Creating costumes for Count Ory

This August, Seattle Opera presents The Wicked Adventures of Count Ory—a brand-new production that packs the punch of a Broadway musical with a nod to the humor and visual style of Monty Python. Australian Stage Director Lindy Hume and Production Designer Dan Potra have let their imaginations run wild in creating a mashup of medieval France and psychedelic, ‘70s flower power. You can see this zany combination in Potra's costume designs currently in progress below.

Photos by Genevieve Hathaway 

Costume Assistant Sophy Wong puts one of Dan Potra's designs on a mannequin. 

Two of Count Ory's looks -- the first as a nobleman with inspiration from 70s glam rock; the second , which  takes inspiration from new religious movements of the same time period, is his disguise as a love guru.  

Countess Adèle Act 1 and Act 2; Ragonde and Alice costumes.

Hume and Potra meditated on the similarities between medieval peasants and hippies. Thus, the show combines various cultural phenomenons of the 70s  (think Yellow Submarine, hippies, rock n' roll) with the French medieval setting envisioned by Rossini.

Two of Ory's minions: Isolier, the androgynous page (a trouser role played by a woman); and Raimbaud, Ory's crony. 

The knights and Tutor. 

Costumes for The Tutor, Isolier, and two looks for Raimbaud.

Waist details. 

Raimbaud details. 

Studs, leather, ruffles.