Costume designer is one-woman show for ‘Figaro’
February 5, 2009
By Jeff Richards
Sometimes people have to push themselves to the breaking point so the show may go on.
That’s what happened to Newcastle resident Nancy Horner when she served as the principal costume designer and a chorus singer for Lyric Opera Northwest’s performance of “Le Nozze di Figaro” (“The Marriage of Figaro”) Jan. 15-17.
Nancy Horner
“It was a very, very busy couple of weeks,” she said. “It was rewarding to support a program where mainly young singers are involved trying to build their career.”
“Le Nozze di Figaro” is a comic opera composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It details a love quadrangle in which Figaro and his love Suzanna must fend off the amorous pursuits of their aristocratic employers in order to follow through on their marriage plans.
The Lyric Opera is a small operation and does not have the resources of Seattle Opera.
“The fact that the production happened at all was a minor miracle,” said Noel Koran, director of “Le Nozze di Figaro” and the University of Washington’s director of opera.
He said the opera thrived through the contributions of local opera and play organizations.
“It was the old united we stand, divided we fall,” he said.
Though Horner ordinarily shops for costume material at thrift and second-hand stores, for this opera she relied on borrowing costumes, since the money wasn’t there to buy anything.
“She pulled the costumes together single-handedly, and that’s a major chore,” Koran said. “She was costume designer, stitcher, draper. Those are normally each handled by a separate person.”
This was the second Lyric Opera production she designed costumes for after “Hansel and Gretel” in 2008.
In addition to her usual role as costume designer, Horner also sang in the chorus, which gave her a chance to share the stage with China’s world-renown countertenor Ma Xiao, who made his North American debut at the performance.
A countertenor is a man who can sing through the range of a mezzo-soprano, a range typically left to women.
Horner has studied voice for four years and said she enjoyed the opportunity to perform in front of the curtain.
“Being able to express yourself in music is good for the soul,” she said.
Up next for Horner is the production of “Willy Wonka” for Village Theatre in Everett. She’ll also be designing costumes for the yearly play put on at Hazelwood Elementary School.
While she got her college degree in accounting, Horner said she doesn’t make much money off of her costume design company, The Scarlet Curtain.
“It’s a labor of love,” she said. “I don’t do it for money.”
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