Ballet, classical dance
“The Creatures of Prometheus”, Beethoven, 1801
Beethoven Festival, Chicago, IL – September 2012

Choreographer : Ted Seymour
Musical director : Matthias Pintscher
Costume designer : Meriem Bahri
Light designer : Anna Henson
Photographers : Max Anisimov – Benjamin Brachi

Baroque opera
“Pimpinone”, Telemann, 1725
Haymarket Opera Company, Chicago, IL, USA – October 2013

Stage director : Sarah Edgar
Musical director : Craig Trompeter
Costume designer : Meriem Bahri
Set designer : David Mayernik
Light designer : William C. Kirkham
Photographers : Charles Osgood – Benjamin Brachi

[...] like Meriem Bahri’s artful costumes, the designs faithfully adhered to 18th-century theatrical style and were eye-catching to boot.”
John von Rhein, Chicago Tribune, October 27, 2013
At Haymarket, even the costume designers have a scholarly grounding, and Meriem Bahri’s period outfits, changing from act to act — especially Vespetta’s once she had hit the jackpot — told the story [...]”
Andrew Patner, Chicago Sun-Times, October 27, 2013

“It is especially laughable, when some dress as parrots and amuse themselves with many colors: the coat black, the vest blue, the pants red, the tights yellow, the wig white, the eyes brown/black, and other similar tasteless fantasies. Such people are immediately seen as not having everything right under the hat, as if they are hare-brained.” – Louis Bonin, Die neueste Art zur galantine ind theatralischen Tantz-Kunst, 111.

The comic opera Pimpinone, presenting a doomed relationship between an old bourgeois and a young servant, was first performed in Germany in 1725. Because there are only two characters, the personalities could have been very one-dimensional and opposite, which would have encouraged a binary visual in the costumes. Instead, Telemann offers us two interesting characters to work with and develop through the costumes.

Indeed, the ever-increasing social status of Vespetta is pivotal to the opera. As the story starts, she is looking for a job when she meets Pimpinone. Inspired by several genre paintings of Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin, Vespetta’s first look is very simple, dark, and dull: an earth colored skirt worn over an ordinary petticoat, a plain shirt, a wide utilitarian apron, and a sober little black cape.

Pimpinone is quite stylishly clumsy and understated for a man of his wealth. However, in men’s fashion between the end of the 17th century and the beginning of the 18th century, the progression of taste was slow compared to women’s fashion, and Vespetta may not have immediately noticed the haphazardness in Pimpinone’s outfit. Her attention must have certainly stopped at the little signs of richness disseminated awkwardly throughout his mismatching costume: the accumulation of gold and silver buttons on his coat and waistcoat, the delicate lace of his shirt, the feathers on his too small hat or the big bows on his shoes. Nobody informed poor Pimpinone the trend was now for a buckle on the shoes, that narrower knee breeches were in, and superfluous ornamentation was out! The simple lines of his coat are nothing except a lost reminder of his youth (in another century!) while it was more appropriate, in the 1720s, to have a fitted coat with the sides arranged in elegant pleats.

As Pimpinone is not aware of his own lack of fashion, and despite his ambition to fawn on Vespetta, he is still faithful to his particular sense of misinformed taste in the second intermezzo. On the contrary, after being employed by her old and rich master, Vespetta’s outfit in Intermezzo II shows more seductive aspects: the brown tones of her first costume turn into an eye-catching cinnamon laced jacket, bordered by the ruffles of her shirt. A lace edged fichu covers her cleavage, and the hoops under her petticoat and skirt are now highlighting her feminine shape. More than useful working articles of clothing, her new apron and maid cap are rather decorative symbols of domesticity, indicating her servitude toward Pimpinone.

Intermezzo III marks the great reversal of the situation between maid and master, a beloved topic in 18th century comedy. This dramatic change is visually accentuated by Pimpinone’s costume decline, from his toes peeking through the stockings to his disheveled wig, and by a great step forward in Vespetta’s costume evolution in terms of colors and volume. Her extravagance, brought on by her sudden access to wealth, makes her look like an accumulation of fashion faux pas. Bright colors, stripes, plaid, and flowers are all blended together, while the style of her costume is a mix of the old-fashioned mantua dress and the rising trend for wide hoops. All of these fancies are oddly combined with a skirt that is much too short, a reminder of her poor but convenient working outfit. The most laughable and ironic aspect is perhaps her superficial taste for the simple life as dictated by the upper classes: a delicate apron is hanging at her waist and a birdhouse has found a clunky place on her hat!

