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Julia Trevelyan Oman, 73; Designer for Stage and Film

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From Staff and Wire Reports

Julia Trevelyan Oman, 73, one of Britain’s leading theater designers, died Friday at her home in western England, several British newspapers reported. The Guardian listed the cause of death as cancer.

Born in London, Trevelyan Oman was educated at the Royal College of Art. After graduation, she joined the British Broadcasting Corp. as a set designer in 1955 and remained there 12 years.

While designing Tony Richardson’s film “The Charge of the Light Brigade,” she got a call from choreographer Frederick Ashton about drawings she had done trying to interpret Edward Elgar’s “Enigma Variations” for the ballet.

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The 1968 production, choreographed by Ashton, was a major success, and Trevelyan Oman’s career took off.

Her sets and costumes were known for their attention to detail, enhancing such productions as “La Boheme,” “Swan Lake” and “The Importance of Being Earnest.” Other credits included “The Nutcracker,” “Die Fledermaus,” “Eugene Onegin” and “Othello.”

In 1971, she married the writer Sir Roy Strong. That year she served as design consultant on director Sam Peckinpah’s film “Straw Dogs.”

Trevelyan Oman was made a Commander of the British Empire in 1986.

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