#1708

Spectacled Caiman (Caiman crocodilus) and a False Coral Snake (Anilius scytale), ca. 1705 - 1710

Artist: Maria Sibylla Merian

Idira Tlass from Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader

"Idira Tlass is an unsanctioned psyker and a diviner who is able to discern events yet to come and paths yet to be uncovered. In the eyes of the Imperium, she's viewed as a mutant and a heretic who is too dangerous to remain alive. That is why Idira, who fell into the Rogue Trader's crew by the will of fate, is traveling on a voidship in secret, hidden from the harsh gaze of Imperial society. She has an incredible yet treacherous talent for discerning the future from the faint whispers of the void. Gifted and somewhat cocky, she makes up for her lack of proper training and caution with her formidable self-control and natural aptitude. Idira’s cavalier attitude and underestimation of the Warp come at a price. With each passing day, she is less and less sure whether the voices in her head are her own thoughts or murmurs from the other side"

Christopher Purves, "Fra l'ombre e gl'orrori" (G.F. Handel)

From Handel's Aci, Galatea e Polifemo, a dramatic cantata written in 1708, this dark aria that likens the singer, as the titular Cyclops Polifemo/Polyphemus, to a spent butterfly that knows no joy or peace, while putting the vocalist, in this case bass-baritone Purves, through a roller coaster of a melody that pushes the upper and lower ranges of the register. Beautifully performed live here by the singer.

The cantata, which Handel later turned into the masque Acis and Galatea, is based on the story in Ovid's Metamorphoses of the love between the sea nymph Galatea and the mortal Acis, which comes to a tragic end thanks to the jealous Cyclops.

The Favourite (2018, Yorgos Lanthimos)