Baroque opera
“Le Jugement de Pan” and “Acteon”, Charpentier, 1684
Haymarket Opera Company, Chicago, IL, USA – March 2014

Stage director : Ellen Hargis
Musical director : Craig Trompeter
Costume designer : Meriem Bahri
Set designer : David Mayernik
Light designer : William C. Kirkham
Photographers : Charles Osgood – Benjamin Brachi

Pastoral leitmotifs unified this courtly entertainment, not only in the music but also in the period-specific costume and set designs of Haymarket stalwarts Meriem Bahri and David Mayernik, respectively.”

“Bahri’s eye-filling costumes were a splendid time-trip in themselves, notably Diana’s patterned-velvet mantua, the huntresses’ forest-green gowns and the hunters’ beige and brown doublets, breeches and tonnelets.”
John von Rhein, Chicago Tribune, March 8, 2014
[...] with some of the sharpest and most character-revealing costume work to date here by the ingenious Meriem Bahri [...]”
Andrew Patner, Chicago Sun-Times, March 9, 2014
Most stylish early opera productions in 2014"
John von Rhein, Chicago Tribune, December 31, 2014

Actéon, composed by Marc-Antoine Charpentier in the 1680s, relates the Greek myth of Diana and the hunter Actéon, punished for gazing the modest goddess while she is bathing in the company of her nymphs.

The costume colors for this pastorale are inspired by paintings blending soft tones of green and brown, beige and rust, grey and light blue, like Andriessen’s “Arcadian Landscape” or Titian’s “Death of Actaeon”. The theme of animals and the hunt help to enhance the story, reflected in the use fabrics (animal patterns and textures), embellishments (trims of fur and feathers) and accessories ( pearls and other natural references).

The goddess Diana is generally represented through the ages with Greek dress and sandals, a moon tiara and a bow or a spear, and is often depicted with an animal skin and a baroque outfit with a notable Greek influence in portraits of 17th and 18th French court ladies “en Diane”. Thus, with these references in mind, our goddess of the hunt is wearing a mantua (fashionable gown from 1680s to Louis the XIVth’s death) made of a fawn-skin patterned velvet, while the sleeves, hairstyle and shoes are directly influenced by the Greek aesthetic. This mix of Greek and baroque style is also found in the nymphs’ costumes, the cut being primarily inspired by a statue of Diane from Château de Versailles’ gardens.

During the hunt, these women wear forest-colored gowns and carry hunting weapons. However, their silhouettes take a more feminine look for the bathing scenes, while the colors go from the dark woods to light waters, to emphasize the fact Actéon will cast his glance on something he should not see. When the dresses are removed, delicate corsets, light chemises and aerial skirts are revealed, inspired by a costume sketch drawn by Louis the XIV’s designer, Jean Bérain (Costume de Diane) and a painting by Largillière (Femme en Diane), both from 1685.

Actéon and the hunters’ costumes are also based on paintings and opera costume sketches of the late 17th century: they carry quivers and bows, they wear doublets, breeches and tonnelets decorated with lambrequins shaped to suggest their arrows. In the theatrical spirit of the period, Actéon is transformed into a deer by a mask covering his face, as a poetic symbol of imprisonment in a new body, increasing his tragic destiny.

The last – and quite unexpected- character of this tragédie en musique is the goddess Juno. To show her supremacy, she appears in a style different from the rest of the group with her bodice and skirt made of a rich brocade, her big blood-colored cape and her flamboyant headdress.

