{{Gruppo
|Nome Gruppo = Sopor Aeternus & The Ensemble of Shadows
|Nazione gruppo = Germania
|Immagine bandiera nazione = Immagine:Flag of Germany.svg
|Generi musicali = Gothic Dark - Darkwave - Dark Folk
|Anni di attività = 1989 - in attività
|Tipo artista = Solista
|Fotografia =
|Dimensione Fotografia =
|Didascalia =
|Url = http://www.soporaeternus.de/
|Numero totale album pubblicati =14
|Numero album studio =11
|Numero album live =0
|Numero raccolte =1
}}

'''Sopor Aeternus & The Ensemble of Shadows''' è un progetto musicale appartenente al filone Gothic Dark o Darkwave con influenze Dark Folk, la cui unica componente è '''Anna Varney'''.

== Biografia ==

Riguardo ad Anna Varney si sa pochissimo, tranne il fatto che ha avuto un passato molto doloroso e tormentato, che l'ha spinta a fondare la band. In numerose interviste ha dichiarato di aver trascorso quasi trent'anni in preda alla più profonda depressione e di aver vissuto sola e disperata: questa situazione l'ha portata ad entrare in contatto con l' "'''Ensemble Of Shadows'''" ( ''L'insieme delle ombre'' ), vale a dire delle presenze e delle voci sovrannaturali che stimolarono il suo senso musicale ed artistico, spingendola a condividere con il pubblico la musica che fino ad allora viveva solo dentro di lei. Tuttavia è senz'altro dotata di senso dell'umorismo e lo si nota ad esempio quando ammette di adorare Darth Vader e di cambiare il logo delle magliette della Fruit of the Loom con quello "''Fruit of the Tomb''" ( ''Frutta dalla tomba'' ) di sua creazione e che include nel disegno il suo volto.

La sua musica è molto malinconica e di grande impatto emotivo: caratteristico è l'uso di ottoni ( particolarmente il flauto ) quartetti d'arco e chitarre classiche. In qualche caso usa dei sintetizzatori e una drum machine oppure delle vere percussioni. Anna Varney ha dichiarato con estrema chiarezza che compone musica che parli di lei e lo fa esclusivamente '''per''' lei stessa. Le tematiche dei suoi testi comprendono la morte, il suicidio, il destino di una vita di dolore, la solitudine e la tristezza. Uno dei concetti centrali per comprendere la sua arte è la sua idea di diventare una donna o, perlomeno, rimuovere gli organi genitali maschili per trasformarsi in una variante del genere femminile. Negli artworks degli album più recenti Anna-Varney si mostra nuda con una vagina ottenuta artificialmente con tecniche di computer grafica, dato che a causa di conflitti interiori e della sua fede religiosa non riesce a risolversi di intervenire chirurgicamente.

Alcuni temi musicali sono riproposti varie volte all'interno dei suoi lavori; l'esempio più evidente è la canzone "''Birth - Fiendish Figuration''" che è presente in vari dischi con almeno quattro arrangiamenti diversi. Altre canzoni riprendono testi o linee melodiche già esplorate in precedenti lavori.

Il 16 Novembre 2007 è uscito il DVD contenente il video di "In Der Palästra", limitato a 1000 copie. Il video è stato girato prendendo spunto da vecchi film degli anni trenta. Molto spesso le immagini sono confuse e sovrapposte ad altre. 

