Photo credits: Laila Pozzo

Chiara Amaltea Ciarelli

Born in the Netherlands, she is a costume designer with a distinct artistic voice, shaped by her studies in set and costume design at the Academy of Fine Arts in Bologna and enriched through hands-on experiences from the very start of her training. Early training with leading figures such as Romeo Castellucci and Chiara Guidi provided her with a unique foundation in experimental and visual theatre.

Her debut as a costume designer came while still at the Academy, and in 2014 she signed both the costumes and set for Cappuccetto Rosso, directed by Italo-Belgian director Sandro Mabellini. This marked the beginning of an ongoing artistic partnership that has led to a series of theatre productions for which she created costume and occasionally set designs, including Casa di bambola, Valentina e i giganti, Trainspotting, Antigone, Tutta casa, letto e chiesa, and Raperonzolo.  Over the years she designed costumes for a number of plays such as Decameron451, directed by Stefano Scherini or Cendrillion et Fata Madrina dans une cabine d’éssayages directed by Maria Vittoria Bellingeri.

In contemporary dance, she has developed an original and expressive design language, collaborating with choreographer Enrico L’Abbate on SAI, a thing that feels and In Extension. She also created the costumes for the dance piece Transmotion by the company DIVEinD, which premiered at Theater Rotterdamse Schouwburg.

In 2024, she made her debut in Opera designing the costumes for Il Cappello di Paglia di Firenze at Teatro alla Scala, a production directed by Mario Acampa that was selected by OperaWire Magazine as one of the Top 10 Productions of the Year 2024.  

Alongside her own creations, she has also developed extensive experience as an assistant costume designer for major opera houses across Europe. She assisted Klaus Bruns on Prince Igor (Opéra national de Paris, 2019), An D’Huys on Flight 49 (Internationaal Theater Amsterdam, 2021), and worked as costume supervisor on several productions at Teatro alla Scala. Moreover, from 2020 to 2025, she was part of Damiano Michieletto’s team as an assistant costume designer, contributing to numerous productions including Der Rosenkavalier (Lithuanian National Opera, 2021), La Cenerentola (Semperoper Dresden, 2021), Rigoletto (Teatro La Fenice di Venezia, 2021 and Dutch National Opera, 2024), Giulio Cesare in Egitto(Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, 2022; toured between 2022–2025 across Montpellier, Leipzig, Rome, and Toulouse), Don Quichotte (Opéra national de Paris, 2024), and La Fille du Régiment (Bayerische Staatsoper, 2024). During this time, she also served as revival costume designer for productions such as Giulio Cesare in Egitto and Rigoletto, further deepening her expertise in restaging acclaimed works.

Her work combines a strong visual sensibility with a deep understanding of character and storytelling, making costume design her primary creative language across genres from theatre to opera and contemporary dance.

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