Pianist and Courtesan

Anaïs Li

Presents

Demi-Monde: A Lecture-Recital

A programme of C19 piano music frames an exploration of the continuing history of the relationship between sex work and the arts

Verdi-Thalberg: Fantasy on La traviata (8’30”)

Weber: Invitation To The Dance Op. 65 (8’)

Wagner/Liszt: Isolde’s Liebestod (7’20”)

Interval

Liszt: La Lugubre Gondola S.200/1 (6’20”)

Henri Herz: La Carlotta Grisi, grande valse (3’)

Commissioned work (5’)

Liszt: Rhapsodie espagnole S.254, R.90 (13’)

To set the scene, I begin with a virtuoso piano paraphrase on La traviata, referencing perhaps the most famous and romanticized courtesan story in the classical canon. In the novel on which the opera is based, La Dame aux camélias, the heroine is an amateur pianist, a detail which draws attention to the abnormal educational opportunities afforded by sex work to women from inauspicious backgrounds. In one scene she practices Weber’s Invitation to the Dance, to be played next in the programme. Marie Duplessis, the real-life courtesan on which both book and opera are based, had a love affair with Franz Liszt; Liszt’s arrangement of Wagner’s emotionally charged and highly erotic Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde will conclude the first half.

In the second half, Liszt’s Lugubre Gondola takes us to Venice, giving me an opportunity to touch on the important history of C16 Venetian courtesan-singers, ancestors of the opera diva archetype that flourished in later centuries and lives on to this day. Returning to C19 Paris, I continue to explore the historical conflation of sex work and the performing arts, talking a little about the Paris Opera, which essentially functioned as an upscale brothel connecting ballerinas with ‘patrons’. La Carlotta Grisi, a short waltz by Henri Herz which I have programmed next, was named after one of the most celebrated dancers of the era.

Herz himself plays a significant role in the fabric of this narrative, as the renowned courtesan La Païva began her career as his mistress. La Païva went on to run one of the most famed salons of the time; many such salons were hosted by courtesans, and were a crucial feature of the artistic and intellectual landscape of Paris. To illustrate how sex work has empowered me to continue this tradition, I will talk about my own interdisciplinary projects and (potentially) perform a piece I will have personally commissioned.

Unsurprisingly, Marie Duplessis was not the only courtesan with whom Liszt had an affair. In homage to Lola Montez, who styled herself as a Spanish dancer, the programme will end with Liszt’s delightfully showy Rhapsodie espagnole.

Sex work has always had a special function in providing an interface between wealth and art, and in a world increasingly defined by bureaucratic alienation, its capacity to offer a personal connection between patron and artist is more meaningful than ever. In the light of continuing issues surrounding anti-sex work legislation, I hope this lecture-recital might draw attention to the illustrious history and immense positive potential of this industry.

Running time: approximately 2hrs including a half hour interval