Florence + The Machine, The Band Perry and the Lady of Shalott in Music Videos

Today I thought I'd share a video from Florence + The Machine. My husband actually made me sit down and watch the video because he noticed all the mythological and Pre-Raphaelite references! We first encountered Florence + The Machine while watching the Colbert Report, and our first reaction (other than noticing that she had a great voice), was that she looked like she'd fallen out of a Pre-Raphaelite painting. Apparently this is no coincidence, and you'll notice that most of her videos contain references to the Pre-Raphaelites, though the video for "Rabbit Heart" is one of the most overt. From the minute you see the water behind her you can tell this is going to end in a send-up of the Lady of Shalott!



For an even heavier dose of the Lady of Shalott, check out The Band Perry's "If I Die Young". My daughter actually discovered this one on Vevo the other day!



Someone from the band is clearly a big fan of the Pre-Raphaelites! Of course Lady of Shalott is the most obvious reference (the video actually closes with a shot of Tennyson's poem), but I thought the scene at :38 (with the mother at the window) was a little evocative of John Everett Millais' Mariana. It's a very well done video, and the song is beautiful as well.

Karen Elson's Pre-Raphaelite Inspired Music Video "The Truth is in the Dirt on the Ground"

Fashion model Karen Elson is making her foray into the music business with her new album The Ghost Who Walks. She recently released the album's first music video, for the track "The Truth is in the Dirt on the Ground." The video is chock-full of Pre-Raphaelite references. There are numerous allusions to Pre-Raphaelite paintings here - I was particularly reminded of Waterhouse's Ophelia (because of the Queen Anne's Lace) and his Lady of Shalott (of course, parts of it are also quite reminiscent of Kate Bush's "Wuthering Heights"). With her vibrant scarlett locks, Elson has long been described as a Pre-Raphaelite beauty - I'm glad to see that she's embracing the label in her new music video! 

Apparently, the song was inspired by an obituary for Eartha Kitt. I did a little digging around, and it looks like Elson was referring to a quote from the New York Times obituary for Kitt: "I'm a dirt person...I trust the dirt. I don't trust diamonds and gold." 


The song is quite catchy, and the sound, which her husband, Jack White of the White Stripes, describes as "folk country gothic" is very appealing. I've been humming it ever since I saw the video this morning. 

A special thanks to Grace from The Beautiful Necessity for posting the video on her blog!

Loreena McKennitt's New Album:"The Wind that Shakes the Barley"

Whenever I want to relax, or if I'm feeling a touch homesick (she may be from Manitoba, but her music will always remind me of the Pacific Northwest), I reach for Loreena McKennitt's music. Her voice has such a natural beauty and I find it incredibly soothing and familiar - probably because I've listened to all of her CD's a thousand times! There are so many childhood memories I have that are inextricably tied to her music.

There's something about Autumn that especially reminds me of McKennitt's music. I can vividly recall listening to The Mask and the Mirror with my mom and sister as we drove to local haunts like Lattin's Country Cider Mill in Olympia, Washington (Lattin's is an amazing farm and cider mill in Olympia, and if you are ever in the area, you have to go! They make the best apple cider in the world, something I'm sure my husband never tires of hearing - but seriously, they make amazing cider, and it's one of the places I cannot wait to take my daughter). I still remember how McKennitt's music made dark and rainy drives through the back-roads of Western Washington seem romantic and exciting. A trip to the Yelm movie theater was almost like an Arthurian quest! These days, I also find that her albums work perfectly as my "not quite Christmas" music. I'm a Christmas music fanatic, but the Nutcracker in September/October is pushing it - even for me - and I find albums like McKennitt's To Drive the Cold Winter Away result in a few less raised eyebrows.

Loreena McKennitt is releasing a new album of traditional Celtic folksongs this fall entitled The Wind that Shakes the Barley. The CD will be released in Europe on November 12 and will be available in Canada and the United States on CD, iTunes and vinyl on November 16. You can listen to a preview of the CD on her website, Quinlan Road.

