SOMEONE should tell Nero to chuck that boring old toga. The infamous emperor has a whole new wardrobe thanks to the singular imagination of Emi Wada.
It seems an odd match at first: a Japanese costume designer famous for Asian period pieces takes on the decadence of ancient Rome. But Wada, who won an Oscar for "Ran" in 1986 and more recently worked on the films "Hero" and "House of Flying Daggers," is no slave to tradition. She has banished the toga and in its place has mounted an array of fantastical couture brimming with modern shapes and bold colors. Her royal line is on stage in Los Angeles Opera's production of "The Coronation of Poppea," which was set to open on Saturday.
The sculptural splendor of Wada's clothes grew directly out of composer Claudio Monteverdi's baroque melodies. Written in 1642, the opera tells the story of Nero's mistress Poppea (mezzo-soprano Susan Graham), who schemes her way from the royal bed to the throne.
"Each costume represents a different voice," Wada recently explained during fittings at L.A. Opera's downtown costume shop. Speaking softly and through a translator, she said Monteverdi's music struck her as simple and unadorned. "So I wanted to make the costumes complex and express the textures as much as possible."
Director Pierre Audi told Wada he wanted a timeless production. "None of the singers wears shoes, which always gives away the period," she said.
Wada has the rare honor of serving two emperors this season. After finishing at the court of Nero, she'll move on to the Metropolitan Opera in New York, where she will help re-create Qin-era China for "The First Emperor," a new work by Tan Dun and directed by Zhang Yimou. A co-production with the L.A. Opera, "Emperor" is an epic staging with close to 600 costumes.
"The actual design variation is less than that since there are big scenes with the chorus," explained Wada. For "Poppea," she is overseeing about 60 costumes, most of which are unique designs. "Each costume symbolizes the rising or declining status of a character in Nero's palace," she said.
Standing a little over 5 feet tall and built like a sparrow, Wada, 69, is easily dwarfed by her sartorial inventions. For the philosopher Seneca (bass Reinhard Hagen), who serves as advisor to Nero, she constructed two enormous hand-woven robes, one a deep brown, the other a heavenly beige. When the production was first performed at the Netherlands Opera in 1994, Wada had a special loom constructed so she could personally oversee the weaving process.
For the L.A. staging, Wada has re-created from scratch many of the more complicated costumes. The shimmering robe that Nero (tenor Kurt Streit) wears is made of golden cords mixed with metallic strands. The complexity of the fabric made alterations impossible, so Wada had weaving equipment flown from Amsterdam to L.A. to completely reconstruct the costume.
The devious maid Arnalta (a travesty role played by tenor Christopher Gillett) has the most outlandish outfits. In the coronation scene, he dons a dress composed of about 50 cotton fans, each of which was freshly cut, sewn and arranged for this production.
As an assistant prepared to photograph Gillett in costume, Wada, who had been quietly adjusting nearly every inch of fabric, dashed behind the tenor and held up a portion of the headpiece that had been forgotten.
"The hat is higher," she indicated in halting English. Standing on tiptoes, she gave the OK for the photo, her hand still peeking above the singer's head.
At work with big-name directors
KNOWN as Japan's first lady of costume design, Wada has worked for more than 40 years in opera, film and theater. Her name is synonymous with opulence and majesty, and she attracts directors who share her taste for stylized excess: Akira Kurosawa, Zhang Yimou, Peter Greenaway, Franco Zeffirelli, Julie Taymor.
Reticent in person but a hands-on perfectionist in the fitting room, Wada has been known to go to extremes to get the look she wants. On "Ran," she worked with Kurosawa for three years to find the right colors and material to bring his storyboards to life. At one point, the movie's financing ran out, and Wada spent her own money to construct the more than 1,000 costumes.
"When Kurosawa called to tell me that the producers had found more money, I just started crying," she recalled.
For "The First Emperor," which premieres Dec. 21, Wada searched Beijing's antique markets for rare fabrics. "A lot of the material wasn't available in Japan," she explained. Wada always sketches her designs by hand, then makes doll-size prototypes at her Tokyo studio. Creating original colors is especially important to her.
"All the sample dying I do myself," she said. "They're not fabrics I bought in those colors. I dye white fabric to the specific color I want. In all cases."
