Pictured: Howard Kaplan stands in front of newly acquired costumes. Photo by Andrew Fabian.

As part of Sarasota Opera’s ongoing mission to bring world class productions to Sarasota, they have recently unveiled the acquisition of a costume collection from Malabar, Ltd. The Toronto-based design house will be parting ways with over 30,000 handcrafted costumes, some of them worn by big names like Luciano Pavarotti, Beverly Sills and Marilyn Horne. “There’s a great amount of history in these costumes,” says Howard Kaplan, Sarasota Opera’s in-house costume designer. Equally important for the Opera is that the costumes were made specifically as rentals, which means alterations can be made more readily and they can be rented out to other companies around the world. The Opera will save around $100,000 per season over continuing to rent their pieces, while the added income from renting the pieces out to other companies will help keep the lights on at 61 N. Pineapple for years to come. “This helps us control our own destiny,” says Executive Director Richard Russel, “and will keep us growing for the future.”

Pictured: Howard Kaplan stands in front of newly acquired costumes. Photo by Andrew Fabian.