It’s a tale as old as time.
A young Norweigan woman takes to the stage: a portable computer set-up, we imagine, with her hand delicately placed on the mouse that rests just to the right of its keyboard. She’s about to hit record on her latest YouTube video, a cover song recreation of a classic masterpiece. Today, she takes an extra moment to light a stunning candelabra that she affectionately refers to as Lumière and winds back the time on Cogsworth, her novelty pendulum clock. It may seem a bit over the top, but the setting is perfect for what’s to come next: a beautiful rendition of Beauty and the Beast.
Of course that’s all speculative, but it is based in some truth.
Marit “Minniva” Børresen is a singer in Norway who began putting her own spin on her favourite metal and rock anthems back in 2016 and has released an incredible collection of over 200 songs since.
A former pop singer, her dynamic range is unparalleled; From deep growls to needle-precision screams and everything inbetween, she navigates sonic soundscapes as couragously and skillfully as a captain navigates his ship on a long voyage, but it’s on an operatic pop classic like composer Alan Merken’s Beauty and the Beast where she, like Lumière, really takes command of the spotlight.
Released on January 24th, Minniva’s reinterpretation of this fairy tale masterpiece begins in a familiar way, the light piano accompanied by drawn violin’s stepping into play as delicately as Belle descending the staircase inside the mansion where the Beast awaits her arrival for their dinner date and moving first dance. Moments later, Minniva’s striking vocal joins the arrangement and immediately makes a compelling argument for reaching across the table to coax your own partner up and onto the inviting open dance floor.
With sensational control, Minniva’s performance sets a dramatic broadway-ballad tone that seems to carry with it an equisite quality not unlike the first time you set eyes on a truly extraordinary ball gown fit to the nines with jewels and embellishments to be adorned by royalty. It’s moments after her arrival that she is joined by her duet partner Dan Vasc who with exceedingly impressive elegance of their own brings a weight to the track that grounds it firmly in another era entirely; It’s at this point of the performance that we are reminded what it means when a piece of music is truly timeless and has firmly set itself among the great classics and Minniva and Vasc, each with their own unique character, do great justice to it.
As the instrumentation crescendo’s as do our vocalists, soaring into the chandeliers that shimmer star-studded patterns underneath our carefully tapping feet, playfully encouraging us to sway left and right until we’re spun into an enchanting fairy tale of our own wonder and imagination.
It’s a cover that masterfully takes the spirit of the song to remarklable new heights and fills us with the same joy as when we sat glued to our TV’s as kids, marvelling at the animated Belle and Beast as they made their way from timid strangers to great friends in the iconic classic Disney film.
If Minniva and Vasc were to ever take this performance to broadway, we’d surely be fumbling our change to pull together enough for a front row ticket.
Keep up with Minniva by following her social media channels.
Get a little nostalgic with the original recording from Disney’s Beauty and the Beast and then enjoy an emotional live performance by original vocalist Angela Lansbury.
Crooked Forest 