The folks in the Minnesota Opera's costume shop usually craft couture gowns with corsets, wondrous costumes in weighty fabrics. Works of art.
"Now we're sewing rectangles to save lives," said Corinna Bakken, the opera's costume director.
With shows on hold, workers in the opera's shuttered costume and scene shops have turned to a new project: making face masks to protect people. The costumers are sewing masks for nurses, doctors and others facing shortages of protective gear according to patterns approved by HealthPartners. Scene shop workers are making the deliveries.