The Astana Opera Costume Shop Workers Are Confident That Clothes Make the Man

The approaching anniversary season is a good reason to learn more about Astana Opera’s inner workings. An important and demanding mission in the preparation of any opera or ballet production is entrusted to the Costume Shop, where real magic happens – theatrical costumes are created.

A theatrical costume is not just regular clothing. Often it is a real work of art, created by many specialists. The idea, laid down by the author describing his hero and picked up by the stage director, becomes the starting point for the formation of the character interpretation onstage. The costume designer, based on his or her own vision, creates a sketch, which subsequently must be brought to life by the Costume Shop.

For all these years, its employees had an opportunity to work with famous foreign and Kazakh costume designers. Among them is the Academy Award winner Franca Squarciapino, who designed the costumes for a number of productions staged in the capital’s opera house. There is a productive and longstanding collaboration with the creative tandem of the Honoured Workers of Kazakhstan Sofya Tasmagambetova and Pavel Dragunov. Working in close contact with these and other well-known designers certainly helps the Costume Shop’s craftsmen to raise the level of professionalism, open up new creative horizons and gain invaluable experience.

When designing a costume for a production, the costume designer takes into account the historical period and region where the events are set, the social status and personal characteristics of the hero for whom the costume will be made, as well as many other important points. This is because the appearance, before anything else, forms the audience’s opinion about the person onstage. As the popular saying goes, “clothes make the man”.

Astana Opera’s repertoire features productions from different eras. For example, Ancient Egyptian motifs are represented in Verdi’s opera Aida, a mix of traditional Turkic vestments – in Yerkegali Rakhmadiyev’s Alpamys, and the luxury and splendor of the 18th century – in Rossini’s La Scala di Seta.

Costumes for ballet productions require even more attention to detail, since in addition to external characteristics, it is especially important to take into account comfort, freedom of movement, and the breathability of fabrics.

“When the designer brings us his or her sketches for complete sets of costumes, the selection of suitable fabrics begins,” Fatima Satybaldina, head of the Costume Shop, says. “The opera house has its own warehouse where you can pick up fabrics, trimmings, ribbons, braid and much more. If a suitable one is not available, the materials are purchased.”

Exclusive fabrics sometimes have to be ordered from afar. For example, Indian brocade for the costumes for the national opera Alpamys was woven on the 19th century looms.

Creating the patterns for each garment is the next stage in the costumes’ creation process. This is the drapers’ and patternmakers’ job.

“All of the performers, choir singers, corps de ballet dancers and supernumeraries, have their costumes made individually, taking into account the personal characteristics of their bodies,” emphasizes the head of the Costume Shop. “Measurements are taken from everyone, and if the costume is complex, we definitely make a mock-up. The assembly line principle is not applicable in our work. We use an exclusively individual approach to each participant in the production. For example, for eleven warriors of Taishyq Khan in the production of Alpamys, we have made the same costumes from the same fabric with identical design and fittings, but each of the supernumeraries tried on their costumes at least twice before they were ready.”

The large-scale production of the national opera, one of the opera house’s last premieres, required special cohesiveness and productivity from the Costume Shop team. In a short time it was necessary to produce over 300 costumes or 900 items, as each costume consists of three elements on average: shirt, trousers, chainmail or shapan.

All 24 of the Costume Shop’s employees were involved in a complex workflow: 12 seamstresses, two cutters, two technologists, as well as two milliners.

“All of the staff members in our workshop are professionals in their field with extensive experience and employment history,” Fatima Satybaldina says. “Theatrical costumes decorator Saida Bagdat, tailor Pyatimat Ozdoyeva, costume makers Madina Akhmetova and Dina Jakiyenova, milliner Karlygash Akhmetova and I worked at the Baiseitova Opera House together. When Astana Opera was founded, we came to work here. Our team works well together, runs smoothly like clockwork and does not require any additional explanations. We understand each other perfectly. Technologists are responsible for the quality of the garments: they check every seam, every detail, as well as how well the ready costumes match the design.”

One cannot argue that a theatrical costume is a masterpiece. Many of the costumes created at Astana Opera are displayed as museum exhibits in the opera house foyer before the performances, so that guests can see them up close, examine the details that are not visible from the auditorium, and evaluate the work of the Costume Shop employees – true masters of their craft.