Have a Brontë bonanzaIt’s going to be a year of Brontë for me. Recently I picked up Charlotte B’s Villette — prompted by a Times recommendation from the author Kaliane Bradley, who described it as “superb” and “horny” — and while I can’t exactly say I’m racing through it, the narrator is a remarkable heroine: bitter, wry, self-hating, kind of like a corseted Fleabag. Next goal: wrap up Villette in time to read Emily’s Wuthering Heights before the “sexed-up” movie with Margot Robbie comes out (February 13), so I can criticise it smugly but authoritatively. And then, I suppose out of fairness, it’s time to find out whether Anne Brontë’s The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is utterly brilliant or a weird story about rental agreements. (Neil Fisher)
Haworth village is one of the most picturesque, fascinating, and best places to visit in Yorkshire. Here are our top five things to do in Haworth that will persuade you to put it at the top of your bucket list for 2026.1. It is the home of the Literature Queens, the Brontë SistersOne of the things that Haworth is most famous for is being the home of the talented Brontë sisters. The authors of such works, including Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre, and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, have left their legacy in Haworth. They continue to attract thousands of visitors to the village each year.Here are some of the main attractions linked to the Brontë Sisters you must see when you visit Haworth:The Brontë Parsonage MuseumThe famous home of the Brontë family is now a fascinating museum. At the Brontë Parsonage Museum, you’ll discover the world’s largest variety of original Brontë items, including furniture, books, paintings, clothes, and much more. Throughout the year, there are family activities, insightful talks, and special exhibitions.Haworth Parish ChurchAfter visiting the Brontë Parsonage Museum, you should take a look at Haworth Parish Church, located right next door. It has deep connections with the family. Firstly, Patrick Brontë, the sisters’ father, was the parish minister for 41 years. Also, Emily, Charlotte, Bramwell (their brother), and Patrick are all buried here. It is a must-visit when wandering Brontë Country.Top WithensTop Withens is an iconic landmark in Haworth. This ruined, isolated farmhouse located on Haworth Moor is roughly a 3.5-mile walk from the village’s main street. It is widely considered a significant inspiration for Emily Brontë’s novel Wuthering Heights. With this connection mixed with the beautifully wild landscapes, it is a highly popular spot for walkers.Black BullAfter a long day walking and sightseeing, you might very well want to stop for a hard-earned drink. If you want a cosy pub but also want to keep discovering more about the Brontës, then look no further than the Black Bull. The pub is famous as it was the favourite drinking spot of Branwell Brontë, the sisters’ brother. An excellent creative in his own right, he was a regular visitor to the pub, and you’ll still find his famous masonic seat. The pub also appeared in a BBC drama ‘To Walk Invisible’, which tells the story of Bramwell and his family. (Eddie Brickdale)
Hazel Rickett, from leading small-group tour operator Rabbie’s, has recommended six incredible destinations, perfect for a staycation in the new year to keep the January blues at bay. (...)And finally, Haworth, located in West Yorkshire, was her sixth recommendation for anyone seeking a relaxing started to 2026.Best known for being the home of the Brontë sisters, the village and surrounding moorlands are incredibly atmospheric at this time of year.She added: “Here, people can explore the cobbled, Victorian streets or plan a visit to the Brontë Parsonage Museum, before warming up in one of Haworth’s traditional pubs after a crisp winter walk. (Ruth Warrander)
The dales and moors of Yorkshire are a well-established muse for writers and visual artists. Most recently, the region has served as the romantic location for “Wuthering Heights” and “Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale.” The North Yorkshire Moors Railway and the Yorkshire Dales make appearances in both and are a must-see when visiting. Make sure to squeeze in a visit to the Brontë Parsonage Museum, where the Brontë family lived from 1820 to 1861. The historic space offers fascinating insight into the lives of the three Brontë sisters and the world that inspired “Wuthering Heights.”
The trailer for Emerald Fennell’s “ravishingly stylish” adaptation of Emily Brontë’s only novel sent much of the internet into a “tizzy”, said Jack King in GQ. This “definitely isn’t the ‘Wuthering Heights’ you read for your GCSEs”. As you would expect from the director of “Saltburn”, the trailer was “factory-made to provoke a reaction”. In her “gleefully anachronistic romance”, Margot Robbie (pictured above) and Jacob Elordi take on the starring roles of Catherine and Heathcliff, while Charli XCX has contributed some “absolute bangers” to the soundtrack. Is it a surprise Fennell’s film “seemingly sticks a middle finger up at the source material? More to the point: does it really matter, when it looks like this much of a laugh?” (Irene Forshaw)
While Emerald Fennell’s forthcoming film is already stirring up conversation thanks to its surprising costumes, Margot Robbie and stylist Andrew Mukamal are already plotting a fashion fantasia for the press tour. “The couture shows are in January. So we can see what comes out of that,” Robbie told British Vogue. Maybe, if we’re lucky, co-star Jacob Elordi will break out the cravat again. (Hannah Jackson)
4. «Wuthering Heights» de Charli XCXEl próximo 13 de febrero los fans de Charli XCX estarán de celebración, y es que la artista anunció hace unas semanas que el segundo mes de 2026 llegaría por todo lo alto con un nuevo disco bajo el brazo: «Wuthering Heights». Un disco que se presenta como algo muy distinto a lo que ha hecho hasta ahora y del cual ya hemos conocido los temas «Chains of Love» y «House», tema que compuso para la banda sonora de la adaptación de «Cumbres Borrascosas» y que parece ser que es un muy buen chivatazo de lo que se viene con el disco en conjunto. Tal y como ella ha contado, hizo un disco completo para conseguir introducirse en el personaje, y de hecho ha creado este álbum junto al autor de la banda sonora de la película, Finn Keane. (Translation)
Best Opera PerformanceAnna Sideris - Jane Eyre - Arcola Theatre 33%Anna Netrebko - Tosca - Royal Ballet And Opera 29%Laura Mekhail - Jane Eyre - Arcola Theatre 22%Hector Bloggs - Jane Eyre - Arcola Theatre 15%Best Opera ProductionJane Eyre - Arcola Theatre 48%Tosca - Royal Ballet And Opera 29%Saul - Glyndebourne 23%
Mononoke The Movie: Chapter II – The Ashes of Rage (Kenji Nakamura/Toei Animation/Netflix)Rage burns incandescent. This film is hardly the first literary work to note that women's rage, in particular, is hard to extinguish (though it might be the most visually striking). Honestly, I feel like the closest comparisons are Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre and Charlotte Perkins Gilman's The Yellow Wallpaper.
Why I recommend it: My second-greatest tip for getting back into reading is to revisit the first book you ever loved, and I do that every year with Wuthering Heights. It’s a classic novel about — and I can’t believe I’m saying this — the toxic situationship between two monstrous people. Catherine and Heathcliff both suck, but they’re more than soulmates, and their impossible love, set against the gloomy backdrop of the English moors, never gets boring. It helps that Emily Brontë’s pen is unmatched: “Be with me always — take any form — drive me mad.” That’s the hottest line ever written. I’m so mad at her for dying before she could write anything else.It is impossible to talk about Wuthering Heights without noting that there’s a new movie adaptation coming in February 2026 — your homework is to read this before then, and don’t fall for the rage-bait of whatever inevitable inconsistencies the Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi version has. They’re different media, for goodness’ sake! Let Emerald Fennell (the notoriously polarizing director) have a little fun with it!
