Streaming possibility--Christopher Menaul's FIRST NIGHT: opera and love on a lavish estate

Everything seems in place for a fun and frisky entertain-ment, as Adam, a wealthy business magnate with a yen to sing  (Richard E. Grant), hires a professional group of singers, orchestra, director and costumer to stage a production of Mozart's Cosi fan Tutte on his gorgeous estate in Britain. If only. The director and co-writer (with Jeremy Sams) of this gaudy and overcooked concoction, Christopher Menaul (shown below), has packed it so full of plot and subplot, comings and goings, and loves lost and found that the final film, titled FIRST NIGHT, desperately needs better focus and above all some genuinely clever dialog and a more consistent style.

What is does have, and which helps considerably, is a good cast, all of whom do a decent job in roles that ought to have given them more to work with. It also has some fine singing -- dubbed into the mouths of the cast, who lipsynch rather well. (This actually assures that the most enjoyable sections of the film are those in which we see and hear pieces of Mozart's opera staged.) There is also a beautiful Rottweiler named Baskerville who helps push the plot along. That plot mostly has to do with love: between the randy leading man (Julian Ovenden) and leading lady (Mia Maestro); between Adam and the woman he's brought in to be the musical director (played by Sarah Brightman, shown two photos below with Mr. Grant); and the opera's director (Oliver Dimsdale), his singer/girlfriend (the standout performance here, by Emma Williams, below) and his best friend (Nigel Lindsay).

The plotting, an exceedingly connect-the-numbers sort of thing, gives little chance for the oddities of human nature to surface, so we wait for the next snatch of opera to appear -- which, fortunately, is never long in arriving.

This sort of thing -- the let's-put-on-a-show movie -- has worked well before (most recently in the Minnie Driver vehicle Hunky Dory), but it requires some real creativity and originality, rather than the paint-by-numbers variety used here.

By the time the movie reaches its foregone happy ending, my better half had vacated the premises and left me alone to watch the final few minutes (which were mostly devoted to very lengthy credits). You can do the same, as the movie is now available via Netflix streaming.

Holocaust guilt and shame surface once more in Lisa Kirk Colburn's GOTTFRIED HELNWEIN AND THE DREAMING CHILD

Welcome to Austria, birthplace of Adolf Hitler, of (by extension) The Holocaust, and much later of artist Gottfried Helnwein. During the course of GOTTFRIEND HELNWEIN AND THE DREAMING CHILD -- the new documentary from filmmaker Lisa Kirk Colburn, Herr Helnwein, a successful artist of our current times, reminds us that young Adolf was also an artist and that the Viennese art acade-my's rejection of him (evidently, he needed better drawing skills) was history's worst mistake. After all, who know what might have (not) happened, had Hitler found some earlier success?

The Holocaust, it would seem, accounts for Helnwein's choice of subject matter -- the ever-present child, together with the betrayal of innocence. As his reputation and his work have grown, Helnwein came to be chosen as the production designer for the Israeli Opera's 2010 production of famed (and late) playwright Hanoch Levin's The Child Dreams, a new opera to be based upon Levin's popular play. In her new film about all this, Ms Colburn, shown at right, gives us some relatively interesting glimpses of what transpires as the opera makes its way from conception through execution.

As collaborators, Levin and Helnwein would seem to be ideal, even if one of them is no longer available for input, and so the movie appears to be taking on the subject of the "making" of collaborative art and how this occurs. We see the clash over the question of the use of an actual child in the lead role or the more usual route of casting a short and young-looking adult. (In any case, an adult will have to do the singing, as no child's voice would be up to the demands of the opera's score.)

Control is also paramount to Helnwein, as it is to some others -- like the lighting designer, who tends to work from intuition, while Heln-wein wants to know and see what he will be getting right now. We're offered bits and pieces of a lot of things, from Levin's original tale to a little of the music and lyrics, the sets and even a look at some of the cast members. If you don't know this play or opera, however (as I certainly don't) not a lot will resonate -- even though Colburn tries to connect it all via Helnwein's child-centered work.

It's not that we don't understand what is going on -- of course we do -- but it all remains a little too diffuse for more than cursory interest. Toward the end we leave the opera almost entirely to go back to the artist's earlier work, a piece called Selektion,(a defaced section of which is shown at left) that has quite a Holocaust connection and perhaps will be used again in marketing the opera. (Or not -- I was unclear just how these two things related,)
 

Ms Colburn is a relative newcomer to film and documentary, so I wonder if simply a filmed version of the opera itself might have been more effective and interesting, or perhaps a movie that concentrated more on the artist, his history, and a larger selection of his work? Gottfried Helnwein and the Dreaming Child falls midway between the two and seems less effective because of this.

