Michael Stennett designed this costume for Alfonso d'Este in Donizetti's opera Lucrezia Borgia, for the Royal Opera in 1980. The role was sung by Stafford Dean, who was a mainstay of post-war British opera, singing with the Royal Opera and many other companies.

The costume is designed so that, from his first entrance, the audience recognises d'Este's status; colour, richness and sheer bulk, add gravitas to the character and performer. If it had been made in lighterweight materials, it would have given quite the wrong impression. It is vast and extremely heavy, and under the heat of stage lights must have been almost unbearable to wear, let alone perform a major operatic role. It was made by Carl Bonn and Colin Mackenzie, who were acknowledged as the finest costumiers of the 1970s and 1980s, being meticulous in both cut and decoration of a garment and with an unrivalled understanding of how to translate a two-dimensional design into a three-dimensional, wearable, costume.