Also, what’s up with Millie’s room in the attic, which features a window that won’t open, a door that locks from the outside, and a serious Jane Eyre-meets-Gaslight vibe? (David Fear)
They also installed the first visitor toilets at the Brontë Parsonage Museum; relocated the Peace Museum to Salts Mill where its annual visitors increased from 3,000 per year to more than 50,000; and they installed a lift at Ilkley Playhouse. None of that is sexy. But in a city with a council that by its own admission faces financial challenges which rank “among the most significant in local government nationally”, it is work that simply would not have happened otherwise. (Lanre Bakare)
Consideration of book sizes was sparked recently by noticing my spouse and I were both reading books from the Oxford World’s Classics series, her Austen’s “Emma” and me Brontë’s “Jane Eyre.” Both were small Aldus portables, but her “Emma” was noticeably larger at 4½ inches by 6½, while “Jane” was merely 4 by 6. The type in “Jane” was a bit smaller, too, as was the price. Published by Oxford Press in 1999, “Emma” cost $13, while “Jane” was published in 1986 by Avenel, a New York company, for $2.99. (Greg Hill)
Site-specific designer Emeline Beroud has hung several significant items on red ropes above the stage: keys, school books, maps, a wedding veil, a bare branch and a chalkboard with LIAR written on it. On the back, the chalkboard reads Helen Burns 1821-1835. These items, plus an old school desk, are the only set. Keys, red threads, and ropes are recurring motifs, variously representing the freedom, empowerment, disempowerment, fire…The first distinct character we encounter is Bertha Mason, Edward Rochester’s first wife, who is famously imprisoned in the attic. Contemporary dancer Steffi Fashokun gives a powerful, poignant and silently persuasive performance as the troubled and enigmatic Bertha. She is continually present throughout the first half on a mezzanine balcony, where she appears, like Penelope or the tower-bound Lady of Shalott, to be weaving a tapestry or visceral rag rug in various shades of red. Tapestry Maker Juliette Georges has created an extraordinary artwork for Fashokun to run mad with. Movement director Alex Gotch effectively creates an alternative narrative for her through expressive choreography. (Phoebe Tablin in Thr Reviews Hub)
Joubert wrote in an expansive, late romantic style with the music for Jane and Rochester full blooded and open hearted. And he gave their scenes plenty of space, which of course meant that the rest of the plot had to whistle past. At the moment the opera has too many smaller characters who either appear very briefly or seem to play little part at all. The programme book listed 12 singing characters, plus Steffi Fashokun in the silent role of Rochester's first wife, Berthe Mason.
Eleanor Burke seems to have made the decision to assume that we did know the book. Before a word was sung, Steffi Fashokun was presented as Berthe and throughout the first act she was strong presence despite the fact that the presence of Berthe in the attic was not explained until Act Two. This felt like a dramatic device introduced by Burke as an admission that the dramaturgy of the opera does not quite work.
That said, the performances by the two leads, Laura Mekhail and Hector Bloggs were both full blooded and engaging. Mekhail brought a contained intensity to Jane, making you remember that in the book the character is fierce with sharp edges. Mekhail's voice is lyric but she revealed enough underlying strength to make the big scenes work. The opera really requires a soprano who can power through and make Jane's music soar and Mekhail made a fine attempt in the small space of the Arcola Theatre Studio. She was well partnered by Hector Bloggs, who revealed a fine romantic baritone even if his stage presence was a bit stiff. This Rochester did not quite brood enough, but Bloggs made up with his vocal quality. (Robert Hugill in Planet Hugill)
Eleanor Burke’s direction and Emeline Beroud’s set and costumes help create a rich visual world in which these tense interpersonal dynamics play out. The production design centres on the red threads of fate and destiny which at times trap and pull each character in different directions. Above the stage, in her attic, Bertha Mason works at a blood red tapestry, like a modern-day Penelope weaving in captivity. Hanging from the ceiling are several props representing key moments or themes from Jane’s life, and characters interact with these at key points in the show. Within the minimal yet intimate space of the Arcola, these props help create a tangible landscape evoking the 19th century world of the novel. The immediacy of the small cast singing so closely to the audience also allowed the singers to play with a much greater dynamic range than some traditional operas in a larger space. (leahj in A Young(ish) Perspective)
The staging is a bit of a mixed bag: there’s a lot of fun rushing about, particularly when Polistina joins us for a confessional moment in the audience at one point, but it’s unclear why asides using a microphone are different from the rest of the straight-to-audience pieces throughout, and getting back and forth to the mic slackens the pace a bit. There’s a rather funny visual gag on the screen near the end which could possibly work even better with a bit of quick-change action onstage, making the most of Polisitina’s high-energy switching between characters; it would certainly give her more flexibility in that section’s delivery. But we are in a function room above a pub, and it’s a free show, so ultimately the production team has done well with limited resources. Plucky, indeed.Jane Eyre Wasn’t a Whore will play especially well with die-hard Brontë fans (reader, I among them) who know all the in-references, but it could equally introduce a generation of heartsick comedy fans to the fact that 150-year-old novels have the perfect advice for when he/she/they won’t text you back. Part of the PBH Free Fringe, so have your shillings ready at the end of the performance. (Caitlin McDonald)
If space is very tight, then roses can work well in pots, so long as you water them: “Olivia Rose Austin thrives in a pot, as does Emily Brontë, and Kew Gardens. The latter will bloom all summer.” (Boudicca Fox-Leonard)
Sounds like fun!Fun is one word for it. Bonkers is another – the film featured several hair-raising scenes, including a “can’t be unseen” finale. (Ed Power)
Finally, take a closer look at Branwell Brontë’s painting with conservator David Everingham on the Brontë Parsonage Facebook Wall.
