RBG opera showcases her life, work and sense of style
The legacy of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has inspired all sorts of cultural paeans since her death in September 2020. They have included an exhibition of the justice’s mementos at the New York Historical Society, an upcoming children’s picture book and an off-Broadway play written by Dianne Nora. But the latest tribute, a new work from the Washington National Opera, may be the most apropos yet.
“Come Home: A Celebration of Return,” which ran at the Kennedy Center, involves marquee opera singers like David Butt Phillip and Isabel Leonard performing songs that play on themes loosely related to Ginsburg’s life and work: freedom, equality, perseverance. It was the first in-person production staged by the Washington National Opera since the early COVID-19 lockdowns, and featured not only songs from “Fidelio,” “Carmen,” “Macbeth” and “William Tell” but costumes by New York Fashion Week designer Bibhu Mohapatra.
Ginsburg was an opera aficionado, and a longtime supporter of the Washington National Opera. In 2016, the diminutive judge even took on, for one night only, a small, nonsinging role in the company’s staging of “The Daughter of the Regiment.” Beaming throughout her performance and donning an ornate chartreuse gown and dramatic headpiece, she was showered with thunderous applause.
As much as she loved opera, however, Ginsburg was also finely attuned to fashion, famously accessorizing her court attire with collars in varying styles and materials such
as delicate lace, colorful beads and shells. Once, she caught the internet’s attention by wearing a pair of sparkly, “Wizard of Oz”-esque heels to the White House. So it was only fitting that when it was time to create the costumes for “Come Home,” the opera turned to a designer well-versed in colorful, eye-catching fashion: the India-born and New York-based Bibhu Mohapatra.
“This is my vision of her,” said Mohapatra, whose clothes have been worn by former first lady Michelle Obama and actress Gwyneth Paltrow.
The opera’s artistic director, Francesca Zambello, said that Mohapatra was chosen, in part, because of his work with a previous production of “Aida” in 2012, for which the designer delivered an opulent take on Egyptian fashion that drew from his NYFW collections.
Zambello wanted to place a similar emphasis on clothes for “Come Home.”
“I felt it was important to have a visual thread of attire for all the artists involved,” Zambello said.
Mohapatra created what he called the “operatic couture” version of the Ginsburg aesthetic: jeweltoned summer gloves, lots of feather earrings and a voluminous spin on the black robe in the form of ballgowns extravagantly composed of colorful muslins and silks.
“For me, it was important to jump into this because there is no one more American than her,” said Mohapatra of Ginsburg, adding that after watching hours of clips and videos of the legal icon, he has become a committed “RBG-er.”
“This is a little bit of my big American dream coming true — especially as an immigrant,” Mohapatra said.