It's the general rise in the popularity of the occult and related fields that's so fascinating At the moment. The dee opera is as indexical of this as the history channels documentaries on ancient astronauts. A week or two ago I saw a documentary on said channel that examined the idea that nazi occultists were assisted by aliens in the creation of UFOs . The doc featured Allen greenfield who wrote secret rituals of the men in black. I used to have to dig hard for that kind of entertainment, now it walks in from the airwaves into my Livingroom of a Sunday afternoon.
Some say art is a mirror, others a hammer. I can't help but see it more as a reflexive (sometimes unconscious) spasm responding to the sociopolitical conditions an artist lives within. If we agree that art is a means of materialising and holding suspended the immaterial invisible aspects of being, What does all this spasming around the occult Say about the conditions of our time?
Deepest regards,
Justin
Sent from my iPhone
On 2 Jul 2011, at 09:56, mandrake <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> On 01/07/2011 12:09, Melissa Harrington wrote:
>
> : )
>
> Look forward to a review - when MOR rock musicians (Rufus Wainwright, Paul Macartney et al) try to do opera the results are usually disappointing -
> I prefer classic opera although admit some modern stuff can be excruciating - I liked Jack the Ripper and Dracula operas.
>
> Mogg
>
>
>> We're going, I absolutley hate opera, but am intrigued enough sit through this, hoping Albarn will make the music more palatable than real opera. We are going with members of our Enochian group, on a trip organised by my Dee/Kelley obsessed husband. He was happy to be left alone with free range of the magical rooms with their wax works standing on a carpet printed with the sigillum dei Ameth in the tourist office in the tower at Charles Bridge in Prague recently, where they are well feted. Although Dee had a glittering life he died poor and somewhat perplexed, the angels told him he would be remembered world wide forever, (is this any recompense I wonder), and this seems to be true; as well as the centuries that Enochia has not died away in, and its influence on literature and occulture, this year I have read reviews in main stream papers of two kids books that feature Dee, and he seems to be popping up more each year.
>>
>> regards
>>
>> Melissa
>>
>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "David Green" <[log in to unmask]>
>> To: <[log in to unmask]>
>> Sent: Friday, July 01, 2011 9:47 AM
>> Subject: [ACADEMIC-STUDY-MAGIC] Doctor Dee
>>
>>
>> Dear all,
>>
>> I am not sure that there has been any discussion on the list of Damon Albarn's (of Blur fame) new musical based on the life of John Dee and due to open in Manchester, UK, around now. Here is a short interview with Albarn:
>>
>> http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/opera/8606376/Damon-Albarn-interview-for-Dr-Dee-opera-Manchester-International-Festival.html
>>
>> I liked Monkey a lot, but not so convinced about this ...
>>
>> Dave x=
>>
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