England

The Crown S01E03, “Windsor” (2016)

August 5, 2022 By Professor Elizabeth Coggeshall

In Season 1, Episode 3 of Netflix’s The Crown, Edward, the Duke of Windsor, refers to his family members in Dantesque terms, aligning them with the traitors in the ninth circle. Writing to his wife, he explains [as actor Alex Jennings narrates in a voiceover], “My dear darling Peaches… They say hell is an inferno. What a sunless, frozen hell we both escaped in England. And what a bunch of ice-veined monsters my family are. How cold and thin-lipped, how dumpy and plain. How joyless and loveless.”

Read a recap of the episode (with spoilers) here.

Austin Osman Spare, Earth Inferno (1905)

January 3, 2022 By Professor Arielle Saiber

Created and published when Spare was 18 years old. “Influenced heavily by Dante’s Inferno the book is decorated with poems and aphorisms in an aesthetic style and clearly shows the design influence of Spare’s early supporter Charles Ricketts. Each pair of pages contains a painting and a commentary toward that painting. In addition to excerpts from Dante, the book also contains excerpts from Edward FitzGerald‘s translation of Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam.” –wikipedia

“London: Privately Published. 1905. First Edition. Hardcover. Folio (18″ x 13.75”). 30pp. … Eleven large black and white illustrations (mostly full page) and numerous decorations by Spare throughout. The scarce first edition of Spare’s first published book, SIGNED and numbered by the author. The book was printed for Spare at the Co-operative Printing Society in Tudor Street, London, in February 1905, in an edition of 265 signed and numbered copies… Earth Inferno was a truly remarkable first book. In it the young artist juxtaposed huge, sometimes sinister images with teasing lyrics to create a vivid image of the darkly magical philosophy which informed his world-view.” —Weiser Antiquarian Books

The English Cantos: Journeys with Dante

November 3, 2021 By Hannah Raisner, FSU '25

“You have, through some unfathomable twist of destiny, arrived in a dark and lonesome wood, wherein the straight road no longer lies. Here, in these hallowed pages, you will read of a descent into the depths of the inferno, where light is but a memory. Here, you will find The English Cantos.

Like Dante before him, the poet James Sale takes us on a journey into a contemporary vision of hell and heaven, based off his near-death experience in Ward 17 of Bournemouth General. The English Cantos is an epic told in 33 cantos, using the terza rima of Dante, standing four-square against the meaninglessness of post-modernism. As Virgil guided Dante, so too Dante will guide James on this incredible journey.” –The English Cantos

The blog chronicles James Sale’s efforts to create a contemporary epic of heaven and hell in the style of Dante.

The Dante Project, The Royal Ballet (2021)

October 11, 2021 By Professor Elizabeth Coggeshall

“Presented as part of the 700th anniversary celebrations of the poet’s death, Dante’s epic journey through the afterlife, The Divine Comedy, is realised in a major artistic collaboration between trailblazing forces of the contemporary arts scene.

“In an inaugural co-production with Paris Opera Ballet and music co-commission with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Wayne McGregor’s groundbreaking choreography comes together with a virtuoso new score by one of the most influential musicians of the 21st Century, composer-conductor Thomas Adès, and designs by the acclaimed artist Tacita Dean, celebrated for her pioneering and poetic work across film and other mediums. With esteemed lighting designer Lucy Carter and dramaturg Uzma Hameed, the creative team unite in this three-part work for the full Company to illuminate the extraordinary vision of Dante.” —The Dante Project, Royal Opera House

Book tickets here (runs from October 14-30, 2021).

Stream the ballet here (from October 29, 2021).

A couple of teasers! Watch principals Francesca Hayward and Matthew Ball rehearse Inferno 5 (Paolo and Francesca in the whirlwind), with direction from Wayne McGregor, here.

And watch principals Edward Watson and Sarah Lamb rehearse the meeting with Beatrice in the Earthly Paradise here.

Sarah Crompton, writing for The Guardian, calls the performance “bold, beautiful, emotional and utterly engaging. The opening section, Inferno, where Dante (Watson) journeys to hell in the company of Virgil (Gary Avis), all but blows your socks off.” Read the review here.

Dante 700th London

September 10, 2021 By Professor Arielle Saiber

Visit the 3D exhibition here

“ma per trattar del ben ch’i vi trovai” Divina Commedia, Inferno Canto I

DANTE 700TH London
3rd – 30th September 2021
Dante Society London 22, Bryanston Mews West London W1H 2DD

Visits to the exhibition by appointment only. Contact us by mail.

The exhibition with the participation of a collective of artists from Italy, the United Kingdom, China and the United States of America will take place in London at the Dante Society London premises, during the month of September 2021. The artists accepted the invitation to explore and interpret Dante’s writing and its relevance in the 21st century, each with their own unique artistic brilliance. The original interpretations represent an exceptional panorama that celebrates Dante’s anniversary in a special manner and offers a contemporary perspective in the various artistic and multimedia representations.

The selected artists of Dante 700th London:
Bianca Froese-Acquaye, Despina Symeou, Emilio Guazzone, Francesco Filippini, Giuseppe Pipino, Iluà Hauck da Silva, Jackie Carter, Kat Mustatea, Laura Parker, Louise Marchal, Maurizio Coglia, Michela Papavassiliou, Paolo Rambelli, Rocco Epifanio, Shadi Almualem, Teresa Cecchi and la classe di chimica ITT ‘G.E.Montani, Ying Zheng.
Dante 700th London Prize Jury: Alexandra Lawrence, Dario Pisano, Patrizia Poggi.
Our most heartfelt thanks for supporting this initiative.

The winner of the exclusive interview granted by London One Radio, the first Italian radio in the United Kingdom is: Kat Mustatea
Awarded for Voidopolis – a digital performance about loss and memory currently unfolding on her Instagram feed @kmustatea

How to Cite