The Turn of the Screw, based on the Henry James book of the same name, tells the story of a pair of orphaned siblings living in their uncles manor and entrusted to the care of an inexperienced governess. When the children start to exhibit strange behaviour, the governess becomes convinced that they are being possessed by evil spirits.
The role of the young boy, Miles, was written as a “pants role” for an adult mezzo soprano. Portland Opera cast a ten-year-old boy in the role instead, so we had to build his wardrobe from scratch. I drafted and assembled his riding outfit (jodhpurs and shirt), as well as his housecoat.
Additionally, the red tuxedo for the role of Peter Quint was too small for the tenor in our production, so I partnered with the cutter/draper to build the two-tone-taffeta tuxedo. Menswear in taffeta is uniquely challenging because the contrasting warp and weft threads cause any pin holes to be highly visible. The high sheen of the fabric is also very unforgiving in structured garments.
