It's all about the magic of live performance, in quite an old-fashioned style, but with lush romantic melodies, great scenic effects and a totally involving story.

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Another of his operas, The Makropulos Case, is a sort time travel story, in which a magic formula lets the main character live for hundreds of years.

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First comes the idea, then the sketching, then the draping of white toile (muslin), first over a mannequin and later over a live model, and finally the cutting of samples on a pattern that translates the temporary magic of the toile into a permanent garment in the fabric and colours of the designer's choice.

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