William Morris Gallery

           We were a bit skeptical of the William Morris Gallery once we realized what a trek it would be to get there. We hopped on our usual tube stop, Queensway, and rode the central line to Oxford Circus. We then switched to the perpetually crowded Victoria line and rode it to Blackhorse Road. Very ominous, indeed. From there, we hopped on a bus which delivered us right to the gallery’s entrance. Upon arrival we were pleasantly surprised. The building and surrounding gardens were gorgeous, and spring had sprung in the form of yellow and pink tulips. Quite honestly, entering the museum and gallery we knew very literally of William Morris. We knew he was an early artisan and socialist and an important designer in 19^th century England, but that was about it. By the time we left, coincidentally around the same time news of the Westminster attacks were surfacing, we were all experts on William Morris.

          Morris was a man of various talents. He was, again, a designer but also a poet, a craftsman, and a social activist. His ultimate goal was to transform and beautify the Victorian age. He loathed the effects of industrialization and saw the pollution, disease, and dilapidation that came with it as an assault to the potential beauty of his world. He also used his arts and crafts to further his dreams of socialism. He was, indeed, a socialist in the most traditional sense of the word. The house that now acts as a museum about him was his teenage home and now features some of his designs, and several of his most poignant quotes (my favorite part). I’ve included a few below.

          For the most part, these quotes encapsulate William Morris. Beauty was his first priority and ensuring that beauty as well as education, freedom, and health were accessible to all was a close second. A system which allowed the property-owning of society to benefit from the labor of working-class people infuriated Morris. He wanted revolution, not a gradual, pain-staking process, in order to transform the system and to ensure the distribution of goods and services did not lie solely in the hands of the powerful. He also cared about the environment. His dislike of industrialization extended to this end as well. He really had an opinion about every issue, but he’s known today most for his craftsmanship, his poetry, and his unrelenting love and fight for beauty. 

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT WILLIAM MORRIS:

https://www.william-morris.co.uk/

A site still selling the crafts of the original Morris & Co. and educating the masses on Morris’s legacy.

http://www.vam.ac.uk/page/w/william-morris/

The Victoria and Albert Museum’s exploration of William Morris

http://www.morrissociety.org/

The William Morris Society’s base in the United States advertising opportunities for involvement. Also representative of the man’s reach and influence.

Royal Ballet

On Tuesday March 21, 2017, we went to the Royal Opera House to watch the Royal Ballet perform. We were lucky to see a program of three different dances: The Human Seasons / After the Rain / the world premiere of Flight Pattern by Crystal Pite, and works by Christopher Wheeldon and David Dawson. The Human Seasons was a fascinating performance inspired by Keat's poem, The Human Seasons. It was interesting to put a powerful visual with the performance after having discussed the poem earlier in class. The performance showed the vitality and movement of humans and how they grow and shake during their life. After the Rain showed the beauty when normally people are fearful of getting wet. The dancers were strong through the entire performance and at the end one the rain had gone there was brightness and beauty left. Flight Pattern was the most literal one visually. The way the dancers moved and presented themselves made them easily become birds without much imagination needed. Their arms flew smoothly and they danced around the stage as a whole, having the flock fly smoothly. One Villanova student commented at the end that, "The ballet was more interesting than I thought it would be. So much emotion evoked through movement. The costumes really helped set the scene and I loved the group movement. I am really glad I got to experience this art form, it has definitely opened my eyes to another side of art."

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Rigoletto

RIGOLETTO

The version of Rigoletto put on by ENO (English National Opera) moves the original setting of Manua, Italy to our home country in the city of Little Italy New York. Although we were at first skeptical about this move, this play did an excellent job in adapting Rigoletto to an entirely new setting. The sets constructed by the stage crew, especially the Bar/Club scenes, evoked 1950’s New York so convincingly it felt as though we were there. Honestly, I now cannot picture Rigoletto being set anywhere else. I think I speak for everyone in the group when I say that I was not originally looking forward to seeing a three hour long opera; however, there is something about live orchestra music that never fails to send shivers down the listeners’ spines.

A downside though: hearing every single line sung did get a bit excessive. But at the same time certain dramatics were amplified by the booming voices. In Gilda's death scene at the end of the opera, for example, the powerful singing voices of Rigoletto and his daughter Gilda tapped into a raw emotion that would have been hard to stage otherwise. In all fairness, I don’t think the final scene could have been pulled off in a spoken play, at least not nearly as powerfully as in opera .

At least for me, this was my first introduction to opera. I didn’t expect to like it in any way, shape, or form, but I honestly thoroughly enjoyed my experience watching ENO’s Rigoletto. I encourage anyone who has the opportunity to visit the opera to do so. I believe you will not regret it.

St. Paul's Cathedral

St. Paul’s Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral and an iconic London landmark dating back to 604 AD. St Paul’s was founded by Saint Mellitus, a monk who arrived in Britain with Saint Augustine, in 604 AD on a mission from the pope. The present Cathedral is considered the treasure of one of Britain's most famous architects, Sir Christopher Wren, and is thought to be at least the fourth building to have stood on the site. It was constructed from 1675 to 1710 after its predecessor was destroyed in the Great Fire of London, and the first services were held in 1697. This was the first Cathedral to be built after the English Reformation in the sixteenth century and is today the seat of the Bishop of London and the mother church of the Diocese of London.

Image by Rowan Yeni

On our visit to the cathedral, we were first struck by the sheer size of the building. The structure is massive taking up a whole city block and a massive dome rising u and dominating the skyline on London. Upon entering the inside was just as impressive as the exterior. Sky high, magnificently painted ceilings, ornately carved archways, and a stunning golden alter all add to the grandeur of the brilliant cathedral floor. After a brief moment of admiration, we quickly made our way to the stairs to get an up close view of the iconic dome. 

Image by Rowan Yeni

We made our way up a spiral staircase until we reached the whispering gallery, the first level of the dome. From this platform, we were able to see the beautiful paintings covering the enormous dome. As we walked around the balcony we were able to experience the whispering the gallery is named after as other visitors whispered into the walls and we heard them from the opposite side. One student likened this to the whispers heard by Hogwarts students in the Chamber of Secrets, an apt reference for the eerie whispers of disembodied voices. From here we walked up another staircase to the first outdoor platform of the dome, the Stone Gallery. From the outside of the dome, we had an amazing view of London and enjoyed bing able to spot places we recognized and watch the city bustle beneath us. After taking in the sights we made our way back inside to climb up a final, seemingly endless, spiral staircase to the final level of the dome, the Golden Gallery. This platform was much smaller and considerably more crowded but had a breathtaking bird’s-eye view of the city. 

Image by Marisa Sully

Image by Marisa Sully

While we thoroughly enjoyed our visit we were confused as to why St. Paul’s charges for admission. As one Villanova student remarked, “I feel like a church should be free, it doesn’t seem right for a church to take our money just for a visit.” As a group we largely agreed and after our visit decided to look into it as we’ve encountered this in many churches around Europe during our travels. After returning home Lisa found an interesting article about a man who objected to paying a fee to see St. Paul’s. This man’s experience echoed our concerns and gave some interesting insight into the consequences of churches requiring entrance fees for people wishing to tour religious spaces. 

For more information please see:

Guardian article about one man's problem with having to pay an admission fee to see St. Paul’s: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2010/jul/20/st-pauls-entrance-fee-religion 

An article about why and how to visit St. Paul’s:

https://strawberrytours.com/london/landmarks/st-pauls-cathedral   

St. Paul’s website: 

https://www.stpauls.co.uk/