[This is a guest post by Jennifer Pugsley, media relations manager at the Canadian Opera Company. Jennifer and technical director David Feheley have been blogging about the COC's tour of The Nightingale and Other Short Fables to the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM).]

Not only is contralto Meredith Arwady a fantastic opera singer, giving a commanding turn as Death in the COC’s The Nightingale and Other Short Fables, she’s also a really fun person to hang out with backstage at the BAM Howard Gilman Opera House.  During the dress rehearsal of Nightingale on Feb. 28, she let me photograph her transformation into this frightful character.

 

Before Arwady gets her “deathly” makeup applied, on goes the wig cap.

 

Death is a scary character, even Arwady agrees.

 

On goes the red cream that is the base for Death’s look.

 

Arwady’s makeup artist Bernadetta spreads out the red cream and applies some powder.

 

Makeup artist Bernadetta puts on the finishing touches.

 

Arwady with Bernadetta. Have you ever seen Death so happy?

Top Photo © 2011 Jack Vartoogian/FrontRowPhotos. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Other photos © Canadian Opera Company 2011.