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Maria Björnson
Maria Elena Björnson (16 February 1949 – 13 December 2002) was a theatre designer. She was born in Paris to a Norwegian father and Romanian mother, and was the great-granddaughter of the Norwegian playwright Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1903.[1] Life Björnson was born in Paris on 16 February 1949. Her father Bjørn was a businessman from Norway; her mother, Mia Prodan (full name Maria Prodan de Kisbunn), was from Romania.[2] Both were from theatrical families.[3] Björnson was raised by her mother in London.[4] She studied at the Lycée Français, and then at the Byam Shaw School of Art and at the Central School of Art and Design.[1][3] She designed sets and costumes for theatre, ballet and opera.[4] She worked for the Royal Shakespeare Company, and designed Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera – for which she won a Tony Award for Best Scenic Design and for Best Costume Design, and a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Set Design and for Outstanding Costume Design – and the Trevor Nunn production of Aspects of Love. Björnson was course director for theatre design at the Central School of Art and Design.[citation needed] She died of epilepsy at her home in Hammersmith on Friday 13 December 2002, and was buried in Kensal Green Cemetery.[4] She was 53.[3] ReceptionIn 2006, the refurbished Young Vic opened a new studio theatre named the "Maria" in her memory. The first performance there was Love and Money by Dennis Kelly, directed by Matthew Dunster and designed by Anna Fleischle.[5] References
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