A New Natalie Merchant -- The Popular Former Lead Singer Of 10,000 Maniacs Plays With Her Image On Her Latest Album, `Ophelia'

------------------------------- Concert preview

Natalie Merchant, 8 p.m. Monday, Paramount Theatre, Seattle; sold out. -------------------------------

In her own subtle, steady way, Natalie Merchant has become one of the most popular female singer-songwriters in pop music.

Her show here Monday at the Paramount sold out quickly - just one indication of her popularity. So is her latest album, "Ophelia," which has sold more than a million copies without much radio or MTV support. Her previous solo disc, "Tigerlilly," released in 1995, is more than quadruple platinum. And, of course, she was the heart and soul of 10,000 Maniacs, the still-surviving folk-pop group, with which she made seven albums before departing for a solo career in 1993.

In the Maniacs, Merchant acquired a reputation as a serious poet - "the Emily Dickinson of pop." And the subject matter of her songs, including alcoholism, child abuse, unwanted pregnancies and drug overdoses, labeled her a crusader for causes.

But "Ophelia" has gone a long way toward changing that image - not so much the music, but the album package, which depicts Merchant in a series of light-hearted guises, including a vamp, a nun, a strait-laced librarian and a circus performer.

In the 22-minute "Ophelia: A Film Companion to the Album," released on Elektra home video, she elaborates on those characters in a series of sketches, in which each one performs a song from the album. She gives each character a name, and each one is interviewed - in a different language (Russian, French, Spanish). Merchant is also interviewed, as she undergoes makeup and costume changes for the characters. The film also contains five of her music videos.

Merchant is playful and loose on stage, engaging the audience in conversation and dancing to her own music. As in her songs, she displays a range of emotions, from joy to anger to concern.

Merchant has been busy this year. She opened for Bob Dylan at several concerts in February. She appeared on the 30th anniversary episode of "Sesame Street," where she teamed with Muppet Prairie Dawn to sing a cover of the Carpenters' '70s pop hit, "Sing." She performed on David Letterman's and Conan O'Brien's TV shows. And she's been touring steadily with her six-piece band, playing to sold-out houses.

The current tour ends with a May 4 appearance on Rosie O'Donnell's daytime talk show. After that, Merchant plans to return to her upstate New York home to plant her vegetable garden (runner beans, snap peas, tomatoes, zucchini), and write songs in preparation for recording her next album.

There will be no opening act to her show here. She will perform for about 90 minutes, doing songs from her solo albums, some 10,000 Maniacs numbers, a few cover songs (said to be surprising choices) and, if we're lucky, an original song about Seattle - she's been improvising such tunes at some stops on the current tour.