Loreena McKennitt has not released an all-new (non-compilation) album since An Ancient Muse, back in 2006 (which was a great album, by the way). And while I've enjoyed the compilation albums, it's great to hear her arrange some new songs.  Her latest album will be a collection of traditional Celtic songs. Commenting on her choice of traditional music for the new album, McKennitt has said that "every once and again there is a pull to return to one's own roots or beginnings, with the perspective of time and experience, to feel the familiar things you once loved and love still." I haven't heard the full album, but from the preview available on her website, the music sounds lovely. In my opinion, McKennitt's real genius is arranging beautiful music in a way that shows off her unique voice at it's very best (no small feat when you consider that her vocal career spans over 25 years), and this album is no exception. I can't wait to share this one with my daughter!

Rare Millais Sketches Found in Led Zeppelin Record Sleeves

Former Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page is one of the world's best known collectors of Pre-Raphaelite art. But he nearly lost a handsome stash of sketches by John Everett Millais as the result of what appears to be an auction house mix-up. 

Apparently, four drawings by Millais were found tucked inside Led Zeppelin records that were due to be put up for auction. Interestingly, the records were actually owned by Rick Hobbs, who had worked for the band for a number of years. Originally, the auction house had believed that the sketches were a gift from Page to Hobbs, but the auction house was uncertain enough to withhold the items from the auction. 

Fortunately for art fans, the sketches have been well-preserved within the LP covers, and they are undamaged. Millais made the drawings in 1843 when he was just 14 years old and a student at the Royal Acadamy. Two of the sketches were inspired by the poetry of Robert Burns. One depicts a scene in Venice were a gondolier is singing to a lady from beneath a window, accompanied by a verse from Farewell Thou Stream "The music of thy voice I heard/Nor wist while it enslav'd me!/I saw thine eyes, yet nothing fear'd/Til fears no more had sav'd me!"

Amazing that the sketches remained hidden in those LP covers all these years!

Edmonton Opera Presents Gilbert and Sullivan's Pirates of Penzance

Last night my husband and I had the chance to see Edmonton Opera's presentation of Gilbert and Sullivan's Pirates of Penzance. We had such a fabulous time! It was the first opera of the season that we've been able to attend. We always get season tickets, but we had to give our tickets to Rigoletto to some friends, since the performance was one day after our daughter was born!

This time we were able to make it, thanks to my mom, who stayed home with the baby and entertained her by singing snippets from the production. I discovered this morning that my three month old daughter adores "Modern Major General" -- probably because she's never heard anyone speak that fast before!

I am so glad that the Edmonton Opera chose to stage such a thoroughly entertaining production. I've been a fan of Pirates for years, ever since I first saw the 1983 film version starring Kevin Kline in the 1990s. My sister and I adored the movie and watched it time and again on video. But certain numbers lost their lustre in the film version. Of course, songs like "With Catlike Tread" are impossible not to love, whatever their format, but others, like "Hush, hush, not a word!" simply fell a bit flat on the silver screen. Watching Pirates live was a revelation.

First of all, the cast was fabulous. Curt Olds stole the show as Major General Stanley - his sense of comic timing was impeccable and made the production. I was also impressed with Lawrence Wiliford as Frederic and Nikki Einfeld as Mabel.

Gilbert and Sullivan lend themselves particularly well to revival, and their appeal to modern audiences is strong, with humor that easily crosses age and cultural barriers. My husband, who had never seen a Gilbert and Sullivan production before, absolutely loved Pirates. I am so happy to see the Edmonton Opera choosing to showcase this Operetta, and I hope it means there will be many more Gilbert and Sullivan productions in the opera's future!

Andrew Lloyd Webber Announces Sequel to Phantom of the Opera

Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber has been busy working away at a sequel to his 1986 hit, The Phantom of the Opera. The sequel, entitled Love Never Dies, will premiere in London this fall and is slated for production in Toronto and Tokyo shortly thereafter.

