Sophie Arnould

The opera, Sophie Arnould, was written by Gabriel Pierné in 1927, and centers around the 18th century Parisian prima donna Sophie Arnould. Set in the 1790’s, the opera is a kind of memory play with Sophie near the end of her life and having retired to the French countryside thinking about her son in the Hessian military. Her old lover Dorval arrives and they reminisce on the glitter of their time as high-profile socialites in Paris society. 
     The general concept for the costume design is focused on historical accuracy with a throughline of floral motifs. The centerpiece is a pink and green gown that Sophie dons as she and Dorval reminisce. It is one of her old performance gowns; specifically the one she wore when portraying her more popular ancient Greek character roles, like Eurydice and Iphigenia.  From the color palettes to the individual types of floral motifs used in each costume, nearly every part of these costumes are meant to be highly symbolic, evoking not just cold memory, but near-forgotten emotion  and passion as well.