The album's cover was a painting by American sci-fi artist Frank Kelly Freas. Drummer Roger Taylor had an issue of Astounding Science Fiction (October 1953) whose cover art depicted a giant intelligent robot holding the dead body of a man. The caption read: 'Please... fix it, Daddy?' to illustrate the story 'The Gulf Between' by Tom Godwin.

The painting inspired the band to contact Freas, who agreed to alter the painting for their album cover, by replacing the single dead man with the four 'dead' band members (with Taylor and Deacon falling to the ground, and Taylor only visible on the back cover)

The inner cover (gatefold) has the robot extending its hand to snatch up the petrified fleeing audience in the shattered auditorium where the corpses were removed.

Freas said he was a classical music fan and did not know Queen, and only listened to the band after doing the cover because he thought he might just hate them, and it would ruin his ideas.

The giant robot from the album cover, also known as 'Frank', was used as a special effect during the songs We Will Rock You and Killer Queen for the 2017–18 Queen + Adam Lambert Tour, which was in celebration of the album's 40th anniversary.

Queen are a British rock band, formed in London in 1970. The classic line-up was Freddie Mercury (lead vocals, piano), Brian May (guitar, vocals), Roger Taylor (drums, vocals), and John Deacon (bass guitar). Queen's earliest works were influenced by progressive rock, hard rock and heavy metal, but the band became more radio-friendly by incorporating further styles, such as arena rock and pop rock.

The releases of Sheer Heart Attack (1974) and A Night at the Opera (1975) brought them international success. 'Bohemian Rhapsody' was an international hit and popularised the music video. Mercury died of AIDS in 1991 and Deacon retired in 1997. Since then, May and Taylor have occasionally performed together, including with Paul Rodgers (2004–09) and with Adam Lambert (since 2011).

A Night at the Opera | Greatest Hits