Costume Drama

An opera performance is a harmonious blending of music and stagecraft. And for the cast and crew, it’s a lot of hard work.

For the Los Angeles Opera production of “Madama Butterfly,” which opened Wednesday at the Music Center, the chorus must show up 90 minutes before curtain just to get dressed. In this case that means donning bedecked wigs, mounds of makeup and elaborate costumes for Giacomo Puccini’s love story of a Japanese geisha whose marriage to a callous American naval lieutenant ends in tragedy.

Although the principals are given rehearsal kimonos, the chorus had relatively little time in their costumes, says Rick Geyer, wig master for Los Angeles Opera. They had only three dress rehearsals to learn how to negotiate stairs, ramps and a steeply raked stage. “But the chorus is generally adaptable and they find a way to work in whatever they’re given,” Geyer says.

A six-person staff applies makeup and attaches wigs for the chorus. “Wig- and makeup-wise, ‘Butterfly’ is one of the more expensive shows to do because you’re changing the ethnicity of the entire chorus,” Geyer says.

“Madama Butterfly,” the fifth production of the 1993-94 season, will be presented Monday, Wednesday, Saturday and March 8. Two operas remain: “Le Nozze di Figaro” (in April) and “Der Rosenkavalier” (in May and June). Prices range from $20 to $105. Information: (213) 365-3500.