The Forbidden Planet International Blog Log

You might remember a few months back (see here) I mentioned that BBC radio announced Alan More was to collaborate with Jamie Hewlett and Damon Albarn on an opera, with Moore writing the libretto, but there were no more details at the time. Now some more information has come out, with Albarn telling the media the opera will be based on the fascinating life of John Dee, one of the most remarkable figures from the Elizabethan era.

(16th century portrait of John Dee, artist unknown, borrowed from Wiki)

Dee is an intriguing man, highly educated and skilled in maths and astronomy but also working in alchemy and, in later years, using a scryer to try and call forth angels to learn secret knowledge (he filled huge amounts of meticulous notes on the supposed communications). He’s somewhere between the early days of modern science and older ways of looking at the world (it’s well worth reading a biography on Dee, by the way), a historical figure I’d imagine would have much resonance with our Great Bearded Comics Wizard of Albion. Given Albarn’s success with the Monkey opera I’d think this has a better chance of getting staged than the seemingly endlessly troubled Spider-Man musical Bono is involved in. (via Gigwise)