Jean-Jacques Delmotte
© Jean-Jacques Delmotte
striking costumes
‘Jean-Jacques Delmotte uses colour very selectively, and occasional “noble” fabrics like an echo from a more glamorous era’
Jungfrau Zeitung, I Capuleti e i Montecchi, TOBS Stadttheater Biel
Jean-Jacques Delmotte designs costumes for both theatre and opera, his work taking him to all the world’s leading houses. Born in Paris, he studied architecture at the Beaux-Arts in Paris and fashion at La Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne. He worked initially designing costumes for theatre and contemporary dance companies in France, subsequently expanding into opera.
He has enjoyed a close collaboration with theatre and opera director Laurent Pelly for more than 20 years, working closely with him and co-designing costumes for a large catalogue of new productions – more than 25 in total. He also designs for directors including Timothy Sheader, Yves Lenoir and Julien Chavaz.
New productions in 2024–25 include Macbeth for TOBS Stadttheater Biel with Yves Lenoir and Rigoletto for Irish National Opera, Opera Zuid and the Santa Fe Opera, with Julien Chavaz. Recent projects include Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg for Teatro Real Madrid and the Royal Danish Opera (co-design with Laurent Pelly), Donizetti’s Don Pasquale for Opéra national de Lorraine with Timothy Sheader, and Korngold’s Die Tote Stadt for Korea National Opera with Julien Chavaz.