Solo, bolero dance
“Bolero Liso”, Carlos Fittante, 2014
Balam Dance Theater, New York, NY – April 2014

Choreographer : Carlos Fittante
Costume designer : Meriem Bahri
Photographer : Benjamin Brachi

opera
Gli Equivoci Nel Sembiante
Baroque opera
“Gli Equivoci Nel Sembiante”, Scarlatti, 1679
Haymarket Opera Company, Chicago, IL, USA – October 2014

Stage director : Sarah Edgar
Musical director : Craig Trompeter
Costume designer : Meriem Bahri
Set designer : Brian Novatny
Light designer : William C. Kirkham
Photographers : Charles Osgood – Benjamin Brachi – Elliot Mandel

Meriem Bahri’s lavish costume design brings the baroque era vividly to life through embroidered silks, flowing linen sleeves and colorful ribbons on every surface."
Barnaby Hughes, Stage and Cinema, October 26, 2014

PERSONAGGI

Clori, ninfa, innamorata di Eurillo (Soprano)
Lisetta, sua sorella minore, segretamente innamorata di Eurillo (Soprano)
Eurillo, pastore, innamorato di Clori (Tenore)
Armindo, gemello di Eurillo (Tenore)
ninfe, pastori

In Contini’s libretto of Gli Equivoci Nel Sembiante, this short description of the characters lets us right away imagine the cascade of complications which will result from one of the most favorite themes of seventeenth century Italian literature: relatives separated at birth, love triangles and wrong identities.

The intricate plot also posed some challenges from a costuming point of view. How to make the duo of tenors looking like each other enough to confuse the two sisters? How to make the audience believe it as well, in our cabaret-sized venue, where the distance between the audience and the singers is so intimate?

The idea of having the singers disguised and masked came to me when I learned that the opera was first presented during the end of the Roman Carnival season in 1679. Instead of the Arcadian landscape chosen by Contini and Scarlatti, placing the story into the context of the premiere sounded a very appealing card to play! Thus, we would have the characters inhabiting the mythical city, in the most festive time of the year.

At that time, Pope Innocent XI ruled Rome’s cultural amusements with draconian measures. Fortunately, private performances were continuously supported by aristocrats like Queen Christina of Sweden, who often encouraged new theatrical adventures in her Roman palace and went against papal reforms prohibiting women on stage and décolleté dress.

Clori, a fashionable Italian woman of the 1670s, while disguised as a shepherdess for the carnival, would indeed have exposed a generous cleavage and uncovered shoulders. In addition, she would certainly have completed her look with a modish hairstyle like the “hurluberlu”. Her appearance in this show was inspired by a charming portrait of Ortensia Mancini, duchess of Mazarin and native of Rome.

Eurillo, Clori’s lover, would have chosen a costume matching that of his beloved. By a happy coincidence that only twin siblings could explain, Armindo would have picked the same shepherd costume for the festivities! Their over-knees length coat made of deep blue brocade, worn over a puffy shirt and a pair of full, cherry-colored breeches, is decorated on the side by a big bow from the yellow sash of silk draped around their waist.

Still far from the naturalism movement, the wealthy people of the time took delight in pretending they were simple country folks by mixing rich pastoral-inspired fabrics and garments from the latest trends, with some cute outmoded details from the past, like ruffs, sleeves attached to the coat by ribbons, or specific facial hair styles.

Clori’s sister Lisetta, disguised as a fisher boy, plays also with that mix of styles by wearing a coat which looks like a 16th century doublet, while the cut of her breeches belongs more to the end of the 17th century. Her amusing costume was inspired by baroque prints full of imagery depicting a fisherman or a fisherman’s wife. Having Lisetta dressed as a boy was in tune with the time, too, and seems to fit her temperament. Indeed, cross-dressing was one of the most common classical commedia devices. Even if we would find more male in drag than women dressed as men, testimonies and prints clearly show Colombina dressed in Arlequin, with man trousers and jacket. In this particular case, female cross-dressing could have been practiced to highlight women’s trickery against men… while women in breeches were rather appreciated by male audiences!

Moreover, Queen Christina of Sweden was present at one the first performances of Gli Equivoci Nel Sembiante, and her influence in Rome was important. She was known for her free-thinking and her sometimes scandalous behaviour, as well as for being mysteriously androgynous and often dressed as a man. This trend for cross-dressing was also reported at the same time in other European countries such as in France, with the opera singer La Maupin known for wearing men’s clothing, or in England, with aristocratic women embracing male hunting costumes, as evidenced by the portrait of Mary of Modena, an Italian princess married to James II.

More generally, 17th century paintings of Roman Carnival such as those of Miel and Lingelbach, inspired the main colors and style of these costumes. Details visible on fashion prints and costume sketches from operas, plays or ballets of this specific period and location were also great historical sources for designing my designs. The leather masks, with their exaggerated features, were conceived specially for this show and based on Commedia Dell’Arte mask making traditions.

