Yoxford costume designer's studio pieces sell for £52k at auction

Michael Stennett with Dame Joan Sutherland, who was described by Luciano Pavarotti as "the voice of the century"

The works of a "leading light in the world of costume design" have sold for more than £52,000.

The contents of Michael Stennett's studio in Yoxford, Suffolk, went under the hammer at Cheffins in Cambridge.

Costume jewellery he made for Dame Glenda Jackson's role in the BBC drama Elizabeth R sold for £800.

He died aged 74 in 2020 and made costumes for ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev and opera stars Dame Joan Sutherland and Dame Kiri Te Kanawa.

Michael Stennett made a tiara and jewellery for Dame Glenda Jackson's role as Queen Elizabeth I

The collection that went to auction included about 300 paintings and drawings by Stennett.

Costume designs for performances from 1967 to 1984 including Le Nozze di Figaro from the Australian Opera, Swan Lake from the Malmo Ballet, Julius Caesar from the English National Opera and Werther from the Royal Opera House, were also sold.

Brett Tryner, a director from the auction house, said the results were a "testament to Michael Stennett's skill as a painter and designer and also his fantastic collection of works by other artists".

"Buyers came from far and wide, with sales to Australia and throughout Europe," he said.

"Michael Stennett was a leading light in the world of costume design, and this sale offered the opportunity for people to buy up a part of the history of opera," he added.

His studio in Yoxford housed hundreds of pieces of art, the auctioneers said

The creator worked in partnership with opera houses around the world, including the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the Royal Opera House in London and Drottningholm Court Theatre in Stockholm.

The most expensive item sold was a painting by Patrick Procktor, of his friend Mo McDermott, which went to a London trade buyer for £7,500.