Born in Farnborough, Hampshire, to an Army officer and his wife, the family moved to Derbyshire, his mother’s home county, in 1948. Michael was educated at prep school in Bakewell then at Repton School. He continued his studies at Chesterfield School of Art 1963-64 followed by Wimbledon School of Art’s theatre design department 1964-67. He spent six months in 1967 in Rome, painting in an artist’s studio and designing fashion, then the Neptune Theatre in Halifax, Nova Scotia, before becoming an independent theatrical designer in 1969.
Michael spent the next 20 years designing for productions including 18 for Australian Opera (his first was their production of Mozart’s ‘Marriage of Figaro’), the Royal Opera House (Kiri te Kanawa’s debut), Covent
Garden, English National Opera and the Royal Shakespeare Company (jewellery for Glenda Jackson in ‘Elizabeth R’).
He made costumes for Dames Joan Sutherland, Kiri te Kanawa and Janet Baker and many other performers. His close working relationship with Dame Joan Sutherland was probably his most rewarding and continued for 30 years. He also designed for ballet including Rudolf Nureyev at London Festival Ballet.
Michael wrote that their first meeting happened in a typically brusque and almost confrontational style.
“I met Dame Joan on stage at Covent Garden (in 1966). I was 19 and very full of myself. Joan asked me what I was doing, so I said I was studying theatre design. So, she said: ‘what do you think of the designs of this performance?’ I pulled a face. So, she pulled a very stern face and said: ‘if you think you’re so clever, why don’t you send me some of your designs.“
“That terminated the interview. I produced a series of designs which was my, sort-of, fantasy how I’d design for her if I was put in that position. The upshot was that this, very famous, world-famous singer found time to write me a personal letter full of encouragement and advice about how I could best work with singers.”
Moffat Oxenbould AM, artistic director of Australian Opera, said that ‘Michael’s artistry, professionalism and practical knowledge immediately endeared him to the craftspeople who worked with him in the wardrobe workshops’.
“His expertise and flair was inspirational. He knew how to challenge and cajole cutters to give nothing short of their best. His knowledge of fabric, decoration and appliqué was matched by an ability to make artists look their very best. His knowledge of period and style and his passion for research was extraordinary. His range was immense – from the grandeur of 19th century successes such as La Traviata, Lucia di Lammermoor and Rigoletto to the whimsical and theatricality of Fra Diavolo and the grittiness of Jenufa and Peter Grimes.”
Michael retired from full-time theatre design in 1999 and moved to Yoxford where he purchased
Plantation Cottage. This was originally a pair of cottages at the edge of the Grove Park Estate,
where there was a plantation of trees.
Dame Joan travelled to Yoxford to open Michael’s Barnsdale Gallery in 2000. He had opened this with his good friend and fellow theatrical designer Bob Ringwood. Michael had become a Suffolk painter,
exhibiting regularly in Aldeburgh and at Snape as well as always having new work on show at Barnsdale gallery. He tutored a ‘Portrait Group’ and mounted an exhibition of his paintings in ‘Yoxford Portraits’.
He was very active in village life, including constructing a Bonfire Night firework effigy and producing
children’s Victorian costumes for the Christmas Fayre. Probably most significant of his projects was
the restoration of Cockfield Hall Chapel.
which he painted in 2006.
Michael was nominated by Dame Joan as the artist who would produce Queen Elizabeth’s commission of a portrait drawing of Joan for the Order of Merit series at Windsor Castle.
Michael loved the garden he created at Plantation Cottage. His older brother David wrote that he set about taming a large wild plot which came with the cottage.
“His Garden Project involved the strategic placement of tons of breeze blocks to shape the contours. This great project continued over the years with waterfalls, bubbling fountains, ponds, streams and, in the spring, his favourite delphiniums. He hosted his Open Garden for a different charity each summer. The event always had a magical atmosphere. It often included a young harpist playing in the summer
house, which had a painted ceiling featuring jokey classical figures. He was a witty caricaturist. His friends often received cartoons of themselves with ‘politically incorrect’ and comic captions.”
A Cheffins auction in February 2022 of his paintings, drawings and designs and items from his collections raised £52,000 for the charity Historic Royal Palaces. Director of Cheffins Brett Tryner said “The results of the sale of this collection are 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”.
Sources: East Anglian Daily Times obituary 3 rd September 2020; East Anglian Daily Times 24th February 2022.