Ballet, contemporary dance
“The Sun King”, Joseph Caruana, 2014
Elements Contemporary Ballet, Chicago, IL – November 2014

Choreographer : Joseph Caruana
Artistic director : Mike Gosney
Musical director : Garry Clarke
Costume designer : Meriem Bahri
Light designer : Bread and Roses productions
Photographer : Topher Alexander

Caruana’s cast is genderless, seemingly empowered and subjugated by their black garb and bright blue eye makeup; Meriem Bahri’s costumes, imaginative in their regal-goth design, look interchangeable for both sexes."
Seechicagodance.com, November 2014
Though Meriem Bahri's plethora of costumes and masks can be distracting, she has great fun with that sexual ambiguity. The straps of tutu-like bustiers for the men outline their nipples, while Tiffany McCord as Lully is apparently topless, her breasts cleverly disguised."
Laura Molzahn, Chicago Tribune, November 14, 2014

MORE PHOTOS SOON!

Creating costumes for The Sun King required negotiating the unusual mix of contemporary dance – commonly associated with very modern and minimalist outfits – and the flamboyance of Baroque-era visual arts. Thus, the designs were created to highlight 21st century dancers’ bodies and movement, while the fabrics were meticulously chosen to echo 17th century tastes. The restricted color palette represents contemporary dance costuming, while the specific cuts reflect the costumes worn for the royal ballets and operas performed at Louis XIV’s court. And since Louis’ court always embraced the latest trends, high fashion was also an important source of inspiration for these designs. Influences include Alexander McQueen’s references to historical garments and Jean-Paul Gautier’s gender play, which fits well with the gender-bending aspects of this ballet.

Baroque opera
“Don Quichotte Auf Der Hochzeit Des Comacho”, Telemann, 1761
Haymarket Opera Company, Chicago, IL, USA – March 2015

Stage director : Sarah Edgar
Musical director : Craig Trompeter
Costume designer : Meriem Bahri
Set designer : Brian Novatny
Light designer : Eric Peterson
Photographers : Charles Osgood – Benjamin Brachi

This was Haymarket's most visually appealing show to date, with a sumptuous array of period-perfect costumes (love the neck ruffs) [...]"
John von Rhein, Chicago Tribune, March 14, 2015
Meriem Bahri’s gorgeous and well-researched costume designs are one of the chief delights of this production [...]"
Barnaby Hughes, Stage and Cinema, March 14, 2015
The entrance of a sartorially resplendent quintet of shepherds and shepherdesses—well appointed by costume director Meriem Bahri—marked the opening of the second scene [...]"
Tim Sawyier, Chicago Classical Review, March 14, 2015

Don Quixote was published in the early 17th century by Spanish author Cervantes, and since then the story of the gentleman from La Mancha has inspired many adaptations in opera, ballet, and movies. Each adaptation has been imbued with ideas and interpretations characteristic of the time period in which they were conceived, and Telemann’s Don Quichotte auf der Hochzeit des Comacho, composed in 1761 Hamburg, is certainly no exception to the rule. Haymarket Opera Company’s aim is to perform 17th and 18th century works as they would have been presented at their creation, and thus my goal was to create the type of costumes that a German audience of the time would have seen.

Paintings, engravings, and figurines depicting the adventures of Don Quichotte and Sancho Panza were an important source of information to me. Coypel’s, Natoire’s, and Hogarth’s works constituted a solid base to understand the vision 18th century European artists had about the Spanish Golden Age and its ideals of chivalry. These pieces of art were rather full of anachronism: sixteenth century fashion was generously mixed with the current trends as are the costumes you’ll see tonight! For instance, doublets, trunk-hose with cod-piece, and mustaches and beards stand together with tricorns, sack dress, paniers and freshly shaved rosy cheeks. Also, the fashion accessory expressly used to adorn Spanish characters was undoubtedly the neck ruff. More than a clue for a specific time frame, it was particularly attributed to Spanish people, as shown for instance on engravings depicting Commedia dell’Arte’s figure of Il Capitano, usually a Spaniard captain with a disproportioned neck ruff. Cervantes’s indications on the characters’ look was followed by me as well, but in a soft palette closer to rococo masters’s paintings than earlier tastes for darker colors.

