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

Design for three characters in the Masquerade in Act II, scene i, of The Phantom of the Opera, showing, to the left, a half man/half woman figure, the left hand side of the body costumed as a man in evening dress with a top hat and opera cloak, the right hand side of the body as a woman in a low cut, tight fitting bodice with three-quarter length sleeves with ruffles to the edge, a knee length, stiff skirt, split in segments, and decorated all over with multi-coloured ruffles, a black, red lined cloak, black stockings and a flowered hat with a small veil to the face. To the centre, a female figure in a black corset, the upper edge trimmed with red and gold fringe, the shoulders with beaded straps, a knee length 'skirt' in the form of the upper portion of a crinoline frame decorated with beads and gold 'tassels' and a short net train to the back, black, red and white bloomers, pink tights with spotted legs and red check feet and a gold motif on the ankle and gold shoes. She wears three-quarter length red gloves spotted with silver and holds a multi-coloured mask fan in front of her face. To the right, a female figure in a black corset with elbow length sleeves covered all over in wide frills, similarly frilled bloomers, black net fingerless gloves, black stockings and ankle boots. She wears a black eye mask and her hair is piled up into a point. Multi-coloured fabric swatches are attached by metal pins to all four 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.

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

Andrew Lloyd-Webber's musical, The Phantom of the Opera is a phenomenon of 20th century theatre; it opened in 1986 at Her Majesty's Theatre and by May 2008 had played over 9,000 performances. It has been produced in over 25 countries.

Maria Bjornson's design shows costumes for dancers and singers in the masquerade - a costume for a half man-half woman, 'fan lady' and 'frilly'. The final effect of the costumes can be seen from the outrageous and glitzy fabric samples, and the scene captures all the sense of late 19th century Paris, with its luxury and excess. By the 1980s costume designers had found out the wealth of fabrics from India to be bought in the London district of Southall, and many of Bjornson's gold embroidered materials were sari fabrics. The half man-half woman costume was made by a husband and wife team of costumiers; the husband was responsible for the male tailoring while the wife created the dress.

S.271-1999