All types of costumes are represented as designed to be worn by such diverse characters as kings and queens, peasants and soldiers, fairies and ghosts, citizens and Greek gods, and representing all periods and styles. This is why we did our best to provide you with the largest collection of Nutcracker costumes available on the web. Dross’ Orphanage, through a shimmering, ice-skating winter wonderland to the scrumptious candy kingdom of Sweetieland, influenced by the lavish Hollywood musicals of the 1930s.

A behind the scenes interview with Ben Bazeley, New Adventures Dancer, discussing the role of Jack Gobstopper and Bob Gobstopper, the rehearsal process and touring life on Matthew Bourne's Nutcracker! The white satin shoes with lace and diamanté decoration were worn by Patti both as Violetta in Giuseppe Verdi’s La traviata and as Lucia in Gaetano Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor. There are separate ballet and opera shoe departments and an armoury which cares for both authentic weapons and those created as props. Post-war productions represent the work of great artists and stage designers such as Barbara Hepworth (The Midsummer Marriage), Salvador Dali (Salome), Franco Zeffirelli (Lucia di Lammermoor), David Hockney (L’Enfant et les sortilèges, The Nightingale), Antony McDonald (Chérubin) and Paul Brown (Falstaff).We try to provide a representative survey of all the works performed by the Companies, including popular ballets and operas but also more obscure works that may have received only a few performances.

The collection includes costumes worn by members of the chorus and corps de ballet as well as the principal singers and dancers. A behind the scenes interview with Danny Reubens, New Adventures Principal Dancer, discussing the role of Dr Dross and King Sherbert, stepping into the late Scott Ambler's shoes and the rehearsal process of Matthew Bourne's Nutcracker! There are costumes and accessories designed by great artists and designers such as Cecil Beaton (Marguerite and Armand), Derek Jarman (Jazz Calendar), Nicholas Georgiadis (Romeo and Juliet, The Nutcracker), David Walker (The Dream), Robin and Christopher Ironside (Sylvia) and Osbert Lancaster (La Fille mal gardée). Other 'early' costumes include those designed by Attilio Comelli for Puccini’s La bohème in 1899, and some chorus costumes stamped with the logo of the Grand Opera Syndicate, 1902.

The costumes and accessories are all made to the highest standard and are superb examples of the art of the designer and the skills of the wardrobe staff at the Royal Opera House. All parts of a costume are collected, including the accompanying accessories such as wigs, bald pates, facial hair, hats, headdresses, jewellery, gloves, swords, underwear, tights, shoes and boots. It contains 5000 items, mostly from productions created for The Royal Ballet, The Royal Opera and The Birmingham Royal Ballet (1946–97). A truly national, dance-theatre touring company and one of Britain’s leading exporters of dance internationally, their productions include Swan Lake, Cinderella, The Red Shoes, Edward Scissorhands the acclaimed re-imagining of Romeo and Julietand the recent world premiere of The Midnight Bell.

The shoes form part of a collection donated to the Royal Opera House by the great British soprano, Eva Turner, which provides one of the finest records of the wardrobe of a major singer of the 1920s and 30s. We hope that access to the catalogue and digital images here will enable more people to enjoy and appreciate this part of the ROH Collections and the work of the Royal Opera House.There are also numerous costumes for successive productions of Swan Lake, designed by Hurry between 1943 and 1979. The Sleeping Beauty is represented by costumes from all productions performed by The Royal Ballet from 1946, the production designed by Oliver Messel that reopened the Royal Opera House, to Maria Bjornsson’s lavish production of 1994.

Recipient of the 2019 Special Olivier Award, Sir Matthew Bourne and New Adventures have produced some of the most successful dance productions of the last three decades. Costumes are contained in some of the Special Collections within the ROH Collections, and not all have been made at the Royal Opera House. Browsing through our "Nutcracker Collection", you will find all the costumes you need to make your Nutcracker performance a success. The earliest ballet item in the collection is a single pointe shoe worn in the 1930s by Ninette de Valois, dancer, choreographer and Founder of The Royal Ballet. For example, most costumes in the Eva Turner Collection were made in Italy and have makers’ labels from Milan.It is a very magic time of the year, filled with twirling snow flakes, waltzing flowers, sparkling Sugar Plum fairies and much, much more! The earliest opera items in the collection are a pair of shoes worn by Adelina Patti, the reigning soprano at the Royal Italian Opera from her debut in 1861 until her retirement in 1888. The collection includes costumes worn by Margot Fonteyn, Robert Helpmann, Rudolf Nureyev, Lynn Seymour, Anya Linden, Beryl Grey, Sylvie Guillem, Jonathan Cope, Darcey Bussell and many more. The significance of the designer, the interest of the costume itself as a piece of design, the craftsmanship in its construction and execution and the significance of the wearer will all also affect the choice.