Maria Bjornson design thumbnail 1
Not currently on display at the V&A

Maria Bjornson design

Costume Design
1980 (drawn)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Design for The Vixen in Act I of The Cunning Little Vixen, showing, to the left, a full-length young female figure wearing a short, long sleeved, greyish-white smock with a Peter Pan collar and pleated bodice, over a short russet coloured skirt, reddish-brown tights and heavy black ankle boots. She wears her red hair in two bunches to suggest a fox's ears. To the right, a similar figure stepping out on a journey, wearing a long fur coat in shades of russet and grey and a russet head scarf and carrying over her right shoulder a long stick, to which is attached a greyish-white carrier bag with cord handles. The design is signed and is inscribed in pencil with the production title, the opera companies, the scene and the name of the singer and the character.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleMaria Bjornson design (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Pencil, pen and ink, crayon and gouache on paper
Brief description
Design by Maria Bjornson for the Vixen in Act I of The Cunning Little Vixen, Scottish Opera/Welsh National Opera co-production, 1980
Physical description
Design for The Vixen in Act I of The Cunning Little Vixen, showing, to the left, a full-length young female figure wearing a short, long sleeved, greyish-white smock with a Peter Pan collar and pleated bodice, over a short russet coloured skirt, reddish-brown tights and heavy black ankle boots. She wears her red hair in two bunches to suggest a fox's ears. To the right, a similar figure stepping out on a journey, wearing a long fur coat in shades of russet and grey and a russet head scarf and carrying over her right shoulder a long stick, to which is attached a greyish-white carrier bag with cord handles. The design is signed and is inscribed in pencil with the production title, the opera companies, the scene and the name of the singer and the character.
Dimensions
  • Design height: 295mm
  • Design width: 415mm
Production typeUnique
Marks and inscriptions
  • 'Vixen Act 1 / Helen Field.' (Textual information; Above left hand figure; Handwriting; Pencil)
  • 'Vixen Act 1 / Helen Field.' (Textual information; Above right hand figure; Handwriting; Pencil)
  • ' 'Cunning Little Vixen' Welsh National Opera, Scottish Opera English National Opera.' (Textual information; Lower edge; Handwriting; Pencil)
  • 'Maria Bjornson' (Signature; Lower right hand corner; Handwriting; Pencil)
Object history
This design was made for the 1980 Scottish Opera/Welsh National Opera co-production of Leos Janacek's opera, The Cunning Little Vixen. The production was first staged by Scottish Opera at the Edinburgh Festival (King's Theatre, 27 August 1980) and was then toured by Welsh National Opera. It was subsequently re-staged by English National Opera at the London Coliseum in 1988. In the original Scottish Opera/Welsh National Opera production the Vixen was played by Helen Field.
Literary reference<i>The Cunning Little Vixen</i>
Bibliographic reference
Maria Björnson. London: 1997 no.19
Collection
Accession number
S.278-1999

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Record createdSeptember 8, 2000
Record URL
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