A night at the opera with Barilà

Date January 24, 2011

Montreal style-mavens know Sabrina Barilà for her edgy women’s collection Barilà, which she produces alongside her sister Claudia. Last Saturday’s opening night of Jules Massenet’s opera Werther marked a first for l’Opéra de Montréal for inviting a Quebecoise fashion designer to outfit the cast. For Barilà, it was also the first time she created clothes for the stage instead of the runway. I caught up with the local créatrice just before the Werther premiere to chat about her operatic debut.

Are you an opera fan?
I’m not a big opera connoisseur, but I did grow up listening to Italian opera. I didn’t really know Werther, but when I heard the song “Pourquoi me reveiller”, I recognized it as a recording I had listened to years ago by Pavarotti.

Were you the principal designer on this project?
Yes, Claudia doesn’t really touch the design process. She’s more on the business side. Werther was really my baby. At first when they asked us, I was scared because I don’t really know the costume world. But Michel Beaulac, the artistic director for l’Opéra de Montréal, shared with me his vision about the story of a love triangle that resembled The Great Gatsby happening in the late 20s. That sparked my interest, so I decided to do it. I was surprised they didn’t approach someone more experienced than me like Denis Gagnon or Marie Saint Pierre, but I didn’t ask any questions!

Was it different for you designing for the stage?
The main differences were that I had a lot more time and I had a whole team to work with. I did my research, chose my fabrics, made my sketches, and they have a seamstress to put it all together. I also had an amazing freedom and felt that anything was possible. When I’m doing prêt-à-porter, I always have to think of efficiency because I’m making 200 pieces of one style. Here, there’s only one copy of each costume.

What about the technical aspects?
Making costumes for the stage is more about lighting. I had to consider that people are looking at this from afar. So things had to be exaggerated, just like makeup. When you see someone up close with stage make-up, it’s like whoa. A necklace, for example. Even if I thought a character should have a delicate piece of jewellery, I had to find something more extravagant.

Colour is also important. At first I had designed this one dress in ivory. But they told me I couldn’t use that colour because it really pops on stage. So we changed it to taupe, but the audience will see it as ivory. For the men, if you want them to wear white shirts, sometimes they dip the material in tea to break the sharpness of white.

How does it feel to see your clothes in an opera?
I’m not used to designing for a particular character other than the type of woman I have in my head. So, it was really exciting to finally see that on stage. It feels amazing, actually. I’d definitely do it again.

Werther will be presenting at Salle Wilfred-Pelletier de la Place des Arts until February 3. The costumes will also be on display at Marché Bonsecours during Montreal Fashion Week, February 7-10, before they continue on in the opera’s world tour.