A London-raised singer-songwriter blended movie and music magic together to create a truly unique experience for her Ontario audience.
Claire Whitehead is the writer of Thelma: A Country Opera which is based off the 1991 classic film Thelma and Louise.
“It tells the story of a woman named Thelma and her [transformation] from a dependent housewife to an independent [outlaw] that discovers freedom [after] meeting her friend Louise,” said Whitehead.
Whitehead, who is the daughter of London jazz guitarist and composer Oliver Whitehead, came to the London Music Hall of Fame Saturday night to perform the opera, and said she was looking forward to returning home.
‘I’m really excited to be playing this in London, because I’m from London and I learned how to play music in London, [so] I’m excited to [come] home.”
Whitehead says the format of the opera consisted of nine country songs split up by clips of the film, with a focus on Thelma’s major changes throughout the story.
She recalls how she was inspired to write the opera piece.
“I was at a dance party [and] someone was projecting the film, and all of my friends stopped dancing and stared at the film. I was mad because I wanted to dance and have fun, so I thought ‘what’s so great about this film?!'”
The singer-songwriter says she went home the next day and decided to watch it and was instantly inspired by Thelma’s transformation.
“I was [also] inspired by the [strong] female relationship in the film, and also the stylistic things in the film like Thelma’s change of outfits as she becomes more independent.”
Whitehead says she initially hoped for the audience to feel a sense of independence when watching the opera, but she realized after her first performance that ‘independent’ is not exactly how her audience felt.
“After the first time I ever performed it, a lot of people came up to me afterwards and just said they cried a lot, because of the emotion of how much connection and how much love [Thelma] had for Louise,” explained Whitehead.
“So I got emotional reactions I wasn’t expecting.”
