Behind the Seams:
Designing The Many Deaths of Laila Starr

As we approach the world premiere of The Many Deaths of Laila Starr, Minnesota Opera invites you behind the scenes to see how the costumes for this new production take shape. Collaborating closely with Costume Designer Oana Botez, Costume Director Corinna Bakken recently traveled to New York City to find the fabrics that best capture the story to help bring this opera to life.

Follow Corinna as she gathers the materials that will soon become the costumes for The Many Deaths of Laila Starr!  

Posters on a wall hiding a construction site.

Fabrics we considered for The Many Deaths of Laila Starr. For this production we did a lot of sourcing from the smaller fabric stores in the Garment District.

Shelf full of trims.

Bagel breakfast in Bryant Park with the Empire State Building in the background.

The study room at the iconic New York Public Library. The one with the big lions out front. This room is a perfect quiet retreat where you can work alongside dozens of other folks.

Rare empty hallway in the Subway system.

There is a new feline companion at B&J Fabrics! He is very friendly and very curious about the swatching process. He accepts pets in payment for his supervisory work.

Empire State Building peaking out between buildings on my morning commute.

Swatches as the show begins to come together.

We found these amazing headdresses that we can use as the foundation of the head wear for the Party scene. There are things you see for years and never have a show that they are right for. The Many Deaths of Laila Starr is the right show for so many beautiful treasures.

Bibimbap snack after a long day of work.

Moonrise over the river.

Dog greeter outside of my hotel.

NYC outside of the airplane window.