{{Infobox Musical artist 
|Name                =<br/>200px<br/><br/><!--  Commented out because image was deleted: 250px| -->
|Img_capt            = The Sopor Aeternus logo, as featured between 1995 and 1997.
|Alias               = Sopor Aeternus   <ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Soporaeternusandtheensembleofshadowslogo1995.gif Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia]</ref> , Sopor
|Background          = group_or_band
|Alias               = ''Sopor'', ''Sopor Aeternus''
|Origin              = Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany <ref>[http://www.soporaeternus.it/eng/home.htm Sopor Aeternus Official Italian Fan Club]</ref> 
| Genre              = Dark Folk<br/>'''Other disputed genres'''
|Years_active        = 1989 &ndash; Present <ref>[http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=277399870 MySpace.com - SOPOR AETERNUS (official)]</ref>
|Label               = Apocalyptic Vision                        <ref>[http://www.soporaeternus.de/ Sopor Aeternus Official German Fansite]</ref> (a sublabel of the Trisol Music Group)<ref>[http://www.discogs.com/label/Apocalyptic+Vision Apocalyptic Vision on Discogs]</ref>
|Associated_acts     =<br/>White Onyx Elephants <ref>[http://www.sopor-aeternus.de/frame.html Sopor Aeternus Official German Fansite]</ref></br>Nenia C'alladhan<ref>[http://www.soporaeternus.de/code/disco.html Sopor Aeternus Official German Fansite]</ref>
|URL                 = [http://www.soporaeternus.de soporaeternus.de]
|Current_members     = Anna-Varney Cantodea
| Past_members      =  Holger (Full name: Unknown) <ref>[http://www.sopor-aeternus.de/frame.html Sopor Aeternus Official German Fansite]</ref>
}}

right|242px|thumb|Anna-Varney Cantodea (as photographed by [[Joachim Luetke in 2003)]]

'''Sopor Aeternus & The Ensemble Of Shadows''' (often referred to as the simplified, "'''Sopor Aeternus'''" <ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Soporaeternusandtheensembleofshadowslogo1995.gif Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia]</ref><ref>[http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=277399870 MySpace.com - SOPOR AETERNUS (official)]</ref>, [literally, "'''Eternal Sleep'''"<ref>[http://www.premonition.org/premor.php3?lien=actu/actu.php3X1Xactuid=213007&ta=3 Anna-Varney: interview on premonition.org]</ref><ref>[http://home.tiscalinet.de/daffodils/Neu/ubersopor.htm Sopor Aeternus German Fansite on tiscalinet.de]</ref>, a term meaning, "'''The Sleep of Death'''"<ref>[http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Sopor-Aeternus-Biography/E9081AAED4F92C1548256E080010C319 Sopor Aeternus - "biography" on sing365.com]</ref><ref>[http://www.spirit-of-metal.com/biographie-groupe-Sopor_Aeternus-id_bio-3663-l-en.html Sopor Aeternus - "biography" on Spirit of Metal]</ref>] or even "'''Sopor'''"<ref>[http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=277399870 MySpace.com - SOPOR AETERNUS (official)]</ref> is a German <ref>[http://www.soporaeternus.de/code/index.html soporaeternus.de]</ref> musician, '''Anna-Varney Cantodea'''. It was formed some time in 1989 <ref>[http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=277399870 MySpace.com - SOPOR AETERNUS (official)]</ref>.

==Anna-Varney: Biography==

Despite years of good (though not well-known) media attention (such as her interviews published in Anna-Varney) tends not to talk about her own personal life; a life which seems to have been filled with great depression. From what little is known, Anna-Varney could be described as being Varney the Vampire, or The Feast Of Blood",  and Cantodea had been a form of the Latin word for, "female singer" <ref>[http://www.monas.nl/hear/intervsopor.htm Monas.nl became www.gangleri.nl<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>.

Though her official Les Fleurs du Mal''. Upon this can be seen the phrase, <blockquote>
''"SOPOR: Sedating the heart since 1952."''
</blockquote>

----

She has said in several despair and loneliness. These emotions were cited as being brought on by being frequently beaten by her parents and peers in school, and by becoming somewhat suicidal at the age of twelve, along with many other experiences of severe depression throughout her life. One such instance could be the childhood trauma that Anna had undergone by having an out-of-body experience whilst under sedation due to a surgical operation she was receiving at the age of six. <ref>[http://www.sopor-aeternus.de/frame.html www.sopor-aeternus.de<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>  All of these events led up to and resulted in her discovery of the, "Ensemble Of Shadows": otherworldly presences and/or voices who stirred her musical senses and guided her to share the works in her mind with the public. She does not speak much on the subject of the Ensemble, though she does state that they (denoting that they are, in fact, individual, 'spirits')give her her musical inspiration in dreams. Hence, the word ''Sopor'' is a very important term in Anna-Varney's creations, as the word itself refers to "sleep" in Latin.

left|250px|thumb|A photograph of Cantodea, as seen in the album artwork of ''[[...Ich töte mich jedesmal aufs Neue, doch ich bin unsterblich, und ich erstehe wieder auf; in einer Vision des Untergangs...|..Ich töte mich...'']] 