A striking portrait of a renowned Yorkshire writer has gone on display in the house where it was painted nearly two centuries ago.The profile image of Emily Brontë is one of the only surviving likenesses of the novelist and poet. It was painted by her brother Branwell originally as part of a family portrait of Emily, himself, and their sisters Charlotte and Anne.The work, on loan until October 31 from the National Portrait Gallery in London, has gone on display at the Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth as part of the UK City of Culture celebrations in Bradford.Branwell created the picture when he was about 17 in around 1833. He was shown holding a gun but later painted himself out.It was inherited by Charlotte’s widower, Arthur Bell Nicholls, who destroyed the images of Charlotte and Anne thinking them poor likenesses. However, he kept the remaining scrap because he thought the depiction of Emily was accurate. It was discovered decades later on top of a wardrobe.Ann Dinsdale, principal curator at the Bronte Parsonage Museum, said: “There is great expectancy at the parsonage and we can’t wait for our visitors to see it. It is a fairly rare opportunity to see it outside London in the house where it was painted.”She said its popularity owed much to the “haunting” image of Emily looking much as readers might expect of the Wuthering Heights author.“She’s looking into the distance, you can only see her in profile. The way it’s been torn, you feel it’s like a holy relic almost,” she said. “We’re definitely expecting people to make a special trip while it’s here.”The discovery of the portraits proved to be a compelling story in themselves.On the first day of viewing in 1914 so many people wanted to see the pictures, the Yorkshire Observer noted the gallery “underwent a minor siege”. (Mike Waites)
Many Irish people are unaware that the English novelist, Charlotte Bronte was married to an Irish-man, Arthur Bell Nicholls from Banagher.Charlotte was the only one of her siblings to marry and we are lucky enough to have her dramatic first-hand account of Arthur's proposal and her father, the Rev Patrick Brontë's staunch opposition to this union. In fact Arthur broached the subject of marriage on Monday December 13th 1852 and there followed a tsunami of events before the couple eventually became engaged. Their marriage took place on June 29th 1854.Her father put many obstacles in the couple's way. He even tried to sabotage the wedding by declaring, on the evening before the ceremony, that he was 'indisposed' and unable to attend. So, in the absence of any other male relatives, who would give the bride away?Luckily, Charlotte had her two best friends staying in the Parsonage with her, Ellen Nussey (her bridesmaid) and her mentor, Margaret Wooler. The ladies put their thinking caps on and looked up the Book of Common Prayer (a religious text book). They discovered that the person who conducted the bride up the aisle did not have to be male and so, Margaret Wooler, Charlotte's former teacher, took up that role and the wedding went ahead at 8am on the following morning.One must remember at that time, marriage was a social, religious and legal contract. Prior to the wedding, on May 24th, a group including Charlotte, Arthur, the bride's father Patrick, the trustee Joe Taylor and Charlotte's solicitor, assembled in the Parsonage at Haworth to sign a legal document known as the Wedding Settlement. Who instigated this contract? Why was this a necessary step? Where did Charlotte's money come from? What was the legal standing of women at that time under English law?To answer these questions I brought my camera along to the Parsonage Museum in Haworth (home of the Brontës) to interview an expert in this field. Their Principal Curator, Ann Dinsdale kindly retrieved the Wedding Settlement parchment from the archives and unpacked the story behind it.This film will be premiered in Banagher on August 17th of August 2025 at 2.30pm as part of the Heritage Week festivities. Ann Dinsdale will be present at Crank House, Main Street and Q & A afterwards should be fascinating. (Maebh O’Regan)
Composer John Joubert and librettist Kenneth Birkin worked on this opera adaptation of Jane Eyre for over a decade, from 1987 to 1997 – there were other things going on during this time, and much of their collaboration was done by correspondence, some of which is apparently now in the archives of the British Library, together with some of Joubert’s composition manuscripts. The good thing about this being an opera they wanted to compose and write, rather than being commissioned, is that there was no deadline by which it had to be good and ready come what may. The ‘bad’ thing, as it were, about an uncommissioned work is that it can take a while to get a full production. In this case, it was quite a long while indeed: and so it was, that on opening night, Birkin stood alone with the cast at curtain call, Joubert having died in 2019.Surtitles are in use, even though the opera is in English in the first place. Emotions that come gushing from carefully constructed and thought-through intonations and inflections in a surprisingly enjoyable experience, accessible without compromising too much on the nuances in the story. Of course, a two-act opera (which itself probably rankles purists) that sends the audience home the ‘right’ side of 10:00pm isn’t going to capture everything that the Charlotte Brontë novel does. It effectively skips the first two of the five stages of the novel’s narrative, jumping straight into Jane Eyre (Laura Mekhail) having resigned from her job for the mundane reason (at surface level, at least) of being successful at another job she applied for. The rest is pretty much as the novel would have it, ending, in essence, where Brontë’s Eyre wrote: “Reader, I married him”.I wasn’t thinking about the book whilst watching the opera, which on balance I think is a good thing: the opera does not assume prior knowledge of the story, and there is no synopsis in the show’s programme (well, online freesheet – it is 2025, after all), because one is not required. The operatic convention of putting more effort and energy into singing about one’s intention to do something than actually doing it manifests itself in St John Rivers (Lawrence Thackeray) and his plan to embark on an overseas missionary trip. Whether he goes in the end is known to those who have read the novel, but here, with his purpose in Eyre’s story served, he’s just forgotten about altogether in the final scenes.The focus on the central character appeals to me: a show called Jane Eyre should be about Jane Eyre! This is not opera on a grand scale, and it is, for the most part, solos and duets, duets and solos. I resist a direct comparison with Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde as the storyline is too dissimilar. Joubert’s music more often than not has a propulsive rhythm, and this production is a lean machine, in the sense that most shows, even excellent ones, could do with a little trimming – and some could do with a lot – but this one requires none at all. Perhaps more set would have been ideal, as different settings looked more or less like one another. Otherwise, it was an enthusiastic and engaging evening, which held my attention throughout despite prior familiarity with the story. (Chris Omaweng)
There aren't many directors who manage to stir up rage, controversy and divide opinion quite like Emerald Fennell. Before she could even say the word 'Heights', the Promising Young Woman director's adaptation of Emily Bronte's 1847 novel has had the internet up in arms.First, she was criticised for casting Margot Robbie, 35, as Catherine Earnshaw, who (spoiler alert) dies by the time she is 18. Then she was called out for casting Jacob Elordi, a white actor, in the racially ambiguous role of Heathcliff. And then 'first look' pictures of Wuthering Heights found their way onto social media and the whole production was written off for its numerous historically inaccuracies.Now, despite the film not coming out until 13 February 2026, scathing reviews of the test screenings have put Fennell's adaptation back in the headlines. One viewer at the first test screening in Dallas labelled the film 'aggressively provocative' and said it had parallels with the 'stylised depravity' of her last project, Saltburn. [...]What is surprising, though, is that we are hearing about all of this six months before the film hits cinemas. Whether you work in the entertainment industry or not, it is fairly unprecedented for reviews of screen testings not to be under strict embargoes, especially for a film with such a demonstrable marketing budget and high profile cast and crew.There is a reason why reviews tend to drop the week before or day of a film being released. They are, to all intents and purposes, a way of helping people decide whether to tune in. Nowadays they are also used to create 'buzz' and help the film cut through in online discourse.Given Fennell's penchant for raucous debate – she certainly seems to be an advocate of 'all publicity is good publicity' – it's hard to imagine that these scabrous reviews are not part of the film's wider marketing strategy.When have we ever heard what a single viewer in Dallas thinks of a test screening before? Or read that a film blogger thinks her interpretation adds 'something bold and unexpected' to Brontë's story? It is far from usual protocol. And Fennell knows what she's doing. [...]In a world where audiences are constantly overwhelmed by choice and reluctant to spend in cinemas without knowing what they're paying for, the louder the chatter about a film is online, the more likely they are to watch it.If that's what Fennell is playing into, then hats (or bonnets) off to her. Wuthering Heights might still be six months away, but part of me wants to find out what all the fuss is about already. (Nikki Peach)
%20(1).jpg)
Arcola Theatre & Green Opera presentComposed by John JoubertLibretto by Kenneth BirkinGrimeborn Festival24 Ashwin St, London E8 3DLWednesday 6th August 2025, 7.30pmThursday 7th August 2025, 7.30pmFriday 8th August 2025, 7.30pmSaturday 9th August 2025, 7.30pmEleanor Burke – DirectorKenneth Woods – ConductorLaura Mekhail – Jane EyreHector Bloggs – Edward RochesterEmily Hodkinson – Mrs Fairfax/Mary RiversChris Murphy – Rev. Wood/JohnAnna Sideris – Sarah/Blanche Ingram/Diana RiversLawrence Thackeray – Richard Mason/Sir John RiversAlexander Semple – Mr Brocklehurst/Briggs“I am no bird; and no net ensnares me.”Arcola Theatre and Green Opera proudly present John Joubert’s Jane Eyre — his final opera, now fully staged for the first time.First heard in concert with the English Symphony Orchestra under Kenneth Woods, this bold adaptation of Charlotte Brontë’s novel follows one woman’s fight for freedom and fulfilment on her own terms. Facing adversity, injustice, and a shattering betrayal, Jane’s journey unfolds through a dynamic cast of young performers, directed by Eleanor Burke.As Green Opera’s second production of the season and fifth for the Grimeborn Opera Festival, Jane Eyre continues the company’s mission to combine dramatic vision with environmentally conscious practices.
