com\/blog\/2015\/08\/costume-magic-2.html","title":{"rendered":"Costume Magic"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\nCostumes for Opera<\/span><\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nI have been looking through a small box of fabric scraps,
\nintending to use some for a project I am designing.  These are no ordinary scraps. 
\nI had been collecting these tiny treasures for years when I visited San
\nFrancisco and a fabulous fabric emporium on a small side street near Union
\nSquare.  Of course they carried a very
\nwide range of fabrics for every sewing need, but I was interested in their
\ncollection of extravagant, luxury fabrics, many of which were imported.  I did not need, nor could I afford, to buy
\nyardage, but I would spend much time sorting through containers of very small
\nscraps.  For a few dollars, I could
\npurchase bits and pieces of heavily embroidered, jewel encrusted silks and
\nvelvets, whispery tulles and beautiful laces.<\/span><\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nOn one visit as I was entranced by rolls of these fabrics,
\nafraid to even touch them, an assistant 
\napproached , possibly thinking I had a credit card limit in the
\nastronomical range.  She told me of her
\nlast customer who had purchased rolls of these fabrics for use by the costume
\ndepartment of the San Francisco Opera. 
\nOf course, this was the perfect use for these magical textiles.<\/span><\/div>\n
\n
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\n
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\n
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\n<\/a><\/div>\n
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\nOpera Themes and Plots, Rudolph Fellner, Simon and Schuster, New York, 1958 <\/span><\/div>\n
\n
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\n
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\n
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\n
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\n
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\nAs I thought about that visit and the sales attendant\u2019s
\nstory about the opera, I remembered an article I have saved from Threads
\nMagazine, Oct\/Nov 2011 entitled \u201cBehind the Scenes at the Metropolitan
\nOpera.  Written by Kenneth D. King, it
\nwas the behind-the scenes world of the costume and design department with a
\nstaff of 100. When one thinks of the operatic experience it is the combination
\nof magnificent music, superb vocalists and theater.  It is a performance which tells a story. The magic is enhanced by
\nthe spectacular scenery and costumes. 
\nWhether the performance is traditional or a modern adaptation, the
\nperformers must evoke their characters and this is achieved visually (through
\ncostumes and scenery) as well as vocally.<\/span><\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\nThe design staff of any costume department has many highly
\nskilled artisans.  The workshops are
\nfilled with tailors and seamstresses, drafts-men and. pattern-makers with
\nyears of experience.  While the drapers
\nand cutters calculate the fabrics required, it is the
\nshoppers that tour the world searching for not only the required fabrics for a
\nspecific performance, but also for inspirations, which might appear in later
\ncreations.  This would be my dream job,
\ntraveling and sourcing trims and fabrics.   <\/span><\/div>\n
\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
\nThis is not to be, I fear.  I must remain content to dress myself for a night at the opera.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Costumes for Opera I have been looking through a small box of fabric scraps, intending to use some for a project I am designing.  These are no ordinary scraps.  I had been collecting these tiny treasures for years when I visited San Francisco and a fabulous fabric emporium on a small side street near Union…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-381","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinnamonstudio.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/381","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinnamonstudio.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinnamonstudio.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinnamonstudio.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinnamonstudio.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=381"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinnamonstudio.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/381\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinnamonstudio.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=381"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinnamonstudio.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=381"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinnamonstudio.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=381"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}