Helen is explaining how they stitch the large CR III onto the applique. She pointed to a corner panel—a piece of red velvet adorned with a Tudor crown, golden palm leaves, and a glittering royal cipher with crimson braiding. ‘It’s now at the point where it has to be turned around and the ends are closed on the back,’ he says. ‘Then he is ready to be ready in the veil.’
The curtains have been cleverly constructed in removable pieces to make repairs easier for the Royal Ballet and Opera team, who will look after them with a kit thoughtfully gifted by the school. At the end of the month, the panels will be carefully bubble-wrapped and tissue-papered, folded flat, and transported more than 500 miles away to Garriett’s factory in Umkirch, Germany, all carefully handover with threads, notes and instructions. Gemma Murray, who graduated from the school’s apprenticeship program in 2004 and is now studio manager, says, ‘We’ve built a great relationship with them so there’s a lot of trust and we know they’ll do a good job.’
That relationship dates back at least 27 years since the last time new stage curtains were raised, when the Royal Opera House was undergoing a £214m restoration. Before starting the curtain, Gemma and the eight embroiderers tasked with this latest commission delved into the school’s archives to find reference drawings, fabric samples, artwork, job notes and supplier lists from that 1997/98 project. ‘You always get a bit goosebump-y when you’re looking (about) these drawings, and you think about who’s gone before you,’ says Gemma. ‘It still makes me go, “Oh, how lucky to do that.”‘
After nearly three decades and more than 10,000 performances, what must be the hardest-working soft furnishings in the world bear the marks of age and use, including damage caused by brushing against the stitching of thousands of tutus as dancers rush onstage for their encores—admittedly a pretty romantic way to get tees and dresses.