This summer, John Joubert’s final opera is fully staged for the first time. Director Eleanor Burke tells us how memory, music, and sustainability converge in a radical reimagining of Brontë’s classic – and how a labour of love finally reaches the stage.For decades, John Joubert’s opera Jane Eyre sat in relative obscurity – completed over ten years in the 1980s and premiered in concert in 2016, it was a labour of love born not from commission but from deep personal passion. A South African-born British composer, Joubert was best known for his choral music, though his operatic output – of which Jane Eyre was the eighth – remains substantial for a post-war British composer. He died in 2019 at the age of 91 Now, for the first time, the opera comes to the stage in a fully realised production at the Arcola Theatre as part of this year’s Grimeborn Festival. Directed by Eleanor Burke for Green Opera, this long-awaited staging is as much about creative resurrection as it is about radical reinterpretation.‘The opera wasn’t written for a commission,’ says director Eleanor Burke. ‘It was just something John and Ken worked on over more than a decade, purely out of love for the book.’ Joubert and librettist Kenneth Birkin began developing Jane Eyre from 1987 to '97, corresponding by letter – over 700 of them are archived at the British Library – as they shaped the libretto and score. ‘It feels like a real labour of love,’ Burke adds. ‘That slow, careful process gives it a kind of sincerity you can really feel.’But this Jane Eyre is not your textbook period drama. Burke and her team have embraced the opera’s fragmentary structure – beginning as Jane leaves Lowood rather than charting her full life – and reimagined it as a memory play, where episodes resurface like flashes of a vivid, turbulent inner world. ‘It’s emotionally urgent,’ Burke explains. ‘We’re not trying to be comprehensive. We’re following Jane through the memories that made her.’ (...)The opera has been reorchestrated for a chamber ensemble (string quartet, harp, horn, bassoon, piano, and more) by Thomas Ang (who previously reorchestrated Bartok’s Bluebeard’s Castle for Green Opera’s 5-star 2022 production), making it both agile and immersive – ideal for Arcola’s Studio 1. Kenneth Woods, who conducted the opera’s concert premiere, returns to lead the performances, sharing the podium with current Royal Opera Jette Parker Artist Peggy Wu. (Jonathan Whiting)
“On opening the little door,” recounts Wuthering Heights’ Mr Lockwood, “two hairy monsters flew at my throat, bearing me down, and extinguishing the light; while a mingled guffaw from Heathcliff and Hareton put the copestone on my rage and humiliation.” Mockery abounds in Emily Brontë’s 1847 Gothic novel, with comparatively little wholesome laughter. Indeed, Brontë invites the reader to deride the hapless Lockwood; his farcical entry throws into relief the bleak atmosphere of the Heights. It’s a darkly humorous opening that accentuates the wickedness to come.Aspects of the upcoming film adaptation have been met with some derision, which, unlike Brontë, the director probably didn’t intend for. Whether the movie will be unintentionally comical remains to be seen. (Andrew Whitfield)
The event, on July 27, also invokes music legend Kate Bush, coinciding with the annual The Most Wuthering Heights Day Ever in celebration of the artist’s number one hit Wuthering Heights.Last year, Calder Wind Farm Ltd submitted a scoping document to Calderdale Council outlining proposals which, in the company’s revised form, would see 41 giant turbines sited at Walshaw Moor.Campaigners opposing the proposals are concerned about the impact the wind farm might have on peatland and the moorland habitat, including nesting birds, and its impact visually.The dancers – in flowing red dresses – will evoke the spirit of both Emily Brontë and Kate Bush, whose Wuthering Heights song topped the UK charts in 1978.They will be dancing on the moorland surrounding Top Withens, reputedly the inspiration for the setting of the classic novel. (John Greenwood)
In a fragmented age increasingly seduced by the cult of the self, "Wuthering Heights" challenges us to reclaim the difficult virtues that make real community possible.Literary anti-heroes can seem romantic: Holden Caulfield, Hamlet, Meursault, and, chief amongst these brooding men, Wuthering Heights’s Heathcliff. Heathcliff emerges from the pages like a dark elemental force—a creature as wild and ungovernable as the Yorkshire moors that shape and shelter him. Found as a nameless orphan and absorbed reluctantly into a fragile household, he grows into a figure of feral passion and relentless vengeance, unmoored from any communal obligation or moral restraint.Neither fully villain nor tragic hero, Heathcliff embodies a radical individualism so absolute that it corrodes every relationship and every patch of land he touches. His love, fierce and possessive, curdles into hatred; his longing for belonging twists into a campaign of generational revenge. In Heathcliff, we confront the terrifying specter of a soul severed from the common good—a man who forsakes reconciliation and stewardship for the consuming fire of his own wounded will. Through Heathcliff’s alienation, Wuthering Heights serves as a dark meditation on what happens when personal grievance overtakes the common good, echoing contemporary concerns about atomization and social fragmentation. (Read more) (Raleigh Adams)
You might think that a book club hosted by a bar wouldn’t talk much about the book, but you would be wrong.On a recent Wednesday, more than a dozen people settled in at Benny Thunders, 605 Columbia St., in the Heights to delve into the club’s summer classic read - and toxic love study - Wuthering Heights. Over beer and wine from the self-pour taproom, the group hashed out the same questions you might have had if you were ever assigned it in high school English.Was Catherine truly in love with Heathcliff, or was she a psychopath? Was Heathcliff a hero, or the devil? Why is every character in this novel so messed up? (Betsy Denson)
J’ai prévu de lire Les Hauts de Hurlevent, qui s’empoussière chez moi depuis des décennies, dans une édition de poche à la couverture très Dark Romance. C’est peut-être cette illustration orageuse qui m’a tenue éloignée du roman d’Emily Brontë. À moins que je n’aie eu le sentiment de l’avoir lu sans l’avoir lu. Les Hauts de Hurlevent, tout le monde sait à peu près de quoi il retourne. Catherine, Heathcliff, la lande, la passion, la vengeance… Et puis je suis tombée sur ce passage, illustre semble-t-il, mais qui avait échappé à mes radars jusqu’ici : ‘Nelly, je suis Heathcliff ! Il est toujours, toujours dans mon esprit ; non comme un plaisir, pas plus que je ne suis toujours un plaisir pour moi-même, mais comme mon propre être. Ainsi, ne parlez plus de notre séparation ; elle est impossible…’ Ma décision est prise : je vais enfin lire Les Hauts de Hurlevent. (Translation) (Sylvie Tanette)
Which area of England, known for its moors, was the family home of Charlotte, Emily, Anne and Branwell Brontë? (J. D. Biersdorfer)
The lyrics in Violet have attracted much scrutiny and controversy over the years.Love stated that the song had been partially influenced by poems by Alexander Pope, specifically The Dunciad, and Emily Brontë. (Amit Sharma)
Pen names have a long history. Now Liadan Ní Chuinn is shunning publicity in an industry that demands ever more exposure. (...)Writing anonymously or under a pseudonym is a long-established custom in publishing. Jane Austen’s novels were attributed to “a Lady”, Mary Ann Evans went by George Eliot, and the Brontë sisters were Currer, Ellis and Acton Bell. (Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett)
Other, less protest-oriented, MWHDE events; The Hunts Post, KentLive, The Isle of Thanet News...