Love Never Dies is set in Coney Island (of all places), and features an older Christine, her husband Raoul and son Gustav. Christine agrees to a "one night only" performance and everything goes terribly wrong...

I fell in love with Phantom of the Opera when I was fifteen. I heard the soundtrack to the musical at my friend Alisa's house and was entranced. After that I even managed to get my hands on the original book by Gaston Leroux, which I highly recommend, even though it's quite different from the musical. The book has a very recognizable Victorian Gothic quality to it, and reminds me a lot of Bram Stoker's Dracula (the writing style is very similar).

I'm looking forward to the new show, though I have my reservations about the Coney Island setting (which will probably be delightfully macabre). The music has already been recorded on a concept album, though no word yet on when the album will actually be available for sale. The word is that it might be released before the premiere, but I rather doubt it.

What do you guys think about a sequel to Phantom of the Opera? Would you be excited to see it? Are you worried that Andrew Lloyd Webber will damage the legacy of Phantom of the Opera with a sub-par sequel? Please weigh in.

You can read more about Webber's upcoming production on broadway.com.



Image courtesy Wikimedia.

Old English Christmas Carol

Merry Christmas to all! When I was a child this was probably my favourite Christmas Carol. Long before I saw my first Disney movie, I was fascinated by the idea of talking animals, so the idea that animals could speak on Christmas Eve was particularly attractive to me. I still remember it from a little cassette tape and book of Christmas Carols that I carried around with me for MONTHS leading up to Christmas. The tape was played so much that it always warbled during this song (and during my other favourites, the "Wassailing Song," "Good King Wenceslas" and "The Holy and the Ivy". I guess even then I had a thing for Old English Carols!

The Friendly Beasts
Jesus, our brother, kind and good,
Was humbly born in a stable rude;
And the friendly beasts around Him stood.
Jesus, our brother, kind and good.

"I," said the Donkey, shaggy and brown,
"I carried His mother up hill and down;
I carried His mother to Bethlehem town."
"I," said the Donkey, shaggy and brown.

"I," said the Cow, all white and red,
"I gave Him my manger for His bed;
I gave Him my hay to pillow His head."
"I," said the Cow, all white and red.

"I," said the Sheep, with the curly horn,
"I gave Him my wool for His blanket warm;
He wore my coat on Christmas morn."
"I," said the Sheep, with the curly horn.

"I," said the Dove, from the rafters high,
"I cooed Him to sleep that He should not cry;
We cooed Him to sleep, my mate and I."
"I," said the Dove, from the rafters high.

Thus every beast by some glad spell,
In the stable dark was glad to tell
Of the gift he gave Emmanuel,
The gift he gave Emmanuel.

Image courtesy of the Tate Gallery. It's "The Adoration" by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, and was painted between 1858 and 1864. I had actually never seen this painting before today! I just love the strong Medieval quality that it has. I'm so glad I found it!

Edmonton Opera's Production of Wagner's The Flying Dutchman

Last week the Edmonton Opera's season began with an ambitious production of Richard Wagner's The Flying Dutchman. I wasn't quite sure what to expect from our small opera company, but I was impressed! Overall I think it was a great success, although there were some inevitable hiccups.

First of all, the music was gorgeous: my husband and I were both captivated from the moment the orchestra started playing. Once the the curtain went up, many of the cast members had a difficult time being heard above the orchestra, which I suppose is an occupational hazard of performing Wagner. Thankfully, the Dutchman (Jason Howard)and Senta(Susan Marie Pierson)had voices that were capable of standing up to the music. I personally felt that Senta stole the show. From the moment she began singing(Act 2), she really demonstrated what a more powerful voice could do with the music. The chorus numbers were another highlight, as the larger number of voices meant that the singers weren't going to be drowned out by the music.

