The Language of Flowers : A New Opera
“She drinks, smokes, swears, [and] is scarily ugly”— men would say, yet women would say “she was a lady to her fingertips”. Who was the enigmatic Princess Metternich?
The most infamous belle laide in Paris, she helped birth haute couture, introduced Wagner to Paris, and was a muse to painters such as Degas, had countless songs written about her, was known to turn cartwheels in her crinoline, founded a smokers’ club where she and her friends enjoyed cigars, and smuggled the crown jewels out of France after the Second Empire fell.
She was close to Empress Eugenie, with whom she made waves across Europe with her daring style and enduring friendship.
The threads Princess Pauline Metternich wove into the fabric of western history have mostly been lost to time.
Now, she is largely remembered for her infamous and disputed emancipated topless duel with a countess over a flower arrangement.
So who was the real Pauline Metternich?
Live Performance
19:00-19:30, Sunday 8th August 2021
The Cockpit
Music: Charlotte Marlow
Words: Cecil Castellucci
Full Price: £15; If you can’t afford it: £5.