The attempts at costume authenticity visible on 18th century paintings are, indeed, to be taken with precaution when it comes to stage representations. In Germany, and particularly in Hamburg, it was not until the 1770s that historical reconstruction became common for theater plays; early calls for authentic stage costumes, which started in the 1740s, resulted in critics’ attacks and mockery, the taste for conventionalized stage costumes along French lines being still too strong. The slowness of theater to immerse into historical milieu can be also explained by the modest budgets of companies composed by strolling players, who were often responsible for providing their own costumes. In opera houses and court entertainments with more money, the taste for historical costuming possibly began earlier, as costume sketches from the court at Dresden, seem to show us, but again, it was more an allusion to a certain time period than a thorough work of reconstitution.

Baroque opera
“Amadigi Di Gaula”, Handel, 1715
Haymarket Opera Company, Chicago, IL, USA – November 2015

Stage director : Sarah Edgar
Musical director : Craig Trompeter
Costume designer : Meriem Bahri
Set designer : Zuleyka Benitez
Light designer : Lindsey Lyddan
Photographers: Benjamin Brachi – Charles Osgood – Topher Alexander

As always, Meriem Bahri’s sumptuous costumes are one of the chief delights of a HOC production. She manages to get everything so perfectly right, not just historically, but aesthetically, from the embroidered fringe of Oriana’s gown to the magical symbols on Melissa’s frock. They must be seen to be fully appreciated."
Barnaby Hughes, Stage and Cinema, November 9, 2015
Bahri, HOC's resident costume designer since the company's inception, quite outdid herself with her eye-filling, richly textured costumes."
John von Rhein, Chicago Tribune, November 7, 2015
Meriem Bahri’s sumptuous costumes, especially the contrast between Oriana’s soft red gown and Melissa’s stiff, ornate, dark brocade, conveyed us to the 18th century."
Wynne Delacoma, Chicago Classical Review, November 7, 2015

HOW DO YOU CHOOSE YOUR COLOR PALETTE?

I choose the color palette of each show by taking into account which shades were in vogue when and where the opera was first presented. However, characters often dictate specific colors because they follow precise codes; in this show, for instance, the Furies will be in red, gold, and black, the way they were often depicted in the 17th and 18th centuries.
I sometimes like to work with one harmonious color palette for all characters, as I did for our last show (Telemann’s Don Quichotte), but for this tragedy with two love triangles, I opted for more contrasting colors to convey the ideas of passion and jealousy.
The colors for these two love triangles were chosen from two different perspectives. Dardano is an obstacle to the love between Amadigi and Oriana, and his dominant color is purple, a mix between Oriana’s reds and Amadigi’s blues. On the other hand, Oriana and Melissa are rivals for Amadigi’s love. Their dresses are both made of a shade of red, but treated differently, with Melissa’s darkened with black and antique gold, while Oriana’s is lightened with white and silver. The costumes of Oriana and Amadigi are linked to each other; the major color for Amadigi is the minor color in Oriana’s costume, and vice versa. At the end, when the lovers are reunited and the nightmare is over, the softer shades of blue and red in the shepherds’ costumes represent the harmony finally restored.

WHERE DO YOU LOOK FOR INFORMATION ABOUT THE DIFFERENT PERIODS OF DRESS? WHAT IS YOUR GENERAL PROCESS FOR DESIGNING?

When I design costumes, I collect clues from different sources, like fashion books focusing on the 17th and 18th centuries, museum collections of paintings, and academic research about opera costumes that include period costume sketches. After gathering all this information, I play with the shapes and colors and decide which message I want the costumes to emphasize.
In the case of the princess Oriana, panniers (a framework of wire used to expand a woman’s skirt at the hips) were just coming into fashion in 1715, and that is why she’s the only character wearing them. She looks very fashionable compared to the sorceress Melissa, who seems stuck in another century. The taste for exoticism was also on the rise at that time, and this is particularly reflected in the costume of Dardano, Prince of Thrace. To design costumes for baroque operas, it’s also important to understand that they were full of codified symbols. For instance, magicians and sorceresses were often depicted with magical formula on their costume and with batwing shaped accessories; the Furies had snakes and scary masks on their faces and on their costumes; the hero, like Amadigi, wore items, such as tonnelets with lambrequins (a man’s skirt with hanging decorative pieces), originally derived from military leaders’ outfit in ancient Rome.
Besides looking at opera costumes and fashion, I also try to understand the political circumstances of the period: who commissioned and who was able to see the work, as operas could reflect a particular historical context on stage. When Amadigi di Gaula was composed, Protestant King George I of Great Britain had been on the throne for about a year, chosen instead of many potential Catholic heirs who had been considered to succeed Queen Anne. Handel, born in Germany like the new king, had already been working for the king since 1710 as his Kapellmeister. Knowing this context, a possible interpretation of this story is that the victory of Amadigi and Oriana could have been used to glorify the new king who won the British throne against the Catholics, represented by the sorceress Melissa, who might possibly remind the audience of a bloodthirsty Catholic queen!

