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Angelica Frey

Angelica Frey

Angelica Frey is a writer and translator living in Brooklyn, who always tries to write about the highbrow in the lowbrow and vice versa.

Prima ballerina Margot Fonteyn as she appears in Swan Lake, 1951

Odette vs. Odile: A Tale of Two (but Not Opposing) Swans

The distinction between the leading female characters of Swan Lake—the swan princess and her “black” counterpart—initially wasn’t so sharp.

“Let it Go” and “Defying Gravity”: Queer Anthems in Lockstep

The leading songs from Wicked and Frozen emphasize the importance of self-determination and being true to oneself.
The Opera scene from Final Fantasy VI

Why Are Video Games So Fond of Opera?

Video games have a long history of using musical excerpts from opera and classical music, but some creators take the in-game operatic sequence even further.
Mugshot of composer Henry Cowell after being arrested on a "morals" charge. Circa 1936.

Henry Cowell’s One True Desire

To “live in the whole world of music” was all the influential, experimental composer wanted—and did, even while imprisoned at San Quentin.
King Arthur's knights, gathered at the Round Table to celebrate Pentecost, see a vision of the Holy Grail.

T. S. Eliot and the Holy Grail

The Nobel Laureate drew on a centuries-old legend when he put the Fisher King in The Waste Land.
Soap Bubbles by Jean Simeon Chardin, ca.1733

The Soap Bubble Trope

Throughout the history of philosophy, literature, art, and science, people have been fascinated with the shimmering surfaces of soap bubbles.
A classical statute in a strawberry sequined dress

Cottagecore Debuted 2,300 Years Ago

Keeping cozy in a countryside escape, through the ages.