Lizzo plays James Madison's 200-year-old crystal flute at DC concert
WASHINGTON -- Fans probably weren't expecting pop-star Lizzo to make history at a Washington D.C. concert on Tuesday night. But she did - becoming the first person to play a 200-year-old crystal flute that was once owned by President James Madison.
"I want everybody to make some noise for James Madison's crystal flute, y'all!" Lizzo said to a crowd of screaming fans.
NOBODY HAS EVER HEARD THIS FAMOUS CRYSTAL FLUTE BEFORE
— FOLLOW @YITTY (@lizzo) September 28, 2022
NOW YOU HAVE
IM THE FIRST & ONLY PERSON TO EVER PLAY THIS PRESIDENTIAL 200-YEAR-OLD CRYSTAL FLUTE— THANK YOU @librarycongress ❤️ pic.twitter.com/VgXjpC49sO
The Grammy award-winner is known for breaking out her flute at concerts. She's played the instrument since she was a child and studied classical flute in college.
When Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden learned that Lizzo was coming to Washington, she reached out on Twitter, touting the fact that the library has the largest flute collection in the world, including Madison's crystal flute.
IM COMING CARLA! AND IM PLAYIN THAT CRYSTAL FLUTE!!!!! https://t.co/aPcIthlqeo
— FOLLOW @YITTY (@lizzo) September 24, 2022
Lizzo stopped by the library on Monday, where Hayden showed her around the collection, which comprises of 1,700 flutes, and eventually asked if she would like to play the crystal flute.
The flute itself, according to the library, was made by French craftsman Claude Laurent, who patented the leaded glass flute during a time when most of them were made out of wood or ivory. He engraved one with Madison's name and sent it to him as a gift for his second inauguration. It was saved from the White House by Dolley Madison during the Burning of Washington in 1814.
Lizzo asked if she would be able to play it at her concert the next day, the library agreed. When she took the stage on Tuesday, Lizzo was surrounded by the library's preservation and security teams - which is typical procedure when a valuable artifact leaves the museum.
Lizzo also practiced this part of her on-stage performance in the Library's Great Hall on Monday. Wait for it... #LizzoAtLOChttps://t.co/kT2c6Fmnrn pic.twitter.com/pIashO5qp6
— Library of Congress (@librarycongress) September 28, 2022
"It's crystal, it's like playing out of a wine glass b****, so be patient," Lizzo said to the audience.
She played one long note before playing a trill while twerking.
"B****, I just twerked and played James Madison's crystal flute from the 1800s," she said to the crowd. "We just made history tonight!"
The library later tweeted that the flute made it back safely into the collection.