Category
Film
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19.12.08Katerina IzmailovaShostakovich's opera Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk was denounced by Stalin in 1936; his 1962 version, Katerina Izmailova, is only rarely performed. This extraordinary film by Mikhail Shapiro, which won a Palm d'Or at Cannes in 1967, stars Russian soprano Galina Vishnevskaya in the title role. There are no subtitles but a synopsis can be found here. Very little footage of Vishnevskaya survives as much of it was destroyed when she and her husband Mtislav Rostropovich (the cellist) were sent into exile for harbouring the author and political refugee Alexander Solzhenitsyn. The film is available on DVD and a CD of the original ...
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19.12.08Eugene OneginPushkin's novel is as close as anything to the heart of Russian culture, so much so that Tchaikovsky's own adaptation has, in turn, been reworked for film on several occasions. This version, made in 1958 and directed by Roman Tikhomirov, features Galina Vishnevskaya singing Tatyana. No singers are to be seen on screen, however. Pushkin is too sacred for that. In this 1940 film of the next morning's wintry scene, Lensky is sung (and played) by star of the Bolshoi Sergei_Lemeshev. Finally, the last scenes of the opera in a more recent film version, directed by Peter Weigl. The film is acted to ...
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17.12.08War RequiemThe trailer to Derek Jarman's unflinching film adaptation of Benjamin Britten's harrowing setting of the Requiem Mass mixed with war poetry by Wilfred Owen. The DVD is available from Amazon. Then a look at the events that led up to Britten's writing the War Requiem in the first place. Britten's own recording of War Requiem is available on CD from Amazon. -
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17.12.08Ballerina on a boatA Russian piece of animation from 1969, directed by Lev Atamanov with an original score by Alfred Schnittke, whose self-termed polystylistic technique is evident - often to comic effect. The film is available on DVD (NTSC) as part of the series Masters of Russian Animation from Amazon -
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15.12.08Lamento della NinfaEugène Green's philosophically intriguing film, Le Pont des Arts includes a striking rehearsal of Monteverdi's madrigal, with Claire Lefilliâtre singing in for Natacha Régnier. Made in 2004, the cinematic study in connection and disconnection is set at the time of the eponymous bridge's collapse of 1979. You can order Le Pont des Arts on DVD (with English subtitles) from Amazon - The same lament, sung by Natalie Dessay, features in this behind-the-scenes look at the making of Emmanuelle Haïm's CD, Lamenti, with Le Concert d’Astrée. Philippe Jaroussky gives us the tiniest teaser of Barbara Strozzi, with more Monteverdi laments by Rolando Villazón and ...
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23.11.08SophiaDirector Lucas van Woerkum's film, Sophia, is based on a symphonic poem by the Belgian composer Dirk Brossé. Musicfilm SOPHIA from Lucas van Woerkum on Vimeo. Made by Sebastian Film.
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22.11.08Flight of the BumblebeeThe piano arrangement of Rimsky-Korsakov's orchestral interlude for his opera The Tale of Tsar Saltan, featured here in Scott Hick's Oscar-winning feature film Shine. Geoffrey Rush plays the David Helfgott; the piano is played by fellow Australian Ricky Edwards. You can order Shine on DVD from Amazon -
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14.11.08The Cunning little VixenLeoš Janáček's glorious opera on the cycle of life gets an entertaining animated treatment from filmmaker Geoff Dunbar. Sung in English, which makes everything crystal clear, with the Berlin Philharmonic, conducted by Kent Nagano. This animated film is available on DVD from Amazon -
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14.11.08Magic FluteSwedish cinematic genius Igmar Bergman's irreplaceable film version of Mozart's Magic Flute. Here Tamino and Pamina endure the trial of silence. This film of The Magic Flute is available on DVD (NTSC) from Amazon -
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14.11.08The Sorcerer’s ApprenticeDisney's classic animation of a score by Paul Dukas is one of the greatest collaborations between classical music and visual media. The complete animated film, Fantasia, is available on DVD from Amazon -
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