Anna-Varney seems to be voluntarily isolated, as she has spoken of fear, disgust, or sadness when in the presence of most individuals (aside from her few acquaintances, friends, interviewers, and those who help with her musical production), though she does state that she is less isolated now than she used to be <ref>[http://www.sopor-aeternus.de/frame.html www.sopor-aeternus.de<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>. In any case, she does not perform live, "in front of humans." Anna-Varney does have a sense of humour however, such as admitting she loves Darth Vader and changing the Fruit of the Loom logo to, "Fruit of the Tomb," which incorporates her face into the design (as seen in her 2002 work, ''Nenia C'alladhan'').

----

Cantodea could be said to be a very religious (or at least spiritual) person. While she has never admitted to following a specific, religious sect, she tends to give an expression of spirituality when both interviewed and listened to through her music. In such music, an important, supernatural power is often referred to; this entity is the Greco-Roman deity, Saturn (Also known as Cronus). This God was (and in probability, still is) one of the most important figures in Anna-Varneys creative works. This sort of "devotion" to Saturn is evident in many of her songs (most notably "...And Bringer of Sadness"), though it is not known whether or not Cronos is seen by Cantodea as a symbolic metaphor or an actual being that is worthy of worship. Yet his (along with Jupiter's) importance is stressed within the ''Symbol of Jusa'', an icon (in probability) created by Anna-Varney that combines the astrological symbols of Jupiter and Saturn. This object is probably the most significant within the realm of ''Sopor'', as it appeares as the official logo of Sopor Aeternus and Anna-Varney Cantodea, and is appropriately featured on every Sopor Aeternus release to date.

Much of the artwork presented in Varney's astrological imagery; some have even predicted that she possibly has a spiritual connection to celestial objects, or that she may be a type of pagan...

Saturn and Jupiter are not the only divine concepts to who's expression Anna is restricted — other deities from the Morpheus, Uranus and Charon). Other divine-like figures are mentioned by Cantodea, yet she only refers to Greek Gods by name. She has spoken of several different beings whom some fans of Varney have thought to be (at least) allusions to divine characters. For instance: she has, in certain albums, spoken of figures like the "''Sister of Self-Destruction''", "''The Old Man''", or the "''Lord of the Darkest Side"''. Some believe Anna to be a polytheist.

A strange and uncommon claim is that Anna-Varney is or once was involved with a Thelemite order (the album, ''La Chambre D'Echo - Where the dead Birds sing'', for instance seems to point to such an involvement).

Anna-Varney also currently seems to be involved with the pagan and occult author [http://www.ravendigitalis.com Raven Digitalis], who appears to be one of the "managers" for the [http://www.myspace.com/soporaeternusofficial official Sopor Aeternus MySpace] profile.

==Musical Style==

Anna-Varney's medieval-influenced music is emotional and often considered extremely melancholic, using a number of different of bells, and percussion is used. Anna-Varney has clearly stated that she creates her music about herself, solely for herself.  Various themes include sexuality.

left|250px|thumb|Anna-Varney, [[photographed in 2002]]

A very important recurring theme is Cantodea's apparent male genitalia in favour of attaining the female variant (in later album artwork, Anna-Varney is usually shown nude with a vagina which has been edited in with photo-manipulation techniques). As well, much of Anna's earlier works deals with mysticism and spirituality (more specifically a sort of spiritual failure).  There are also several musical themes that reappear in her works; the most notable example is the song, "Birth - Fiendish Figuration," which has appeared in at least four forms on separate releases. Other songs contain similar melodic lines or lyrics from an earlier release.

When asked about the specific genre of her music, 
Anna-Varney says that she does not follow a specific style of music and that she simply creates, ''"...-music for dead children [and otherwise wounded souls], that is all."'' Despite this statement, many fans consider Sopor a Darkwave project.

