Prince Afron costume by Loudon Sainthill for 'Le Coq d'Or', 1954

Rimsky-Korsakov wrote his opera 'Le Coq d'Or' as part fantastic fairy tale and part political satire on autocracy, Russian Imperialism and the futility of the Russo-Japanese war of 1904–5. Not surprisingly, it was banned after its initial performances in Russia in 1909.

For the 1954 production at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, designer Loudon Sainthill adopted a fantastic, decorative approach, reminiscent of political caricature or book illustrations. The style was perfectly in keeping with the satirical and folk elements of the opera.

This costume, for one of the foolish Princes ,is stiffly padded and inflexible, reflecting the bullish stupidity of the character. The main fabric is canvas with felt decorations, again stiff and unyielding fabrics. All decorations on the main body of the costume are painted, resulting in very clean lines and reinforcing the impression of an illustration. The same style is carried through all the major male characters.

Makers use whatever materials and techniques they need to achieve a particular effect. In this costume, the 'drawing' is very precise and executed in paint; on later costumes in the collection, the makers have used new tools, like felt tip pen and marker pens to create the required patterns.

Museum no. S.36-1980