If you are putting on an opera, you don’t tell everyone in the cast to bring something from home to wear. Most operas, particularly ones presented by the University of Kentucky Opera Theatre, are set centuries ago among wealthy elites who dressed to impress. That puts some pressure on costume designer Susan Wigglesworth. “One of the reasons our audience goes is they expect and enjoy the period costumes,” Wigglesworth says while taking a rare break from working on outfits for the UK Opera’s next production, The Marriage of Figaro by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Set in 18th-century Spain, it plays March 1 to 3 at the Lexington Opera House. The actors do not mind. “It’s like playing dress-up every time you are in a show,” mezzo-soprano Holly Dodson says. To Wigglesworth, also an accomplished actress, every outfit also tells a story. So here’s a bit of the story behind some of the outfits opera lovers will see onstage this weekend. For more on Figaro, visit ukoperatheatre.org. RICH COPLEY — Lexington Herald-Leader Buy Photo