==Relation To Other Artists==

Anna-Varney has had a small but varying relationship with a number of music artists since the birth of Sopor Aeternus. More than several of her songs were reworkings of other tracks from musicians of widely varying genres from around the globe:

*In the album, ''The Sherman Brothers" for that film.
*In the compilation album, ''American Heavy metal band Black Sabbath's "A National Acrobat" and "Paranoid"(The Sopor Aeternus songs had the same titles, but were written backwards and with extra punctuation).
*In the album, ''Electronic group Kraftwerk's "Das Modell", sung in Latin.
*In the album, ''Dead Lovers' Sarabande (Face One)'' (released in 1999), the track "Hades 'Pluton'" is known to contain the rhythm of American Psychedelic rock musician Rocky Erickson's work, "Night of The Vampire".
*In the album, ''cover of German Folk musician Nico's eponymous track.

Besides recreating music done by others, Varney's work has been appreciated to such an extent by her fans that, in 2008, German Techno act ''Dresscodisco'' released a remix of "Tanz Der Grausamkeit", one of Cantodea's more renowned songs, first released in the album "…Ich töte mich…" (1994).

==Origin & Development==
===Blood of The Black Rose {"Undead Trilogy" era} (1989 - 1993)===
right|300px|thumb|An image of The Symbol of Jusa; as seen on all [[Sopor Aeternus' albums. It is the official symbol of Sopor Aeternus, all side projects related to Sopor Aeternus, and Anna-Varney Cantodea. It represents a connection between the Greek deities Jupiter and Saturn.]]
''Sopor Aeternus'' was born some time within 1989. It was created by Anna-Varney Cantodea, and an elusive individual known only as, "Holger". The two had met at that time, in a goth club called, 'Negativ', which is located in Frankfurt, Germany. At that point in time, it is described in an interview with Anna, that she was experiencing a sort of sporadic outing with the "human world", and that Holger became a sort of link for Anna-Varney to use to regain her ability to have connections with society (she was quite isolated at the time)... For unknown reasons, Holger decided to join Anna in materialising a sort of 'dream' music given to her in dreams by "spiritual muses" - muses from whose inspiration her music comes/came forth: muses that Anna calls, '''The Ensemble of Shadows'''.<ref>[http://forum.sopor-aeternus.de/viewtopic.php?t=1427 forum.sopor-aeternus.de :: Thema anzeigen - Dark Entries interview<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

Anna and Holger worked together with what little money they had to purchase the needed accommodations for their music and created ''Blut der schwarzen Rose'' (meaning: ''Blood of the black Rose''), or (a.k.a.) ''The Undead Trilogy'', a triad of demo cassettes under the titles: Rufus (second demo), and Till Time and Times Are Done (third and last demo). Other than the 50 copies of Es reiten die Toten so schnell..., these were never released to the public. Shortly after their creation, Holger (for once again, unknown reasons) left ''Sopor''.  
<ref>[http://forum.sopor-aeternus.de/viewtopic.php?t=1427 forum.sopor-aeternus.de :: Thema anzeigen - Dark Entries interview<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

===Fiendish Figuration {"Ich töte mich..." era} (1994)===

In 1994, after signing a contract with Ich tote mich…. Much mystery hangs around the creation of this album, as sources and interviews are scarce in knowledge as to where Anna was at this point in her life, or how she gathered the financial needs for such an endeavor.

==="...By a route obscure and lonely..." {"Todeswunsch" era} (1995 - 1996)===

In 1995, Anna worked on several musical projects. Possibly the most notable could be renaissance"-like sound than the previous album. 1995 would also be the year that Todeswunsch. It would also be within this period of time that she formed the side project, '''White Onyx Elephants''' and recorded songs under that title. She recorded these songs for the Apocalyptic Vision-released compilation album, Jekura - Deep the pwnia srgiwnes NA DLOL Eternal Forest, which featured several other artists of similar genres.

===May I Kiss Your Wound? {"The Inexperienced" & "Voyager" era} (1997)===