
In 1827, Berlioz saw Harriet Smithson for the first time, playing Ophelia in a production of Hamlet. Hopelessly smitten, he turned his entire life upside down to meet her. Frantic months turned into years when he suddenly heard rumors about Harriet and another man. Believing himself cured, he wrote a ‘fantastic’ symphony complete with a special theme, the idée fixe, to represent his former obsession.

In 1827, Berlioz saw Harriet Smithson for the first time, playing Ophelia in a production of Hamlet. Hopelessly smitten, he turned his entire life upside down to meet her. Frantic months turned into years when he suddenly heard rumors about Harriet and another man. Believing himself cured, he wrote a ‘fantastic’ symphony complete with a special theme, the idée fixe, to represent his former obsession.
2009-01-01
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0.0Berlioz’s colossal masterpiece requires stupendous forces—dozens of soloists, enormous chorus, orchestra and ballet, a superb conductor who understands the uniqueness of the score—plus a production that does visual justice to the work. “A stupendous achievement” was one critic’s assessment of Peter Wexler’s inventive production. And with James Levine’s wizardry galvanizing the marvelous all-star cast, this is truly a gem. Plácido Domingo is the legendary hero Aeneas, Jessye Norman the obsessed prophetess Cassandra, and Tatiana Troyanos is Queen Dido, who commits suicide when Aeneas leaves her.
0.0With his affinity for the 16th-century sculptor Benvenuto Cellini's advocacy of artistic and personal freedom, Hector Berlioz went straight for the grand gesture with his first completed opera. Returning to it years after initial production debacles, Berlioz stated that he would 'never again find such verve and Cellinian impetuosity, nor such a variety of ideas.' The plot revolves around Cellini's wooing of Teresa, a match frustrated at every opportunity by his rival, the cowardly Fieramosca. Benvenuto Cellini is a pithy work combining romance, excitement, violence, comedy and spectacle; the perfect stage for Terry Gilliam's stylishly colorful and larger than life directing.
5.8‘La course à l’abîme’ is a depiction of the final ride into hell from ‘La Damnation de Faust’ (1846) by Hector Berlioz.
SENIORS ROCKING explores the artistic process of Anna Halprin, a pioneer of American dance, through the prism of a single performance piece. The film retraces not only the development of a unique performance with residents of two nursing homes in California, but also the growth of a sense of community when fifty people from various walks of life, age 65 to 100, join forces to perform together. Underpinned by Halprin’s conviction that dance and movement embolden people to express themselves and, in so doing, change their lives, the film shows how the participants give physical shape to their personal messages for posterity through a dance performance.
5.0Embark on a mesmerizing musical journey through the multi-faceted history of Korean American immigrants in Hawaiʻi with SONGS OF LOVE, a captivating reverie of song and history.
8.1From a repressive childhood to artistic revolution, Ney Matogrosso transforms Brazil's stages — and himself — through music, creativity and inner fire. The movie displays briefly one of the greatest controversies surrounding Ney Matogrosso, accused of copying the rock band Kiss. It's actually the other way around. Secos & Molhados was officially formed in 1971, though the band was performing together since the late 60s and was already known for their make-up. KISS came around years later, in 1973.
Grzegorz Rosiński, one of the world's most famous Polish comic book creators, author of drawings for the "Thorgal" series, is retiring. But what does it actually mean for an artist to end his career?
0.0A couple of grocers originally from Sri Lanka, who have been living in Paris for thirty years, are unjustly evicted from their home. This contemporary tale with Bollywood overtones follows the daily life of Dayana, a sixteen-year-old girl who works in the grocery store and dreams of a princess-like life, far from the back room where her family has settled.
10.0Chris Sharma is one of the GOATs of climbing. His first ascents of iconic boulder problems, deep water solos, and sport routes around the world have defined the cutting edge of athletic performance and aesthetic vision for the last 25 years. But it’s been a minute since we’ve seen a new “King Line” from Sharma. Now in his forties, Chris has spent the last few years raising two young kids, opening a series of climbing gyms, launching a TV show, and trying to stay in shape through it all. When he discovers a magnificent new line in the sport climbing mecca of Siurana, Spain, just an hour and a half from his house, the Sleeping Lion is awakened, and Sharma is pulled deep into the project mindset again. Becoming a self-described “extreme weekend warrior,” he juggles family and work commitments with the obsession of trying to climb one of his hardest routes ever.
5.8In this East German teen musical, a group of girls are planning to take their summer vacation together on the Baltic coast. When a loud and obnoxious group of boys intrudes on their holiday, the girls are horrified to learn that the boys have the same vacations plans as them. The two groups quarrel with each other and compete over a number of things, but gradually an attraction starts to form.
6.1A young Jewish man is torn between tradition and individuality when his old-fashioned family objects to his career as a jazz singer. This is the first full length feature film to use synchronized sound, and is the original film musical.
7.1The deformed Phantom who haunts the Paris Opera House causes murder and mayhem in an attempt to make the woman he loves a star.
8.0A homeless single father and musician gets the opportunity to finally showcase his talent, but first, he must overcome his stage fright.
Coverage of the ceremonial procession of the Queen's coffin through central London to lying-in-state at Westminster Hall. HM the King and members of the royal family take part in the procession as the cortège makes its way from Buckingham Palace to the Palace of Westminster. The doors of Westminster Hall will open for the first members of the public to pay their respects to Queen Elizabeth II.
6.7Featuring never-before-seen concert footage and narration by Jeff Bridges, this documentary explores CCR's humble origins and meteoric rise. It includes the entire set recorded at the Royal Albert Hall on April 14th, 1970.
6.7Follows the artist over two years as he explores his „life after Beethoven“, as he searches for his next challenge, his identity as an artist.
0.0Legacy and Jax want out of the drug game. How much will they sacrifice for the ultimate dream?
0.0A documentary that tries to explain the reason for the passion of the Mexican football fandom.