ARIA {TEN SHORT FILMS} (TV)
Summary
This motion picture is comprised of ten largely wordless short films inspired by and featuring notable works of opera music.
In the first film, "Un Ballo in Maschera," set to various pieces by Giuseppe Verdi, King Zog I of Albania has a clandestine meeting with his secret baroness lover in Vienna in 1931 and is nearly murdered by an assailant after leaving a performance of Ruggiero Leoncavallo's "Pagliacci." He manages to survive by returning fire.
In the second film, "La Virgine Degli Angeli," set to other Verdi pieces, three children in London gaze at a statue of the Virgin Mary and later take a car for a joyride, leaving it abandoned and on fire, much to the shock of the police.
In "Armide," set to music by Jean-Baptiste Lully, two young French cleaners are mesmerized by the muscular patrons of the gymnasium where they work and go to great lengths to get the bodybuilders' attention, sure that the men are "made for love."
Next, in "Rigoletto," set to music by Verdi, a film producer leaves his "sick" wife at home in bed and secretly meets his German mistress – unaware that his wife has a lover of her own, with whom she has a rendezvous at the very same hotel. The producer and his mistress enjoy the "Neanderthal Room" under the influence of ecstasy, and the two women have a brief encounter without realizing that they are discussing the same man before the spouses eventually return home, none the wiser about their near miss.
In the fifth film, "Die tote Stadt" (or "Spirits of the Dead City"), set to music by Erich Korngold, two lovers spend a romantic day together in a bedroom in wintry, largely deserted Bruges.
In the sixth piece, "Les Boréades," featuring music by Jean-Phillippe Rameau, a group of lavishly costumed 18th-century asylum inmates are treated to a preview of a new opera.
In "Liebestod," featuring music by Richard Wagner, two young lovers drive through the streets of Las Vegas and fall into bed together at a motel – after which they fatally slit their wrists in the bathtub.
In "Nessun Dorma," set to Giacomo Puccini's famous piece, a woman imagines herself being adorned with jewels and elaborate body art, unaware that she has actually experienced a serious car crash and is being prepared for emergency surgery by a group of doctors.
In "Depuis Le Jour," set to music by Gustave Charpentier, an elderly opera singer gives her last performance and experiences memories of her youth, including her first love.
Finally, in "I Pagliacci," a singer dresses himself as the famous "sad clown" and, lovingly observed by a possibly imaginary young woman, performs his aria before collapsing and dying in front of an empty theater.
Details
- NETWORK: Cinemax
- DATE: November 30, 1986 11:30 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:32:15
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: 103420
- GENRE: Opera
- SUBJECT HEADING: Opera; Music; Short films
- SERIES RUN: N/A
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Don Boyd … Producer
- For "Un Ballo in Maschera":
- Richard Bell … Associate Producer
- Luc Roeg … Associate Producer
- Nicolas Roeg … Director
- Giuseppe Verdi … Composer
- RCA Italiana Opera Orchestra and Chorus … Symphony Orchestra, Chorus
- Erich Leinsdorf … Conductor
- Leontyne Price … Singer
- Carlo Bergonzi … Singer
- Robert Merrill … Singer
- Shirley Verrett … Singer
- Reri Grist … Singer
- Theresa Russell … Cast, King Zog
- Stephanie Lane … Cast, Baroness
- Roy Hyatt … Cast, Chauffeur
- Sevilla Delofski … Cast, Maid
- Ruth Halliday … Cast, Companion
- Arthur Cox … Cast, Major
- Dennis Holmes … Cast, Colonel
- Paul Brightwell … Cast, Assassin
- Frank Baker … Cast, Assassin
- Chris Hunter … Cast, Assassin
- For "La Virgine Degli Angeli":
- Paul Spencer … Associate Producer
- Charles Sturridge … Director
- Giuseppe Verdi … Composer
- RCA Italiana Opera Orchestra and Chorus … Symphony Orchestra, Chorus
