Two US ensembles turn costume shops to health care

Atlanta Opera has turned over its costume department to making medical masks for use in area hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic. The opera company has received requests for 72,000 masks. They are working round the clock.

Atlanta artistic director Tomer Zvulun, who once served as an Israeli army medic, says: ‘This is a time of great need for the medical community and the community at large. The question that we ask ourselves is no longer ‘How can we save our productions?’ but ‘How can we help save lives?’

Oklahoma’s Tulsa Ballet is also creating masks. A supervisor said: ‘These are not for patients with COVID-19, these are not for doctors and nurses with COVID-19, but they are to kind of alleviate some of the pressure that the hospitals are facing right now due to mass shortage.’

UPDATE: In Germany, Bonn Oper is doing the same.