THE STAGE DRESSES OF PRIMA DONNAS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CI, Issue 11885, 8 May 1899, Page 2

THE STAGE DRESSES OF PRIMA DONNAS.

One of the greatest expenses for a singer m grand opera Is the cost of the costumes which must have at the outset gf her career. During the,first three years thSilt she sang' Mdhie.’Nordica spent every cent that she re-’ ceived as salary in acquiring the necessary: wardrobe, 1 and that is practically the experience of all the singers. Mdme. Nordic?, has; this year worn new costumes as Adda, Valentine and Isolde, and some of her Bnmnhilde draperies were new. Emma Eames has been seen only in the new costume of Sieglinde, which was designed by her husband, and cost greater - trouble than it would seem possible to expend on anything so simple. . But the effect shows in the beauty of the folds. Mdme. Scmbrich has so far worn new costumes in every opera, and they have been distinguished not only by their beauty but also by their remarkably, good fit. Her white dress covered witli pearls and camellias cost ,800dol in Paris, and that is said to be the costliest costume worn oh the New. York stage this winter, with the exception of a gown worn in “Romeo et Juliette'' by Mdme. Melba. That is said to have cost 900dol. One of Mdme. Sembrich’s most beautiful, although least elaborate, costume's is a white satin gown, trimmed with silver. With this she wears a lilac Velvet bolero.

If the women singers are compelled to pay large sums for their costumes, some of the dresses are made to do service for a long time.. Mdme. Lehmann, for instance, recently wore on the stage two costumes in which she appeared first twelve years ago. The amount' of care bestowed: on the .dresses enables them to be preserved for Tong service. One singer not only has her costumes pressed after every performance, but has them cleansed of all the dirt which they may have accumulated during the. evening. That is likely to be a considerable task, as the stage is always dusty. Anybody who has seen' the prima donnas clutch, their trains as they leave the stage at the concert performances can realise' how much they are afraid of the dirty stage. This is not possible, however, during the operas, and the singers can only drag their skirts around and take the chalices of having them cleaned afterward. It takes all the attention of maids, cleaning establishments and seamstresses to keep garments, in condition even for one opera season.