The Flying Dutchman tells the story of a sea Captain who is condemned to wander the seas for all eternity. Once every seven years he is permitted to leave the ship in order to search for a woman who can be faithful to him until death. If he accomplishes this task, he will be freed from the curse. Unfortunately, although he has been trying for hundreds of years to find such a woman, all of them have proved unfaithful (quite a sad commentary on womankind!).

One thing that constantly impresses me about the Edmonton Opera is the great set designs that they consistently manage to pull off. This time they staged the entire production in a Shaker-style meeting hall on stilts that appeared to be tilted dramatically. I kept wondering how the cast members managed to maneuver around the stage without falling down! It really was quite extraordinary.

Ultimately, I was very happy to see an opera like this being staged in Edmonton. Doing Wagner is always difficult, but I think it was definitely worth it. Hopefully we'll get the chance to see more Wagner in Edmonton!

"The Flying Dutchman" by Albert Pinkham Ryder courtesy Wikimedia commons.

The Pirates of Penzance

There is no better satire of Victorian life than the musicals of Gilbert and Sullivan. And while I enjoy all of Gilbert and Sullivan's musicals, I definitely have a soft spot for Pirates of Penzance.

I never get tired of watching the 1983 film adaptation of Pirates of Penzance, starring Kevin Kline. It tells the story of Frederick, an upstanding young man who happens to have spent his youth among pirates. On his 21st birthday, he announces that he is going to leave piracy behind and devote himself (albeit regrettably) to the "extermination" of his former friends. Once he falls in love with a girl, whose father is a Major General. Everything seems to be going well for Frederick until his former pirates friends show up and hilarity ensues.

In the end, the girls' father, General Stanley, proves himself a "model of a modern Major General" by accepting the pirates, who, after all, "with all their faults" still "love their Queen." It turns out that what they really crave is to settle down for a life of "unbounded domesticity." Of course, it doesn't hurt things when it turns out the pirates are actually peers of the realm. Being a rather dotty, social climbing member of the nouveau riche, the General immeadiately instructs the pirates to: "resume your ranks and legislative duties, and take my daughters, all of whom are beauties!"

There is no question that Kevin Kline steals the scene as the Pirate King. His sense of humor and ability is reminiscent of his peerless work in A Fish Called Wanda. His on-stage athletics are pretty impressive as well!


My sister and I watched this film more times than I could possibly count--50 at least. One of our favourite activities was attempting to sing "I am the very model of a modern Major General." Not an easy feat! The following scene includes both "Modern Major General" and the General's little song about being an orphan--which of course instantly melts the pirates' hearts (being orphans themselves, and good Englishmen at heart, they are doubtless well-schooled in the works of Dickens. It would be unthinkable to rob an orphan of his only company).

Possessed: Announcing a New Pre-Raphaelite Musical!

What do you get when you combine Pre-Raphaelite art, an infamous love affair, and music? Possessed is a new musical that examines the life of Jane Burden, from her discovery by Dante Gabriel Rossetti to her meteoric rise to become one of the most popular and iconic models of her age, almost omnipresent in the paintings of the Pre-Raphaelites, particularly those of Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Possessed focuses on the relationship between Jane, her husband William Morris ("Topsy") and Rossetti. The full cast also includes Bessy, the Morris's housekeeper, Lizzie Siddal, Mr. Carter (the foreman of Morris & Co.), and Jane and William Morris’ two daughters, Jenny and May.

Playwright Teresa Howard became inspired to research Jane’s story following a William Morris exhibit at the Victoria and Albert Museum back in 1996. For Possessed, Howard (who has written a number of other plays) has teamed up with composer and arranger Steven Edis, who has written and arranged music for numerous theatre and television productions.

Not surprisingly, art plays a central role in the production. During the course of the musical, stained glass windows depicting the tale of Tristan and Isolde are constructed on stage, symbolising the close relationship between art and life and alluding to the link between the story being played out on stage and the story of Tristan and Isolde.

The musical was presented on April 27 at the Oxford Playhouse and was a great success, generating a great deal of interest in the project. Hopefully full scale production of the musical will begin at the end of next year...I can’t wait!