Baroque opera
“La Calisto”, Cavalli, 1651
Haymarket Opera Company, Chicago, IL, USA – May 2016

Stage director : Sarah Edgar
Musical director : Craig Trompeter
Costume designer : Meriem Bahri
Set designer : Zuleyka Benitez
Light designer : Lindsey Lyddan
Photographers : Charles Osgood – Topher Alexander

Meriem Bahri’s costumes once again are spectacularly striking, especially the divine raiment of Giove, Giunone, and Diana, which mix classical and baroque styles."
Barnaby Hugues, Stage and Cinema, May 8, 2016
[...] charming production by Haymarket design stalwarts Sarah Edgar, Meriem Bahri, Zuleyka V. Benitez and Lindsey Lyddan [...] Bahri's ornate costumes included plumed headgear for the gods, a red velvet tunic for Endimione and goat-fleece pants for the satyrs."
John von Rhein, Chicago Tribune, May 7, 2016

WHAT IS YOUR GENERAL PROCESS FOR DESIGNING?

When designing costumes, I collect clues from different sources, like fashion books focusing on the decade of interest, museum collections of paintings and academic research about opera costumes which include period costume sketches. After immersing myself in all this information, I play with the shapes and colors while deciding what message I want the costumes to accentuate. For instance, in Cavalli’s La Calisto, the nymphs’ dresses are based on the same pattern, but there are differences in the cut and colors that go with the different levels of chastity and frivolity carried by each of them. In parallel, I choose the color palette according to the specific time period: which shades were in vogue when and where the opera was first presented. Sometimes characters dictate specific colors because they follow precise codes known by the audiences of the 1700s and 1800s. Of course, the libretto is also a primary source of inspiration; how the characters describe each other helps to point out the main characteristics that should be found in the costumes, hair or masks. As an example, Diana is the goddess of the moon, hunt and chastity; the vocabulary found in the lyrics of this opera highlight her celestial facet, through her relation with Endimione (shepherd and astronomer) as well as through the mouths of other characters.

WHAT IS PARTICULAR ABOUT DESIGNING FOR HAYMARKET OPERA COMPANY?

HOC’s aim is to restore little-known works from the 17th and 18th centuries, always in the spirit of historical reconstruction. Everyone in the team is very involved on this aspect. For La Calisto, our general director, Craig Trompeter, shared with us an academic work written by Jennifer Williams Brown from Grinnell College about how the opera was composed and first performed. It was an inspiring document for the costumes and also for sets, staging and music. For instance, this research showed that “Giove as Diana” was most likely sung by the soprano who played Diana and not Giove, baritone, disguised as Diana, as it could have been believed. In terms of costumes, the design work is not about just having “baroque” costumes, which sometimes can be seen, wrongly, as only big dresses and big wigs. I try to be true to the fashions in style at the time of each opera’s premiere, and thus every Haymarket Opera production has costumes that can be very different from the previous ones, as the trends and tastes changed regularly through our two centuries of interest. It’s also important to have in mind that the costumes for HOC’s shows are not showing what people were wearing everyday in the 1650s (in the case of La Calisto) but what they were wearing on stage at that time. How did they represent mythological gods or shepherds? When did they use masks? What was supposed to be sensual, funny, manly or romantic? Did they design the costumes to be realistic? It’s very interesting to immerse myself in an aesthetic from a different era and to challenge the visual expectations of today’s audiences.