Kharmel Cochrane, the casting director of Emerald Fennell’s adaptation of Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights has defended the choice of Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi for the leading roles.Speaking at the Sands film festival in Scotland, Cochrane responded to criticism of both actors’ ages and Elordi’s ethnicity by saying there was “no need to be accurate” as the source material is “just a book”, Deadline reported.Brontë’s novel is set in the late 1700s in rural Yorkshire and depicts the passionate relationship between Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff, an orphan fostered by her father, who is described in the book as having dark hair, dark eyes and dark skin. Many believe the character is meant to hail from a Romany or Gypsy background, which accounts for much of the prejudice against him.Most big and small screen adaptations of the novel have ignored this, with the character having been played by actors including Ralph Fiennes, Tom Hardy and Timothy Dalton. However, Andrea Arnold’s 2011 adaptation did cast a mixed race actor, James Howson, in the role.Both Howson and his co-star, Kaya Scodelario, were also a similar age to the characters in the novel, who are in their early 20s for much of the story. Robbie is 34, while Elordi – who also hails from Australia – is 27.“There was one Instagram comment that said the casting director should be shot,” said Cochrane. “But just wait till you see it, and then you can decide whether you want to shoot me or not. But you really don’t need to be accurate. It’s just a book. That is not based on real life. It’s all art.”She continued: “There’s definitely going to be some English Lit fans that are not going to be happy. Wait until you see the set design, because that is even more shocking. And there may or may not be a dog collar in it.”Her response also met with online comebacks. “So they saw the whitewashing backlash and proceeded to ignore it,” wrote one user on X. Another flagged Wuthering Heights’ engagement with contemporary issues. “A classic book that famously talks about class politics, racism & the patriarchal system of the time.” (Catherine Shoard)
Literary icons find new life through music, with Sense & Sensibility: The Musical and Jane Eyre, an Arcola Theatre co-production, elevated by the operatic language of John Joubert. [...]Jane Eyre (6 – 9 August): Arcola Theatre and Green Opera present John Joubert’s bold new adaptation of Charlotte Brontë’s literary masterpiece.
The Century Club, 61-63 Shaftesbury Ave, London W1D 6LQSaturday 2nd September 2023, 7.30pmThe Cruck Barn, Pendle Heritage Centre, Barrowford, Burnley, BB9 6JQSun 3rd September 2023, 3pmExperience the haunting beauty of Jane Eyre at this preview of John Joubert’s opera ahead of its world staged premiere. Join us as we unveil a sneak peek into this extraordinary opera, featuring a selection of pieces that bring to life Jane Eyre’s emotional journey. From the tender melodies that evoke Jane’s innermost desires to the sweeping arrangements that mirror the stormy landscapes of her life, each note resonates with raw emotion and unyielding spirit.But that’s not all. Green Opera will go beyond the boundaries of traditional opera performances. On the night, you will be able to engage in conversation with the creative team behind this remarkable production, gaining unique insights into their artistic vision and the intersection of opera and environmental sustainability.Cast & CreativesLaura Mekhail – JaneThomas Chenhall – RochesterElspeth Wilkes – Pianist
Broadway World informs of the full programme of productions in the 2023 Grimeborn Opera Festival, at the Arcola Theatre. A couple of the new productions are big (Brontë) news.
Green Opera presentsBy John Joubert, libretto by Kenneth Birkin after Charlotte Brontë6 September – 9 September 2023After a triumphant run of Bluebeard’s Castle at Grimeborn 2022 (***** British Theatre), Green Opera, the first environmentally-sustainable opera company, returns to Grimeborn with the first stage production of John Joubert’s moving and dynamic adaptation of Charlotte Brontë’s classic novel. Featuring a diverse cast in a dynamic new staging, this production explores the enduring struggle for freedom in a world that refuses to accept the individual.
Keynote Opera in association with Docklands Sinfonia presents the premiere ofLisa Logan’s Opera based on the play by Polly TealeSeptember 12-Septeber 16Directed by Katharina KasteningConducted by Alex IngramThe world premiere of a compelling literary detective story about the turbulent lives of the Brontë sisters – based upon an acclaimed play by Polly Teale. In 1845, Branwell Brontë returns home in disgrace, plagued by his addictions. As he descends into alcoholism and insanity, bringing chaos to the household, his sisters write… Polly Teale’s powerful play, adapted as an opera by composer Lisa Logan, evokes the real and imagined worlds of the Brontës, as their fictional characters Jane Eyre, Rochester, Cathy, Nelly and Heathcliff come to haunt their creators.
