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Not currently on display at the V&A

The Phantom of the Opera

Costume Design
1986 (drawn)
Artist/Maker
Bjornson, Maria (costume designer)
Place of origin
Great Britain (designed)

Design by Maria Bjornson for three mannequins in the Masquerade in Act II, scene i, of The Phantom of the Opera, Her Majesty's Theatre, 1986


Object details

Categories
Entertainment & Leisure
Designs
Object type
Costume design
TitleThe Phantom of the Opera (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Pencil, crayon, gouache and felt tip pen on paper, with attached fabric swatches
Pencil
Crayon
Gouache
Felt Tip Pen
Paper
Cloth
Net (Textile)
Metal
Drawing (Image-Making)
Painting
Brief description
Design by Maria Bjornson for three mannequins in the Masquerade in Act II, scene i, of The Phantom of the Opera, Her Majesty's Theatre, 1986
Physical description
Design for three mannequins in the Masquerade in Act II, scene i, of The Phantom of the Opera, showing, to the left, a skeleton wearing a black cloak with a pointed hood, and, to the right, a masked male harlequin in a black feathered hat and a masked female figure in a red hat and a red and gold dress with a frilled petticoat, both sitting on the bannister of a staircase with, behind them, a second skeleton figure drawn in pencil. Fabric swatches are attached by metal pins to the left, right and lower edges. The design is signed and is inscribed in pencil with the production title, the theatre, the scene, the names of the characters and costume details.
Dimensions
  • Height: 420mm
  • Width: 572mm
Production typeUnique
Marks and inscriptions
  • 'Three Mannequins on Two Dimensional 'staircase' Border Masquerade Act 2 sci' (Textual information; Upper edge of design; Handwriting; Pencil)
  • 'Skeleton' (Textual information; Upper right hand side of left hand figure; Handwriting; Pencil)
  • 'Feather Hat' (Textual information; Upper left hand side of central figure; Handwriting; Pencil)
  • 'Red Dress. / Young Girl Figure' (Textual information; Upper right hand side of right hand figure; Handwriting; Pencil)
  • 'Hat and cloak Henrietta (D-2) / leotard - bought and then painted. / Mask/head Michael.' (Textual information; Beneath left hand figure; Handwriting; Pencil)
  • '(D-1) Hat and Mask Michael / Costume Henrietta / Michael body' (Textual information; Beneath central figure; Handwriting; Pencil)
  • '(D-3) Wig Peter / Bonnet Jane / Costume Henrietta / face, mask Michael.' (Textual information; Beneath right hand figure; Handwriting; Pencil)
  • ' 'Phantom of the Opera' Her Majesties Theatre.' (Textual information; Lower left hand corner; Handwriting; Pencil)
  • 'Maria Bjornson' (Signature; Lower right hand corner; Handwriting; Pencil)
Object history
This design was made for the first production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical, The Phantom of the Opera, Her Majesty's Theatre, 9 October 1986
Literary reference<i>The Phantom of the Opera</i>
Summary
Design by Maria Bjornson for three mannequins in the Masquerade in Act II, scene i, of The Phantom of the Opera, Her Majesty's Theatre, 1986
Bibliographic reference
Maria Björnson. London: 1997 no.63
Collection
Theatre and Performance Collection
Accession number
S.270-1999

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Record createdDecember 7, 1999
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O12508/the-phantom-of-the-opera-costume-design-bjornson-maria/
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