Santa Fe Opera holding prop sale
Need a corset? The Santa Fe Opera has it covered at a Saturday and Sunday sale.
Other peculiar items “priced to sell” at the event, according to costume director Missy West: a ship from the set of the opera’s production of Leonard Bernstein’s Candide; polyethylene banners with engravings from 18th century writer Voltaire’s original manuscript of Candide; fabric, trim and furniture from almost every period; and costumes, masks, hats and shoes.
“The Santa Fe Opera is cleaning out its closets and storage units!” the organization said in an announcement of the costume and prop sale. “Up for sale are hundreds of costumes, fabrics, accessories, props, and furniture … and just in time for Halloween!”
“It’s not something we do
every year,” West said.
“Halloween is coming up,” she added, “and it’s a great chance to nab something. … There are things that are costume-y. Others are regular clothes from other periods like the 18th century.”
Her personal favorite is a prop from Carmen: a cow head attached to a wheelbarrow-like contraption built as a practice bull for matadors.
West said prices will range “anywhere from a dollar to over [$100]. We’re trying to create more space in our storage area, so it needs to go.”
There will be a 300-person limit in the orchestra hall where the sale is being held, so West recommended shoppers arrive early at the event, scheduled for 10 a.m to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Along with Candide and Carmen, props and costumes up for sale were used in a long list of productions from past years, including The Last Savage, The Marriage of Figaro, The Barber of Seville, Béatrice et Bénédict, Agrippina, Abduction from the Seraglio, Ainadamar and Idomeneo.