Baroque opera
“L’Isola Disabitata”, Haydn, 1779
Haymarket Opera Company, Chicago, IL, USA – September 2016

Stage director : Sarah Edgar
Musical director : Craig Trompeter
Costume designer : Meriem Bahri
Set designer : Zuleyka Benitez
Light designer : Lindsey Lyddan
Photographer : Charles Osgood

Bahri’s ornate period-style costumes were just the thing to dress up a desert island of the Enlightenment era […] »
John von Rhein, Chicago Tribune, September 18, 2016
The costumes by Meriem Bahri were as freely inventive as they were suggestive of historical accuracy, although oriented more towards the late Baroque than the early Classical, like the stage design itself. Movements and gestures were beautifully coordinated by stage director Sarah Edgar, contributing to a performance that was both musically satisfying and a joy to watch overall. »
Marta Tonegutti, Chicago on The Aisle, September 18, 2016

WHERE DID YOU FIND THE INSPIRATIONS TO DESIGN THE COSTUMES OF L’ISOLA DISABITATA?

This 1779 opera from Haydn, with a libretto originally written by Metastasio in 1752, provides clear leads on what the costumes should look like, even with just a few words.
Costanza, who has been on a desert island for 13 years with her little sister Silvia, is “curiously dressed in skins, leaves and flowers”, while the males, Gernando and Enrico, “in Indian dress”, arrive on this West Indies island after being attacked by pirates and enslaved for many years.
The short description of Costanza’s costume concurs with 18th century costume drawings portraying “wild women”: costume draperies were painted to imitate a tawny skin and long strings of leaves and flowers were embellishing the costumes. The “Indian dress” refers to Native Americans attires, usually symbolized by the use of many feathers and sometimes, animal furs. These specificities, easily recognizable by the audience, were combined with the most fashionable garments. However, the general silhouettes remained ruled by French stage conventions followed throughout Europe, with, for instance, the use of panniers (framework used for distending the skirt at the hips) and tonnelets (a kind of short skirt worn by men on stage).
Indeed, accuracy in term of history, geography or social context was not exactly a priority for stage costumes. In opera, certainly the wealthiest and the most visually demanding performing art of that time, the plot was almost a pretext to exhibit glorious costumes and sets. Even in theater, the 1770s saw only timid attempts to use scenery and costumes to evoke a more realistic milieu.

DO YOU THINK THESE STATEMENTS CAN ALSO APPLY TO THE COURT OF NIKOLAUS I, PRINCE ESTERHAZY, WHERE THE OPERA WAS FIRST PRESENTED?

Absolutely. The Esterházy family was one of the richest in the Habsburg Empire. The Prince was a grand patron of the arts, especially music, and was also Haydn’s generous benefactor. He owned the title “the Magnificent” because of his taste for great musical productions, flamboyant clothing (for instance, he wore a jacket studded with diamonds) and the construction of palaces like Esterháza, Hungary’s grandest rococo edifice.
It’s in this palace that L’isola disabitata was first presented for the Prince’s birthday. The stakes must have been particularly high, and Haydn’s opera had to be splendid; he couldn’t let the fire that broke out in the “Hungarian Versailles” just a few weeks earlier tarnish the presentation. After all, hadn’t the Prince paid for the restoration of Haydn’s house after it burned down twice, in 1768 and 1776? It would have been surprising if Haydn had not tried his best to satisfy the Prince’s high standards for such a special occasion.
In this context, and given the lack of influence from the outside world in the geographically isolated Esterháza (as Haydn wrote in some of his letters), the new and budding tendency toward realism in theater costumes in the 1770s had no serious chance to reach the court operas financed by Nikolaus I.

THANKS FOR EXPLAINING THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND! COULD YOU BE MORE SPECIFIC ABOUT THE COSTUMES WE’LL SEE ON STAGE?

They are directly inspired by costume renderings found for operas, theater or ballet exploring the theme of “wild women” and “Indians”: leaves, flowers, exotic animal skins (painted fabrics), fur and feathers embellish the costumes. For the reasons explained earlier, the costumes are not distressed, as nothing should show that the four characters had been living a miserable life for more than a decade.
The general shapes of the costumes follow the French codes for stage costumes, as well as the trends of the 1770s (as shown in representations of costumes worn in Haydn’s operas at Esterháza performed before and after L’isola disabitata; painting of a scene from L’incontro improvviso, 1775; and costume sketches for Armida, 1784).
Costanza, who “was extolling the wealth, wisdom, arts, customs and delights of Europe”, wears a court gown over a grand pannier and a large and elaborated grey powdered coiffure. Silvia, a lover of simpler things, wears a lighter and more juvenile version of her older sister’s look. Costanza’s husband, Gernando, wears a costume as sophisticated as his wife’s, with a hooped tonnelet and a tight bodice with “Amadis” sleeves, which are tight around the forearms. Enrico, the loyal friend whom Gernando helped to free, shows a slightly more modest, less European costume with a short chain to remind us of his past as a slave.
The rococo style is also depicted by asymmetrical designs and a palette of soft tones of pinks, greens and yellows and the progressive abandonment throughout the 18th century of richly embroidered fabrics for elegant and lighter draperies.

