September 2011. Props of Ages: Hundreds of sets and thousands of costumes share New Orleans’ operatic tradition with the world.

The splendor of a New Orleans Opera Association (NOOA) production makes you marvel at the beauty of each set, the grandeur of the costumes, and attention to the smallest details. But open the door of the H. Lloyd Hawkins Scenic Studio off Airline Drive in Metairie, and the reality behind mystery of it all will be revealed.

The cavernous 120-by-150-foot warehouse holds the secrets of operas staged locally for decades. While it further highlights the fact that New Orleans has always been a great city for opera since 1796, and that there has been an operatic performance on almost a yearly basis, no one will venture to guess what’s the oldest single prop in the hide-away that today houses thousand of props and costumes for an untold number of productions.

Walking through the door to the scenic studio is like opening troubador’s treatsure chest. For opera buffs it is an eye-candy trip of countless racks of costumes hanging in air-conditioned rooms created within the warehouse, while second-level wide storage balconies on either side of wide bays accommodate everything from velvet covered chairs to entire wooden cartons labeled with the names of familiar operas, and chock-a-block first-level storage that makes you wonder how anything can be found in the maze.

“This is much more than a treasure trove of everything we need to stage grand opera in New Orleans,” explains Alan Rusnak, the NOOA’s scenic studio manager and technical director since 1995. “We also operate a very profitable business of renting everything from entire scenic packages, including costumes, for an opera, to just a few specific items.”

“Some scenic packages fill an entire eighteen-wheel truck,” adds Keith Christopher, who has worked for the opera since 1973. “It’s hard to explain my title because I do lots of different things, but I like to think of myself as the working memory of the scenic studio. Everything has a place and it’s my job to know where that place is.” Then Christopher stops and thinks for a moment. “I believe my title is technical supervisor for rentals.”

There isn’t actually a master map of where everything is located in the warehouse. “It’s in my head,” Rusnak says with a smile. One glance walking down the first aisle with Rusnak reveals a ten-foot crucifix, a stash of several chandeliers, and a number of fireplaces. “We have thirty-plus operas ready to rent from our scenic studio, with Tosca listed as our most requested opera. NOOA has become well-known for its handsome Tosca package.”

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