Sudden death of international opera designer, 57
mainThe Loesje Sanders agency has shared the sad news that Paul Brown died yesterday at his home in Wales.
Paul, who was 57, was the director Graham Vick’s regular design partner; teir last production together was Mahagonny in Copenhagen.
Paul also collaborated frequently with Jonathan Kent at Glyndebourne and Covent Garden.
He will be widely missed.
Very very sad news. He was a terrific designer, a wonderful colleague and a good man. RIP
Paul was a very dear friend. We met at line dancing and I watched King Arthur from his seat at Covent Garden. I knew about the illness but it is still a shock.
Steven Gregory
A huge talent and a delightful colleague. The world without his creativity and wit is a little more drab.
What a terrible loss for the world of opera. I was fortunate enough to see both his Mitridate – where the glorious costumes were the star of the show – and his Pesaro Guillaume Tell, where his white, long, open set gave us a light, bright view onstage, as well as an excellent DVD, every nuance clearly visible against the white background (unlike too many gloomy operas). His varied Guillaume Tell costumes matched the characters and opposing nationalities perfectly, ensuring the audience were in no doubt who were Austrian and who were Swiss – Arnold significantly changing from his Austrian soldier’s uniform after his father’s death, Mathilde appearing in normal clothes at the end, in marked contrast to her princessy outfits.