(Credit: Jonathan Tichler / Met Opera)

The Metropolitan Opera has announced “Behind the Seams: Costuming the Met,” the largest costume exhibition in the company’s history, on view from Sept. 21, 2025, through June 6, 2026.

The exhibition will offer a rare opportunity to step inside the world of operatic costume design, tracing the evolution of the company’s early reliance on stock costumes to the establishment of its world-class costume department.

The exhibition will feature drawings from nearly a century and a half of artistry, as well as garments dating from the late 19th century to the present day.

Highlights will include costumes worn by legendary singers, such as the iconic gown designed by Cecil Beaton for dramatic soprano Birgit Nilsson in the 1961 production of Puccini’s “Turandot.” Visitors to the exhibition will also encounter garments and other costume elements from operas, including Bizet’s “Carmen,” Donizetti’s “La Fille du Régiment,” Verdi’s “La Traviata,” Wagner’s “Tristan und Isolde,” Mozart’s “Die Zauberflöte,” and more.

In a statement, Maurice Wheeler, Director of Archives, said, “Costumes are among the most powerful storytellers in opera. They carry the history of the company and the artistry of the stage in every stitch. Behind the Seams allows audiences to experience the beauty and craftsmanship of garments that have shaped the Met’s legacy for more than a century.”

The exhibition will be available for public viewing, with a ticket to any performance, in the north and south galleries of Founders Hall on the opera house’s Concourse level, from the opening of the 2025–26 season.