This website is dedicated to the great theatre and opera designer Maria Bjornson, who died in December 2002 aged 53. In a career of over thirty years Maria designed for theatre, opera and ballet all over the world. In 1990 her fellow stage designers designated her the "Designer's Designer" for the London Observer.

Early acclaim came with ten productions, all designed during the 1971-72 heyday of the Citizen's Theatre Glasgow. The Welsh National Opera and Scottish Opera 1975-80 cycle of Janacek operas brought recognition and awards. Maria's greatest fame came with her glamorous and minutely researched sets and costumes for THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA. In production for twenty years it has played on stage to over 100 million people in 21 countries. She worked tirelessly, designing over 120 productions in a career which exceeded most of her contemporaries in scope and quality. To quote Cameron Mackintosh "Everyone who worked with Maria fell under her spell and was amazed by her devotion and attention to detail". She was, quite simply, a unique phenomenon.