1946 Born in Farnborough, son of an army officer.
1948 Moved to Derbyshire.
1954-1960 S. Anselm's Preparatory School, Bakewell, Derbyshire.
Studied painting under Nancy Piper. Mrs. Piper exhibited regularly at the Royal Academy.
Winner of the annual School Art Prize.
Leaving portrait drawn by Gilbert Spencer R.A.
1960-1963 Repton School.
1963-1964 Chesterfield College of Art.
1964-1967 Wimbledon School of Art, Theatre Design Dept.
1967 Mermaid Theatre: "Fete Champetre", diploma show from Wimbledon School of Art. Lived in Rome for six months painting in an artist's atelier, designed fashion and undertook portrait commissions. Neptune Theatre, Halifax, Nova Scotia: assistant designer and costume cutter.
1968 Assistant to the Designer Henry Bardon.
1969 The New Theatre: 'Anne of Green Gables' (Costumes).
1971 The Australian Opera: 'Le Nozze di Figaro' (Costumes).
The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden: 'Le Nozze di Figaro' (Costumes). Debut of Dame Kiri te Kanawa.
Constructed jewellery for Glenda Jackson, 'Elizabeth R': BBC.
Cut and made Mia Farrow's costumes for 'Time and the Conways': Theatre 69, Manchester.
1972 The Australian Opera: 'Rigoletto' (Costumes).
1973 The Festival Ballet, London: 'Conservatoire'. Rudolf Nureyev danced in the first revival. (Scenery and Costumes).
Malmo Ballet: 'Swan Lake' (Scenery and Costumes).
1974 Malmo Ballet: 'Cinderella' (Scenery and Costumes).
The Australian Opera: 'Jenufa' (Costumes).
1975 The RSC: 'London Assurance' (Costumes). On Broadway, New York.
The Australian Opera: 'Cosi Fan Tutte' (Costumes).
The Australian Opera: 'Madama Butterfly' (Costumes). Leone Mitchell in title role.
1976 Teatro Massimo, Palermo: 'I Capuleti e Montecchi' (Costumes).
1977 The Royal Opera, Drottningholm Court Theatre, Sweden: 'Platee' (Scenery and Costumes).
The Australian Opera: 'La Traviata' (Costumes). Kiri te Kanawa in title role.
English National Opera: 'Werther' (Costumes). Dame Janet Baker as Charlotte.
Ottawa Festival: 'Midsummer Night's Dream' (Costumes).
1979 English National Opera: 'Julius Caesar' (Costumes). Janet Baker in title role.
The Australian Opera: 'La Traviata' (Sutherland Costumes).
1980 The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden: 'Lucrezia Borgia' (Costumes). Dame Joan in title role.
The Australian Opera: 'Lucia di Lammermoor' (Costumes). Dame Joan in title role.
Dame Joan wore these costumes when performing this role at all subsequent performances, including those at Covent Garden and The Met.
The Australian Opera: 'I Mansnadieri' (Costumes). Dame Joan as Amalia.
The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden: 'Werther'. Jose Carreras in title role.
1981 The Australian Opera: 'Les Huguenots' (Costumes). Dame Joan as Queen Marguerite.
The Australian Opera: 'Tosca' (Costumes).
West National Opera: 'Tosca' (Costumes).
The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden: 'Il Trovatore' (Costumes for Dame Joan).
The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden: 'Alceste' (Costumes). Dame Janet Baker in title role.
1982 The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden: 'Falstaff' (Costumes).
This production marked the return to opera of Carlo Maria Giulini and opened in Los Angeles.
1983 The Australian Opera: 'Adriana Lecouvreur' (Costumes). Dame Joan in title role.
Ottowa Festival: 'Eugene Onegin' (Costumes). Thomas Allen in title role.
Welsh National Opera: 'Peter Grimes' (Costumes).
1984 The Canadian Opera Co.: 'Anna Bolena' (Costumes). Dame Joan in title role.
Bayerisches Staatsoper: 'Adriana Lecouvreur' (Costumes). Dame Margaret Price in title role.
1985 The Australian Opera: 'I Puritani' (Costumes). Dame Joan as Elvira.
San Francisco Opera: 'Orlando' (Costumes). Marilyn Horne in title role.
The Australian Opera: 'Ballo in maschera' (Costumes).
The Canadian Opera Co.: 'Hamlet' (Dame Joan Costumes).
1986 The Canadian Opera Co.: 'Kismet' (Costumes).
The Australian Opera: 'La Fille du Regiment' (Costumes). Dame Joan in title role.
The Whitehall Theatre: 'When We are Married'.
1987 The Santa Fe Opera: 'Ariodante' (Costumes).
1988 The Australian Opera: 'La Forza del Destino' (Costumes).
The Metropolitan Opera: 'Giulio Cesare' (Costumes). Tatiana Troyanos as Caesar, Kathleen Battle as Cleopatra.
Lyric Opera, Chicago: 'Tancredi' (Costumes). Marilyn Horne in title role.
1989 The Canadian Opera Co.: 'The Makropulos Case' (Costumes).
The Australian Opera: 'Cavalliera Rusticana and I Pagliacci' (Costumes).
Lyric Opera, Chicago: 'Il Barbiere di Siviglia' (Costumes). Thomas Allen in title role.
San Francisco Opera: 'Idomeneo' (Costumes).

1990 The Metropolitan Opera: 'Semiramide' (Costumes). Marilyn Horne as Arsace.
The Metropolitan Opera: 'La Fille du Regiment' (Kathleen Battle costumes).
From 1990, Michael Stennett began to decline work, finally deciding to end his career in the theatre in 1994.
In recent years, Stennett hs remained firmly at home in Suffolk arranging exhibitions and accepting various commissions.

Stennett's portrait paintings include a number of studies of Dame Joan Sutherland and members of her family. Several of these feature Dame Joan in her most celebrated roles. In 1993 Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II commissioned a portrait drawing of Dame Joan for the Order of Merit Series at Windsor Castle.
In 2004, Stennett was commissioned to do a portrait drawing of Canon John White, Precentor of St. George's Chapel, Windsor.

Poster designs and artwork have been created for leading international opera companies, Decca records, R.M Associates (opera videos) and the Fan Museum, Greenwich.

Work by the artist is in the Royal Collection, the Theatre Museum (The V & A), the New York Public Library and several performing arts museums around the world.

Exhibitions (one man shows)
1999 Cinema Gallery, Aldeburgh (Aldeburgh Festival)
2000 Cinema Gallery, Aldeburgh (Aldeburgh Festival)
Adonis Gallery, London
2001 The Barnsdale Gallery, Yoxford (opening exhibition at the gallery, attended by Dame Joan).
2004 The Barnsdale Gallery, Yoxford.
Selected Bibliography
1982 'Full Circle', Janet Baker
1985 'Joan Sutherland - Designs for a Prima Donna', Richard Bonynge.
1986 'Joan Sutherland Album', Joan Sutherland and Richard Bonynge.
1989 'Joan Sutherland - A Tribute', Moffat Oxenbould.
1992 'Rossini', published Ricordo.
1994 'Joan Sutherland', Norma Major.
1997 'A Prima Donna's Progress', Joan Sutherland.