Introducing COLLECTION CHŌ by Anne Namba Designs

Wednesday, March 2 at 6:00pm

Hawai’i Opera Plaza, Studio 101 Runway
848 S. Beretania St. | Honolulu, HI 96813

General Admission Tickets: $40
Must be 21 years of age or older to attend | Proof of Vaccination Required

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In celebration of Hawai’i Opera Theatre’s 2022 Opera Ball: The Butterfly Emerges and upcoming production of Madame Butterfly, HOT is proud to introduce COLLECTION CHŌ by Anne Namba. Experience COLLECTION CHŌ live on the Studio 101 runway while being serenaded by the exhilarating musical duo of HOT’s very own mezzo-soprano Blythe Kelsey and Maestro Eric Schank. The runway never sounded better! 

Join us to be the first to shop COLLECTION CHŌ on Wednesday, March 2 at HOT’s Studio 101 Pop Up: Concert & Couture. This never-before-seen collection features Anne Namba’s latest designs just in time for Spring, the season of transformation. Explore stylish ready-to-wear looks, contemporary couture for day or evening, and bespoke elegant designs sure to make an envious Opera Ball entrance! Paris Fashion Week has nothing on the Studio 101 Runway, featuring the talents of familiar faces and voices to the HOT stage.

Reserve your tickets online or call the HOT Box Office at 808-596-7858 for more information!

Note to attendees: All attendees must provide proof of vaccination with a matching photo ID for admission. Current audience guidelines to safely welcome patrons back to the theatre can be found on the HOT website at hawaiiopera.org/plan-your-visit.

About Anne Namba Designs
Anne Yuri Namba was born in Hawaii, but spent much of her youth in Bangkok, Thailand and Tehran, Iran. A graduate of New York’s prestigious Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, her collections have appeared in Bergdorf-Goodman in New York, Neiman Marcus, Macy’s West, the Saks Fifth Avenue Folio Catalog, Nordstrom, Liberty House and I. Magnin stores. Her signature one-of-a-kind garments made from vintage Japanese kimonos and obis led her to open Anne Namba Designs in 1989.

Anne’s designs have been worn by Mikhail Baryshnikov and wife Lisa in a benefit fashion show for Baryshnikov Arts Center, Phylicia Rashad during a Today Show appearance, Aretha Franklin during a Good Morning America performance, by Vanna White for a week of Wheel of Fortune, by former Hawaii First Lady Lynne Waihee while hosting a dinner for the Emperor and Empress of Japan and by members of the band Hiroshima. She has shown her designs in Beijing, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Singapore and many mainland U.S. cities. No stranger to the world of costuming for Opera, Anne has created costumes for Puccini’s iconic Madama Butterfly at the Savonlinna, Finland Opera Festival and Malmo Opera’s production in Malmo, Sweden. This spring, Anne joins the creative team of Hawai’i Opera Theatre’s Madame Butterfly to bring director Aria Umezawa’s unique vision of the story to life—telling the tale through the eyes of Cio-Cio-san’s son, Trouble.

About Mezzo-Soprano, Blythe Kelsey

Honolulu native, Blythe I. Kelsey, has been involved in HOT’s productions since the age of 12. She attended the Westminster Choir College of Rider University, where she majored in Vocal Performance with a concentration in Opera Studies, and minored in Musical Theatre. Past roles include the Third Lady, The Magic Flute (2015); Sister Mathilde, Dialogues of the Carmelites (2013); High Priestess, Aïda (2012); Miss Todd in a radio production of The Old Maid and the Thief (2011); the Nurse in Romeo and Juliet–all with HOT; Cobweb, A Midsummer’s Night Dream; Michaëla, Carmen–both with Westminster Opera Theatre. An alumna of HOT’s Mae Z. Orvis Opera Studio program, Blythe has played numerous roles in HOT’s Opera Express tours over five seasons, and performs frequently as a soloist with Hawaii Opera Theatre, including the Great American Voices and Great Singers, Great Songs concert series. She is currently the Director of Artistic Administration for Hawai’i Opera Theatre.