- Thomas Schippers … Conductor
- Leontyne Price … Singer
- Nicola Swain … Cast, Marie
- Jackson Kyle … Cast, Travis
- Marianne McLoughlin … Cast, Kate
- For "Armide":
- Francois Hamel … Associate Producer
- Jean-Luc Godard … Director
- Jean-Baptiste Lully … Composer
- Philippe Herreweghe … Conductor
- Ensemble Vocal et Instrumental De La Chappelle Royale … Symphony Orchestra, Chorus
- Rachel Yakar … Singer
- Zeger Vandersteene … Singer
- Danièle Borst … Singer
- Marion Peterson … Cast, Jeune Fille
- Valerie Allain … Cast, Jeune Fille
- Jaques Neuville … Cast, Bodybuilder
- Luke Corre … Cast, Bodybuilder
- Christiam Cauchon … Cast, Bodybuilder
- Philippe Pellant … Cast, Bodybuilder
- Patrice Linguet … Cast, Bodybuilder
- Lionel Sorin … Cast, Bodybuilder
- Jean Coffinet … Cast, Bodybuilder
- Alexandre Des Granges … Cast, Bodybuilder
- Gerrard Vives … Cast, Bodybuilder
- Frederick Brosse … Cast, Bodybuilder
- Pascal Bermont … Cast, Bodybuilder
- Jean Luc Corre … Cast, Bodybuilder
- Bernard Gaudray … Cast, Bodybuilder
- Dominique Mano … Cast, Bodybuilder
- Patrice Tridian … Cast, Bodybuilder
- For "Rigoletto":
- Amanda Pirie … Associate Producer
- Julien Temple … Director
- Giuseppe Verdi … Composer
- George Solti … Conductor
- Grover Dale … Choreographer
- RCA Italiana Opera Orchestra and Chorus … Symphony Orchestra, Chorus
- Robert Merrill … Singer
- Anna Moffo … Singer
- Alfredo Kraus … Singer
- Buck Henry … Cast, Preston
- Beverly D'Angelo … Cast, Gilda
- Garry Kasper … Cast, Jake
- Anita Morris … Cast, Phoebe
- John Hostetter … Cast, Elvis Impersonator
- Albie Selznick … Cast, Bell Boy
- Stan Mazin … Cast, Dancer
- Dominic Salinero … Cast, Dancer
- Jeff Calhoun … Cast, Dancer
- For "Die tote Stadt":
- Iain Brown … Associate Producer
- Bruce Beresford … Director, Writer
- Erich Korngold … Composer, Conductor
- Munich Radio Orchestra … Symphony Orchestra
- Carol Neblett … Singer
- Rene Kollo … Singer
- Elizabeth Hurley … Cast, Marietta
- Peter Birch … Cast, Paul
- For "Les Boréades":
- Scott Bushnell … Associate Producer
- Robert Altman … Director, Writer
- Jean-Phillippe Rameau … Composer
- John Eliot Gardiner … Conductor
- Monteverdi Choir … Choir
- Jennifer Smith … Singer
- Anne-Marie Rodde … Singer
- Philip Langridge … Singer
- For "Liebestod":
- Joni Sighvatsson … Associate Producer
- Franc Roddam … Director, Writer
- Richard Wagner … Composer
- Leontyne Price … Singer
- Philharmonia Orchestra … Symphony Orchestra
- Henry Lewis … Conductor
- Bridget Fonda … Cast, Lover
- James Mathers … Cast, Lover
- Angie Tetamontie … Cast, Las Vegas Lady
- Esther Buchanan … Cast, Las Vegas Lady
- Lorraine Cote … Cast, Las Vegas Lady
- Renee Korn … Cast, Las Vegas Lady
- Bertha Weiss … Cast, Lady With Glove
- Diane Thorne … Cast, Bride
- Howie Maurer … Cast, Groom
- Derick Coleman … Cast, Indian Boy
- Quentin Brown … Cast, Indian Boy
- For "Nessun Dorma":
- Paul Spencer … Associate Producer
- Ken Russell … Director, Writer
- Giacomo Puccini … Composer
- Erich Leinsdorf … Conductor
- Rome Opera House Orchestra … Symphony Orchestra
- Jussi Bjoerling … Singer
- Linzi Drew … Cast, Girl
- Andreas Wisniewski … Cast
- Kwabena Manso … Cast
- Bella Enahoro … Cast
- Bunty Mathias … Cast
- Angela Walker … Cast
- For "Depuis Le Jour":
- James Mackay … Associate Producer
- Derek Jarman … Director
- Gustave Charpentier … Composer
- Leontyne Price … Singer
- RCA Italiana Orchestra … Symphony Orchestra
- Francesco Molinari-Pradelli … Conductor
- Amy Johnson … Cast, Old Lady
- Tilda Swinton … Cast, Young Girl
- Spencer Leigh … Cast, Young Man
- For "I Pagliacci":
- Kevan Pegley … Associate Producer
- Michael Hamlyn … Associate Producer
- Paul Spencer … Associate Producer
- Bill Bryden … Director, Writer
- Don Boyd … Writer
- Ruggiero Leoncavallo … Composer
- Enrico Caruso … Singer
- John Hurt … Cast, The Actor
- Sophie Ward … Cast, The Young Girl