Pride and Prejudice Playlists

2023 playlist:

Lizzy Bennet
No by Meghan Trainor
Lizzy has frequent opportunities to express “No” in her dealings with those around her; Mr. Collins, Mr. Darcy, and Lady Catherine de Bourgh all feel its particular effect when they favor her with their condescension, to which she answers, “Nah, to the ah, to the no, no, no”.

Jane Bennet
A Thousand Years by Christina Perri
While Jane holds herself back from fully revealing her affection for Mr. Bingley, she shares with Lizzy that she had found a home for her heart right from the start; the only thing holding her back is how to be brave when she’s afraid to fall.

Lydia Bennet
Honey, Honey by Abba
Lydia, already enamored of any man in a red coat, receives the thrill of her life from the dashing Mr. Wickham and sticks to him so that he’ll never get rid of her, confirming that there’s no other place in this world where she’d rather be.

Mr Darcy
All of Me by John Legend
It isn’t long after his initial insult to Lizzy that he experiences regret for his ill-natured comment of her to Mr. Bingley; drawn in by her smart mouth, her beautiful mind, and her fine eyes in each subsequent encounter, she becomes his downfall, his muse, and his worst distraction, even when she puts him in his place.

Mr Bingley
Every Little Thing She Does by The Police
Mr. Bingley falls hard and fast for the sweet, beautiful Jane, but struggles to tell her of his feelings; losing his nerve time and again, it isn’t until he lets go of his fears and the persuasion of others that he is finally able to ask her if she’ll marry him some old-fashioned way.

Caroline Bingley
Cold Shoulder by Adele
Caroline Bingley wants nothing more than Mr. Darcy’s attention and affection; over and over she plays the role of fool only to receive his cold shoulder instead, and she is left wishing that she is Lizzy.

Lady Catherine
Anti-Hero by Taylor Swift
Lady C is used to getting what she wants through demands and schemes; when Lizzy stands up to her after a chilling confrontation, she is left to face the music of her own devices and narcissism as the antiheroine.

Mr Wickham
Dancing Through Life (from Wicked) by Cody Carrera
The ultimate player, Mr. Wickham lives the unexamined life, skimming the surface and sluffing off his duties time and again; he avoids stress and thinking too hard in order to mindlessly and carelessly dance through life. Caught out by Mr. Darcy, he remains thoughtless rather than owning up to the errors of his ways.

An 1813 playlist

Lizzy Bennet
Voi che sapete from The Marriage of Figaro by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (sung by Lizzy at Pemberly in the 1995 BBC adaptation)
Recommended listening: Frederica von Stade, Sir Georg Solti, and London Philharmonic Orchestra
Translation:
You, who know what love is,
See if I have it in my heart!
I’ll tell you what I’m going through,
It’s new to me; I can’t understand it.
I feel a liking full of desire
That now is pleasure, now is agony.
I freeze, and then feel my soul burning,
And in another moment go back to freezing.
I look for a good outside myself,
I don’t know who has it, I don’t know what it is.
I sigh and groan without wanting to,
I quiver and tremble without knowing it,
I find no peace night or day,
And yet I like suffering this way!

Jane Bennet
Recollection, Hob. XXVIa: 26, by Franz Josef Haydn
Recommended listening: Cintia de los Santos and Fernando Cordella

Lydia Bennet
Una donna a quindici anni from Cosi Fan Tutte by Mozart
Recommended listening: Kathleen Battle, James Levine, and The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra
Translation:
At fifteen a woman
Should know the ways of the world,
Where the devil keeps his tail,
What’s right and what is wrong.
She should know the wiles
That ensnare lovers,
How to feign laughter or tears
And to make up good excuses.
At one and the same moment
She must listen to a hundred
But speak with her eyes
To a thousand,
Hold out hope to all,
Be they handsome or plain,
Know how to hide things
Without getting flustered,
Know how to tell lies
Without ever blushing.
And, like a queen
On her lofty throne,
Get her own way
With “I can” and “I will”.

Mr Darcy
Piercing Eyes, Hob. XXVIa: 35, by Haydn
Recommended listening: Jean-Pierre Bacq and Stephan Van Dyck

Mr Bingley
Content, Hob. XXVIa: 36, by Haydn
Recommended listening: James Taylor and Munchner Klaviertrio

Caroline Bingley
Batti batti bel Masetto from Don Giovanni by Mozart
Recommended listening: Kathleen Battle, Herbert von Karajan, and Berlin Philharmonic
Translation:
Canst thou see me, unforgiven,
Here in sorrow stand and languish?
Oh, Masetto, end my anguish,
Come, and let’s be friends again.
Oh, believe I sore repent it,
But I did not understand.
Come, no longer then resent it,
Give me kindly thy dear hand,
Ah, confess it, thou no longer, canst withstand me.
Peace and joy once more shall bless us,
While united and delighted
All our days shall sweetly glide.

Lady Catherine
Der Holle Rache from The Magic Flute by Mozart
Recommended listening: Natalie Dessay, Louis Langree, and Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment
Translation:
My heart is seething with hellish vengeance,
death and despair are blazing around me!
Unless Sarastro feels the pangs of death at your hands
you are no longer my relative.
Forever disowned, forever abandoned,
forever destroyed may all ties of nature be,
unless Sarastro suffers at your hands!
Hear! Gods of vengeance! Hear my vow!

Mr Wickham
Fin ch’han dal vino from Don Giovanni by Mozart
Recommended listening: Willard White, Carl Davis, and Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
Translation:
For a carousal,
Where all is madness
Where all is gladness,
Do thou prepare.
Maids are pretty,
Dames that are witty,
All to my castle
Bid them repair.
I’ll have no discipline,
Folly shall rule it,
Some minuetting,
Each one shall fool it
Some a fandango,
So they are fair,
Then in the gloaming,
Pensively roaming,
Some pretty damsel with me will stray…
Beauties in plenty my list adorning,
Will, ere the morning,
Not say me nay, none say me nay.

Reimagine Residents

Throughout 2023 we are inviting a series of young and emerging creatives working in all sorts of disciplines to join us at Jane Austen’s House – either virtually or onsite in Chawton – to create new artworks inspired by Jane Austen’s life, works and legacy. We’ll share them here, as they develop. Find out more…

Pride and Prejudice Day

Pride and Prejudice was first published on 28 January 1813. Our annual celebrations for Pride and Prejudice Day bring a welcome cheer to the depths of January, and give us all a welcome opportunity to celebrate our favourite lines, moments and characters! Find out more…