John Joubert composed an opera based on which 1847 novel by Charlotte Brontë? (Olav Bjortomt)
With rare exceptions, such as Jean Rhys’s “Wide Sargasso Sea” (a prequel to “Jane Eyre” that imagines the first Mrs Rochester), messing with another writer’s characters tends to be tricky business. (Alexandra Jacobs)
What was the magical book that hooked you into reading? in The Grand Island Independent:Wuthering Heights (1847)“My interpretation of Wuthering Heights as a child was the same as my interpretation of Romeo and Juliet; I never saw them as tragedies but stories of unending love. Reading Wuthering Heights as an adult gave me a totally different story; that book is messed up, and as a child, you don't have the mental capacity to fully understand it,” a bookworm adds. (Gabrielle Reeder)
I thought it would be even more interesting to ask our library board what their favorites are, and they shared “Sylvester and the Magic Pebble” by William Steig, “The Monster at the End of This Book Starring Lovable Furry Old Grover” by Jon Stone, “Jane Eyre” by Charlotte Bronte, “The Phantom Toll Booth” by Norton Juster, “Charlotte’s Web” by E.B. White, “Nancy Drew” series by Carolyn Keene and the adult book “Running with Scissors” by Augusten Burroughs. (Celine Swan)
"Lui è più me di me stessa". È una frase tratta da Cime tempestose, il romanzo di Emily Bronte, e svela un trasporto, un amore totale di una donna verso un uomo. Di recente vi sarà capitato di sentire questa frase in un film. Quel film è After, primo film tratto dalla fortunata saga letteraria young adult di Anna Todd, arrivato al cinema nel 2019, diretto da Jenny Gage, per diventare campione di incassi: 69,5 milioni di dollari in tutto il mondo. (...)Ma una cosa che ci piace, e che rende il film originale, è che la saga di After flirta continuamente con la cultura, e in particolare con la grande letteratura del passato. I numi tutelari di questi libri, e di questi film, sono Emily Bronte, con il suo Cime tempestose, e Jane Austen, con Orgoglio e pregiudizio. (Maurizio Ermisino) (Translation)
Ce couple, par contre, est conservé lorsqu'une œuvre transfictionnelle s'ajoute — et non pas : se substitue — au texte original, comme le fait La Prisonnière des Sargasses de Jean Rhys, où l'on accède à la perspective de l'épouse réduite au silence et à la captivité dans le Jane Eyre de Charlotte Brontë. La force à la fois narrative, stylistique et idéologique de ce livre tient précisément à cela : à sa relation à un autre texte, à son action sur la lecture de cet autre texte. C'est cette confrontation des lectures (Jauss dirait : ce dialogue des horizons d'attente) que l'on perd en même temps que la distinction entre original et version, et c'est pourquoi cette dernière m'apparaît de la plus haute importance, aujourd'hui. (Translation)
The Ayuntamiento of Adeje reminds us that the Brontës published under pseudonyms. Smart English Notes publishes a character sketch of Mr Rochester. Radarmedia (Romania) announces the broadcast of Jane Eyre 2011 next April 7 in ProCinema. A passing Wuthering Heights reference in a poem by Luys D'Ariel as read in Zenda Libros (Argentina). AnneBrontë.org shares Charlotte Brontë's views on marriage and life.
A Man's Mind: Emily BrontëTalk by Christopher Cooper
Saturday 13th November 10am for 10.30am
Castlereagh Boutique Hotel (near Town Hall Station) at 10:30amSydney, Australia
Monsieur Heger is reported as having described Emily as having a ‘man’s mind’. By this he meant that she had a logical mind. As a mathematician I would say that she had a "mathematician's" mind. She had little more than the rudiments of mathematics in her education, but I recognise that in Wuthering Heights she displayed an innate appreciation of some of the fundamental ideas of higher mathematics such as complexity, nested structures and symmetry. In her novel she has planted a logic puzzle in terms of reconstructing its chronology. She displays complex symmetry in its genealogical aspects. She goes into great detail concerning the architecture and hardware of the two houses and even includes examples of at least fifteen different uses for windows. Moreover she deliberately omits the scenes that neither house could witness. Wuthering Heights is not so much about nature and the moors, but rather about the two houses. Could it be that the novel is a story in which those two houses are the main characters?
November 13 @ 7:30 pm - 9:30 pmCross Street Unitarian Chapel, ManchesterA bicentenary celebration for Anne Brontë will take place in Manchester on Saturday, November 13th 2021. Postponed from 2020 due to the pandemic, this unique concert event features choral settings of Anne’s words, written specially for the occasion, as well as new poetry inspired by Anne’s life and example. Lucy Pankhurst, BBC commissionee of The Pankhurst Anthem, has composed the title work which sits alongside other new settings by Paul Vowles and by American composers Cristi Cary Miller, Judith Herrington and Dale Trumbore. There is also music by John Rutter, David Fanshawe and John Joubert. The performers are Manchester Musicians’ Choir, Withington Girls’ School Choir, soprano Lesley-Jane Rogers, pianists Janet Simpson and Wendy Nugent and Brontë scholar Nick Holland. Poets Liliana Pasterska, Philip Watts and Edwin Stockdale will perform their own works. Artistic Director: Pamela Nash.
If the canon hadn’t adapted to include women, the works of Austen, Virginia Woolf, Sylvia Plath and the Brontë sisters might never have been taken seriously. (Katie Russell)Great fans of Harry Potter as we are, we think that equating the study of the works of the above-mentioned writers with Harry Potter is a bit too much.
The issue of whether March idealism can be sustained into adulthood opens up further questions. Are some gifted women who keep girlhood going destined to be outsiders? There was the intransigent solitary, Emily Brontë; and Dickinson keeping to her room in Amherst; and George Eliot’s calling herself an “outlaw” and “failure of nature” because she could not conform to what was expected. A larger question is what women at full strength might contribute to civilisation.Also in New Statesman, author Edna O'Brien speaks about 'the elusive “love object” that has haunted her life'.
In A Room of One’s Own (1929), Virginia Woolf is explicit in stating that “the great problem of the true nature of women” is one she cannot solve. The answer, she says, must wait for her sex to be tested in politics and the professions. Another 100 years, she judges. Well, we’re almost there: only ten more years to go.
“It’s very hard to get this Love Object, even bodily,” she says, plucking the air with her fingers. “Because one’s influences as a child are so muddled. I mean, Heathcliff would have been an influence in my childhood, the very name. And I’m sorry to sound extremely bonkers, but Jesus Christ was an influence. So there was Catholic imagery, Gothic imagery and wildness all lumped in with a great mind, and good looks – I should have mentioned the good looks. Now, that’s a tall order in life. It’s unrealisable.” (Kate Mossman)The Hollywood Reporter features 2018 Democratic candidate for governor of Georgia Stacey Abrams's defence of the power of a good story.
"My mom called us the genteel poor — we had no money but we watched PBS and we read books," she said. Her mother was a librarian and would sign them up as volunteers so they could see plays for free. Her father, a shipyard worker, "left home every morning before daybreak, but he never failed to tuck us in on Friday nights with a never-ending bedtime story that rivaled the best sagas ever penned by Octavia Butler or Charlotte Brontë." (Tara Bitran)El Periódico (Spain) features Ángeles Caso's compilation of great love letters by great writers.
Así que el otro día me alegré mucho al encontrar en la mesa de novedades de mi librería el volumen 'Quiero escribirte esta noche una carta de amor. La correspondencia pasional de quince grandes escritoras y sus historias' de la fantástica Ángeles Caso. La autora escribe una breve biografía de cada escritora –de la abadesa Eloísa a Virginia Woolf, pasando por la abadesa Hildegarda de Bingen, George Sand, Charlotte Brontë o Elizabeth Barrett Browning, por citar a algunas de mis favoritas- seguida de una selección de sus cartas de amor. (Milena Busquets) (Translation)Malvern Gazette features the English Symphony Orchestra.
