Truffaldino is the name of the Jester in the Opera by Prokofiev - The Love for Three Oranges. Judith Khoudi brought his costume to show us during her talk at the Lytham St Annes Embroiderers Guild and here are a few photos that in no way show how fabulous it was but may give you an idea. You may want to book her to come speak to your group.
I really loved the little lights on the base of his coat that really did light up. You can just make them out (although the artificial lighting overhead in the hall did not help).
The base of his coat depicts an Italian town and he carries a felted satchel shown below.
The actor/student modelling the Truffaldino outfit had to suffer wearing authentic style 16th Century leggins in a heavy, itchy blanket type fabric that scratched. Judith cut them on the cross and made lace-ups at the bottom of each leg. I am sure that wearing his wonderful hat more than made up for any discomfort.
Details of the Jester's collar which was drawn on paper, scanned into a computer and then printed onto fabric. The swirly curls on the hem of each sleeve is knitted eye-cord also known as French Knitting using a Knitting Dolly ( those of us old enough will remember making eye-cord on a wooden cotton reel with 4 nails hammered into the top. Eye-cord can also be made on double-pointed knitting needles which is a little more tricky).
What wonderful ideas Judith has. We all thoroughly enjoyed her talk and looking at her fabulous garments and wish her well in her future costume making endeavors.
We certainly know where to go if we need a Ballroom gown or Ice Skating dress anytime soon.
For her final year at Uni, Judith chose to design and make costumes for 2 characters from an Opera by the Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev called The Love for Three Oranges, in which a Prince has to go into the desert in search of 3 oranges from each of which spring a princess!
She took inspiration for costume shape from the 16th century but used modern textiles to make the pieces. Part of the bodice for Princess Ninetta was composed of the netting that holds oranges/tangerines!
Using orange bags for the costume is rather apt :-)
Above is the costume with a little head ornament but minus the cage which was attached below the skirt to form the 'orange'.
Hers is Judith's design which shows how the 'orange' part works.
Below are the cute orange slippers with bobbles on.
Looking at these lovely pieces makes one want to rush out and see the opera for one's self, but I doubt if the costumes could top these Judith has made.
Her second character from the opera was Truffaldino the Jolly Jester which you can view in the next post.