To learn more about this production, visit the The musical's official website. For up to the minute news and information, visit their blog, Putting it Together.

Rehearsal photo of Anna Francolini as Jane Morris and Joseph Millson as Dante Gabriel Rossetti

Rehearsal Photo by Charles Girdham © 2008, reprinted with permission of Teresa Howard

Edmonton Opera's Production of Falstaff

My husband and I went to see Edmonton Opera's production of Falstaff last night. We had such a good time! I absolutely loved it. The cast performed impressively, both as singers and as actors. My husband and I were particularly impressed with the amusing antics of John Fanning as Falstaff and Christiane Riel as Alice Ford. Colin Ainsworth and Nikki Einfeld were charming as the young lovers Fenton and Nanetta.

The liberetto for Verdi's Falstaff is taken from William Shakespeare's Merry Wives of Windsor. In the story, Sir John Falstaff is a fat old knight who has fallen on hard times. In an attempt to better his financial situation, he chases after two married noblewomen. The ladies discover that he has been going after both of them at the same time and resolve to make him pay for his indiscretions. Much hilarity ensues when the husband of one of the ladies decides to catch Falstaff in the act...

This opera proved yet again that these stories are meant to be seen and heard. I have heard Falstaff on the radio countless times as part of the Metropolitan Opera's Satarday Texaco broadcast. I always enjoyed the music, but it was impossible for me just how funny the second act is until I saw it for myself. My husband and I were both laughing out loud(at intermission he remarked that it was just like a telenovela!).

I'm constantly impressed with the quality of the Edmonton Opera. When I first came here, I never would have believed that a prairie town in the middle of the frozen north (sorry, Canada) would have such a great opera. Going to the opera has been one of the things that have kept me from missing Seattle too dreafully. It's truly one of the best things about Edmonton.

One of the most exciting part of the night was when the director announced the "lineup" for next season. Edmonton Opera will be performing Wagner's The Flying Dutchman, Donizetti's Daughter of the Regiment and Verdi's La Traviata. In addition to the regular season, they'll also be offering tickets to Bizet's The Pearl Fishers (almost everyone has heard that opera's beautiful men's duet, "Au Fond du Temple Saint"). I can hardly wait!

Loreena McKennit: A Winter Garden

I've been a big fan of Loreena McKennitt's music for years. I think I first heard "Mummer's Dance" on the radio or at some New Age bookshop. My mom started collecting her CDs soon afterwards, and my whole family became huge fans. I heard her described somewhere once as "Enya with a library card," but I think she's a lot more than that. She's an incredibly talented musician and her music will simply transport you.

I thought I'd heard pretty much every one of her albums until I ran across this little gem at Chapters the other day. I've always listened to To Drive the Cold Winter Away obsessively during the Christmas season and I had no idea she had another Christmas album. A Winter Garden was a revelation for me.

The first three of five tracks on A Winter Garden will be familiar to listeners. "Coventry Carol," "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen" and "Good King Wenceslas" are Christmas standards sung with their traditional tunes, through McKennitt has created interesting arrangements for them.

Coventry Carol is hauntingly beautiful and the arrangement is quite traditional. The arrangement for "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentleman" is overtly Celtic and might require a bit more getting used to (it sounds like a marauding band of ancient gypsies doing their own interpretation of the tune). "Good King Wenceslas" is a bit more modern in feel, it is still very traditional.

My favourite piece from the album is "Snow," a poem by Archibald Lampman (1861-1899) set to McKennitt's own music. It has that tremendous mystical and romantic quality that is the hallmark of her work. My only real quibble with the album is that this song should come at the end. It forms a nice bookend with "Coventry Carol."

The album's final track "Seeds of Love" is also composed by McKennitt and is the weakest link in the album. The melody is lovely, but the lyrics themselves, though traditional, just aren't as powerful as those of the other songs. Nevertheless, the album ends to quickly--it will leave you wanting more. I think it's time she came out with another Christmas album!