Baroque opera
“Ariane et Bachus”, Marais, 1696
Haymarket Opera Company, Chicago, IL, USA – September 2017

Stage director : Sarah Edgar
Musical director : Craig Trompeter
Costume designer : Meriem Bahri
Set designer : Mike Winkelman
Light designer : Lindsey Lyddan
Photographer : Charles Osgood

"Meriem Bahri’s spectacular costumes, lavish in their draperies, fabrics and plumed headdresses"
Heidi Waleson, Wall Street Journal, October 3, 2017

"Just as authentic were designer Meriem Bahri’s gorgeous and ornate costumes, a veritable 17th century French aristocratic fashion parade. All those plumed headpieces and richly textured gowns, those snug doublets flared at the waist, could have come straight out of the Sun King’s courtly entertainments"
John von Rhein, Chicago Tribune, October 2016

"Sumptuous costuming [...] Meriem Bahri’s ornate wardrobe fielded a swirl of comely brocades in a primary palette of rusts and maroons".
Mark Thomas Ketterson, Opera News, October 2016

"Meriem Bahri’s colorful, richly brocaded costumes, with ample headwear plumage, provided a feast for the eyes [...] Vocally superb, visually sumptuous and utterly beguiling [...] Handsomely costumed gods and goddesses flitting across the stage"
Lawrence A. Johnson, Chicago Classical Review, October 1, 2016

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Program notes: 

This is Haymarket Opera Co.’s biggest show to date in term of costumes, so let me explain you how we bring a show like this to life and reveal a few « behind the seams » secrets!

After reading and analyzing the libretto, the historical research begins. I collect clues from different sources, like fashion books focusing on the decade of interest, museum collections of paintings and academic research about opera costumes. Everything you’ll see on stage, from headpieces to shoes, is inspired by late 17th century French costume designs.

Further in the design process, other parameters are also taken in account. For instance, there are several quick changes in Ariane et Bachus, and appropriate choices would make them work smoothly backstage. For each opera, we reuse some pieces of costumes from previous ones. If you’re a regular audience member of Haymarket Opera Company, you might recognize some of them! Once this is decided, fabric swatches are collected. I have a “love and hate” relationship with that step as sometimes the fabrics found are above my expectations and can bring new ideas, and sometimes, there is nothing like I imagined (specially when working with brocades) and I have to review my choices. To multiply the options, I always look at the wrong side of the fabric: it can be more interesting!
Before drawing the final costume sketches, drafts are discussed with the costume shop to establish a budget and the designs are then re-defined if needed. Once it’s all set, I go for many trips to the fabric stores where hundreds of pounds of fabrics will be bought. I work now for a couple of years with Chicago Custom Costumes, a small atelier located in the Fine Art Building. They build the majority of the new costume pieces. During the first fitting, we try on the performers a mockup in muslin to make sure the fit is good and the proportions are true to the designs. During the second fitting, the real fabrics are cut and assembled, and we discuss the details and make sure the fit is perfect.
In parallel, I work with one or two costume technicians on some new pieces and on the costumes that need to be recycled and modified to suit the new performer. Although a lot of work, the costumes are originally made to facilitate those alterations: there are in general a couple of inches of extra fabric hidden in the side seams and shoulders and after each productions, we keep in stock rests of the fabrics in case one day we need to proceed to some alterations. Besides that, the headdress maker, leather mask maker and Penny Lane Studios for make up and wigs are joining the team to make the rest of the design become a reality.

Before, during and after the shows, 7 persons (wardrobe, wig and make up team) are helping the singers and dancers to change in and out their characters. An opera that lasts 3 hours like Ariane & Bachus represents actually at least 5 to 6 hours of presence in the theater.