"Since 2013, the orchestra has re-emerged as a major force in British musical life, presenting and recording the orchestra’s first full-length opera (the world premiere of John Joubert’s Jane Eyre) to overwhelming critical acclaim, presenting the 2015 and 2016 Classical Music Magazine “Premiere of the Year,” and releasing a triumphant series of recordings including Donald Fraser’s orchestration of the Elgar Piano Quintet (Classic FM Disc of the Week) and the Complete Piano Concertos of Ernst Krenek (Sunday Times Best Recordings of 2016)." (Gary Bills-Geddes)Sky Statement lists 'Romance icon Dilip Kumarâs most famous on-screen pairings', including
Dilip Kumar & Waheeda RehmanStylist has a lovely selection of Christmas poems, including Anne Brontë's 'Music On Christmas Morning'. Britain on Page and Screen has a brief post on the possible connection between Norton Conyers and Jane Eyre.
She was the yin to his yang. The grace to his glamour. Waheeda Rehman and Dilip gave memorable films like Aadmi, Dil Diya Dard Liya and Ram Aur Shyam, during the ’60s. While Ram Aur Shyam was an all-out entertainer, Aadmi and Dil Diya Dard Liya dwelled on the dark recesses of a lover’s heart. “Waheeda Rehman was wonderfully sprightly in Ram Aur Shyam and equally intense in Dil Diya Dard Liya,” thus described Dilip his co-star in his book. Dil Diya Dard Liya, based on Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights, hinged on hurt and hate, aided by Naushad’s soulful tunes like Phir teri kahani yaad aayee, Koi sagar dil ko behlata nahin.
A couple of months ago, ASC records released the complete piano music of John Joubert:The Complete Solo Piano Music of John JoubertIncludes:
Duncan Honeybourne, pianist
February 22, 2019
ASC Records - Prima Facie
Duncan Honeybourne performs the complete piano music of John Joubert, the eminent composer who sadly passed away in January 2019. Joubert had written to the pianist Duncan Honeybourne to congratulate him on this new, comprehensive recording only days before his passing. The album therefore serves as a fitting tribute to his musical life.
10 Lyric Fantasy on themes from the opera Jane Eyre, Op. 144
Tuneful, tonal and traditional composer who wrote an opera based on Jane Eyre, but is best known for his carol Torches! [...]The Guardian Book Club writer wonders which book about love they should read this month.
Of his other operas, Jane Eyre (1997), its text drawn from Charlotte Brontë’s novel, enjoyed the longest gestation and received the most attention.
This month on the reading group we’re asking for nominations of books about love. Since Valentine’s Day is on the way, and since last month’s choice of a funny book, Good Omens, was such a tonic we want to continue the positivity. A little human warmth can never go amiss, after all.Good Housekeeping lists 'The 20 Best Romance Novels of All Time, According to Dedicated Readers', including
It’s also undeniable that love is a big topic in literature. In its own way, the epic of Gilgamesh and Enkidu is a love story, as is the Iliad and a healthy percentage of all literature since.
A quick scan of my own shelves suggests books as varied as Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin, In the Skin of a Lion by Michael Ondaatje, Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë, A Month in the Country by JL Carr, The Passion by Jeanette Winterson, The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway, Oscar and Lucinda by Peter Carey, Emma by Jane Austen – and, oh yes, Romeo and Juliet by that jobbing writer Shakespeare. (Sam Jordison)
13. Jane EyreWashingtonian recommends '12 Amazing Romantic Getaways for Every Type of Couple'.
Charlotte Brontë
The second-oldest book on the list, this 1847 novel tells the tale of courageous governess and heroine Jane Eyre and her brooding employer with a terrible secret, Mr. Rochester. The first-person narrative set a new standard for what romance could be — no wonder readers still love it more than 170 years later. (Caroline Picard)
If Your Idea of Romance Is: A Nora Roberts NovelTimes of India highlights some 'Wise words from Jane Eyre'.
Ensconce yourself in a room named for some of literature’s most famous lovers—Elizabeth and Darcy from Pride and Prejudice, Jane and Rochester from Jane Eyre. That’s the theme of Inn BoonsBoro, owned by author Nora Roberts, who has penned almost 200 romance novels and been in the number-one spot on the New York Times bestseller list almost 200 times. Fans know that Boonsboro, Maryland, where the property is located, inspired the Inn BoonsBoro trilogy and is where fictional characters Clare, Avery, and the Montgomery brothers lived and loved. (Grace Cutler, Sherri Dalphonse, Dale Leatherman, Joe Sugarman and Andrea Poe)
'Jane Eyre' is a well-loved classic. It was written in 1847 but the emotions it describes are timeless. Even the situations in it can quite relate with some we face today. However the dignity Jane maintains throughout these situations is commendable and the thoughts behind her actions are filled with wisdom. Here are some of Jane's astute observations.Film Inquiry wonders how Star Trek's Holodecks work and recalls the fact that
Captain Kathryn Janeway, in order to deal with the stress of being a captain, often turns to the holodeck to unwind. In a few episodes, she takes part in a holonovel, in which she becomes a Jane Eyre-es[q]ue governess for a rich man with two children. (Radha Pyari Sandhir)Female First features author Kirsty Ferry.
It’s not surprising that I have a particular love of writing ghost stories, as my favourite book is Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights. The idea of Cathy and Heathcliff’s undying passion, and Cathy’s spirit wandering around the moors until the lovers are reunited really struck a chord with me when I devoured that book in my early teens. I always wanted to write something as memorable and, yes, Gothically dark as Wuthering Heights, but I soon realised it was an impossible task. I don’t know of anyone who has such a mastery of words, or can write so many memorable speeches as Emily Brontë, and she proved a hard act to follow. So I settled for writing a different sort of ghost story - timeslips, where the past and present collide.A columnist from Radio Reloj (Cuba) praises both novel and writer as well.
un Hitchcock de la Cataluña interior, con unas ‘tietes’ como hermanas Brontë (Vicenç Pagès Jordà) (Translation)Granma (Cuba) looks at which new books to look forward to this year.
ARTE Y LITERATURA, LETRAS UNIVERSALES PARA TIThe Depauw reviews the film The Favourite.
Fundada en 1967, la Editorial Arte y Literatura es una de las instituciones de la cultura cubana que, a través de diez colecciones y por más de 50 años, ha ofrecido a sus lectores las maravillas de la literatura universal.
Con seis novedades (y la presentación de muchos otros de sus títulos), la más universal de las editoriales cubanas llega a la Feria con las siguientes propuestas: la novela de ciencia ficción Frankenstein, de Mary W. Shelley; El fantasma de la ópera, de Gastón Leroux; Orgullo y prejuicio, de Jane Austen, y Thérèse Raquin, de Émile Zola, de Ediciones Huracán; Jane Eyre, de Charlotte Brontë (clásicos); y Drácula, de Bram Stoker. (Translation)
I am not always a big fan of period pieces, but this film seemed as if it would transcend my typical expectations of this genre. Often when I think about period pieces I’m imagining 5-hour- long interpretations of Jane Eyre, which can be good, but what I wasn’t in the mood for when I went to the movies that day. (Emma Mazurek)BBC News has asked several experts of whether HMV can be saved and one them says that,
"When you want to buy a Charlotte Brontë novel, a Shostakovich piece, or Cinema Paradiso they are going to be the same wherever you buy them from."According to Evening Standard, Boden's best-elling dress at the moment is their Brontë dress.
Heritage Workshop: Brontë Needle Roll & Regency Embroidery
Where: Duttons for Buttons, 32 Coppergate, York, YO1 9NR
When: 6 February
10:00am to 4:00pm
How much: £50
Contact: york@duttonsforbuttons.co.uk
01904632042
Heritage Workshop: Brontë Needle Roll & Regency Embroidery
Sew a needle roll just like Charlotte Brontë’s and study Regency embroidery patterns and designs. Learn a range of hand-stitches and personalise your roll with lace, ribbon and beads in the tradition of 19th century ladies. Taught by textile artist Helen Barnes.
'My soul is awakened, my spirit is soaring— Brontë Parsonage (@BronteParsonage) January 17, 2019
And carried aloft on the wings of the breeze;
For above and around me the wild wind is roaring,
Arousing to rapture the earth and the seas.'
Anne Brontë was born #OTD in 1820. pic.twitter.com/6gnZRPInGT
A few years ago, Siva Oke, founder of Somm Recordings, approached me with the idea of premiering and recording Joubert’s magnum opus, his opera Jane Eyre, a work begun in 1987 which had been languishing without a professional performance for years. Our goal was to make Jane Eyre the focal point of the celebrations of John’s ninetieth-birthday. Jane Eyre was to become the work through which I would get to know John and his music.And from The Guardian:
Whatever our expectations were for the scope of this project, nothing could really prepare us for the enormity of the task. In spite of the exceptional quality of the work, John’s advancing age and the obvious interdisciplinary appeal of a major new operatic setting of one of the most popular novels in the English language (during the Charlotte Brontë bicentennial, no less), raising the money needed to bring this huge work to life proved a truly Herculean task. In its original three-Act form, Jane Eyre is almost Wagnerian in scale. In order to make the premiere a more manageable task, John cheerfully and pragmatically adapted the work into a two-Act score, excising the wonderful entr’actes and cutting some scenes. If the original version has an epic quality, the two-Act revision has a directness and intensity not far from scores like Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle or Richard Strauss’s Salome. Throughout this whole process, John’s approach to his beloved score was always eminently practical. He managed a process of revision that many composers would resent in such a way that the result was a very different but equally magnificent opera, and he was able to re-work the cut orchestral music into a Third Symphony. [...]
When at last the premiere of Jane Eyre arrived on 25 October 2016 (review below), it was a blessed occasion. John was rewarded at the end of the concert with a standing ovation from both the audience and the orchestra, and both the premiere and the recording which was released a few months later have been greeted with universal praise. I am certain that in time, Jane Eyre will take its place in the repertoire alongside works like Britten’s Peter Grimes and Stravinsky’s Rake’s Progress as one of the greatest and most-beloved English-language operas. It is a remarkable work of music theatre, a sublime vehicle for singing and a profound and moving response to a literary masterpiece.
How long it takes Jane Eyre, and John’s other major works, to earn its rightful place in the repertoire remains an infuriatingly open question. In his review of the premiere, Richard Bratby wrote in The Spectator: “At the end of the performance the audience rose and, applauding, turned to the 89-year old Joubert. I was left with the unhappy thought that this one-off outing in a suburban school hall was in all probability the only time that the composer will get to hear his vital, warm-blooded creation performed live. We tut disapprovingly at the way Victorian Britain forced its composers on to a treadmill of oratorios. But in Joubert we’ve taken a born musical dramatist and pigeonholed him as a composer of Christmas carols. Barring a David Pountney or a James Conway throwing the resources of a national opera company behind it, the odds of Jane Eyre receiving the full professional staging it begs for are vanishingly small. And there’d still be the problem of attracting an audience that’s long since learned to run a mile from an unfamiliar name. This, reader, is why we can’t have nice things.”
In the end, in spite of monumental efforts by all those involved in the premiere and others to organise a full production of Jane Eyre while John was still with us, Bratby’s grim prognostication proved all too true. John never heard the work live again. [...]
While John’s music is grounded in tonality and deeply connected to tradition, it is music that overflows not only with mastery of technique, but with originality, passion and personality. John is one of the most accomplished and individual orchestrators I know. Jane Eyre, which has not a single special effect or extended technique in it, is overflowing with textures, sounds and timbral combinations I’ve never seen anywhere else, always at the service of the drama and the musical ideas. Scored for remarkably small forces, John manages to generate everything from huge symphonic sweep to a spikier, more modernist soundscape to the most intimate pianissimos. By having each of the four woodwind players double, he’s able to create a huge range of sounds. I’ve never heard anything quite like the duet for contrabassoon and bass clarinet John wrote near the end of Act One of Jane Eyre.
John’s writing for the human voice is challenging and exposed, but he understood it, whether in opera or choir, to perfection, and his ability to set texts is second to none. John’s response to Kenneth Birkin’s excellent libretto in Jane Eyre is so natural that one forgets, for once, how difficult it is to set English clearly and naturally in music. Listening to almost any other English-language opera after Jane Eyre will make one appreciate John’s understanding of both the sound and the meaning of the words.
And while John’s music is tonal, his harmonic language is distinctive and original. Although critical responses to Jane Eyre have often rightly suggested the influence of operatic masters like Janáček and Richard Strauss, I challenge anyone to find a chord in Jane Eyre that anyone else would have organised and orchestrated as John has. Of course there are evocations of past masters in John’s music. As a composer who takes part in the ongoing struggle to re-invent, renew and revitalise our precious tradition, he invokes the work of his forbears just as Strauss did Wagner or Brahms did Beethoven.
There were also eight operas, or nine counting the two distinct versions of his last, Jane Eyre. Composed in 1987-97 in three acts, it was recast in 2014-15, with much of the discarded music reworked as his Symphony No 3, completed in 2017. (Guy Rickards)More music, if of a totally different sort. Forbes features The Bookshop Band:
The Bookshop Band has also done special commissions, working with The Pompidou Centre in Paris on songs related to Beat Generation poets and writers, with the The National Portrait Gallery in London on songs inspired by the Brontë sisters, with literary festivals such as the Wigtown Book Festival in Scotland and The V&A Museum for Shakespeare’s 450th birthday, penning tunes inspired by his plays.The Washington Post reviews The War Journals, 1941-1945 by Ernst Junger.
Many of his lunchtime walks take Jünger to the city’s print dealers and antiquarian booksellers — “oases in a world of carnage.” He reads widely: Pliny’s letters and a glossary of medieval Latin, a biography of the Brontë sisters, the essays of Léon Bloy and Joseph Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness.” At bedtime he gradually makes his way through the Bible twice. (Michael Dirda)The Eternal Couch Potato posts about the 1949 Studio One production of Jane Eyre.
Unless explicitly said