TrustMovies does admit that he knew absolutely nothing about anything or anyone in this documentary before sitting down to view it, and afterwards he came out knowing a lot more than he did going in. So he'll give it that, at least.

The film, from First Run Features and running just 72 minutes, opens this Friday, November 23, in New York City at the Quad Cinema. Elsewhere? There appears to be nothing scheduled as yet, but, as they appear, you can see all upcoming playdates here.

Emerging Pictures' Opera in Cinema continues in NYC with "Rig" at the "Big"

Opera buffs have another dose of heaven upcoming as Emerging Pictures continues unfolding its array of Opera in Cinema, with Verdi's RIGOLETTO arriving live at Manhattan's luxurious Big Cinema, direct from London's Royal Opera House, on Tuesday,
April 17, at 2:30 pm.

With a cast that includes
Rigoletto: DIMITRI PLATANIAS
Marullo: ZHENGZHONG ZHOU
Gilda: EKATERINA SIURINA
Count Monterone: GIANFRANCO MONTRESOR
Duke of Mantua: VITTORIO GRIGOLO
Giovanna: TBA
Matteo Borsa: PABLO BEMSCH
Page: ANDREA HAZELL
Count Ceprano: JIHOON KIM
Court Usher: NIGEL CLIFFE
Countess Ceprano: LOUISE ARMIT
Maddalena: CHRISTINE RICE
and featuring the Royal Opera Chorus
and the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, this should prove a well-sung (in Italian with English sub-titles) and acted 2 hours and 7 minutes.

Usually TrustMovies covers these Emerging Pictures events after the fact, but I wanted to give you a heads-up now, should any of my readers want to be "present at the creation," so to speak.

To learn where this opera will be playing near you this coming Tuesday, or during its several encore performances (it will no longer be "live," but it will be in high-definition), simply click here and then type your zip code into the bar at top that says Search for theaters, titles and showtimes.

Update: Whoops -- attending a "live" via satellite performance often provides the unexpected. At my last opera, during a Manhattan storm, the satellite signal was lost. Today, at Rigoletto, there were no English subtitles, as had been announced.  When I departed, at the half-hour mark, the powers-that-be were working on obtaining these from London. Ah, well.

On a more down-and-dirty note, this opera, at least in that first act, provided quite a bit of full-frontal, male and female nudity, in addition to the full-bodied voices on display. Today's opera companies, I surmise, are using all possible weapons in their arsenal to draw in an audience.

Opera on the big screen: Verdi's NABUCCO via satellite (and Emerging Pictures)

Live opera, in High-Definition, via satellite? Zowie! Well, sort of. The first act of Giuseppe Verdi's NABUCCO -- sat-cast from the one-of-a-kind Teatro Antico in Taormina, Sicily -- proved sterling: passionately conducted by Pier Giorgio Morandi, beautifully sung by its cast and chorus, well-enough acted (come on, it's opera!) and given a knock-out production that makes wonderful use of the open-space theater and some fabulous projections. It was all quite enough to pass muster for yours truly, an only-rare opera attendee, and who, in this case, is speaking only of the first act. Toward the end of that act, and thankfully brief, but much more present at the start of Act Two, something -- perhaps the gigantic downpour that was occurring just outside the theater and throughout much of  New York City -- was interfering with the reception, resulting in a message on screen that kept flashing us with the words "weak signal," and then little or no sound and a repeatedly pixelating picture. So TrustMovies beat a hasty retreat.

Chiara Taigi, left, plays/sings the naughty Abigaille, while

 Eufemia Tufano, right, essays the role of her good sis, Fenena 

That first act, however, proved enough to convince him of what a fine idea this hi-def, video opera really can be. To begin with, the Teatro Antico setting -- a wonderful amphitheater overlooking the coast of Taormina (remember Purple Noon?!), shown on poster, top, at night, and below in daylight, with the Ionian Sea and Mount Etna in the background -- is spectacular enough. Plus, there's the Verdi. Nabucco was the composer's third opera, and the one that most helped earn him his initial reputation. The Manhattan venue chosen for the occasion -- the Big Cinema on East 59th Street between 2nd and 3rd Avenues -- can't be beat: friendly, helpful staff; the most comfortable seats in town; good sight-lines; and well-regulated air-conditioning, cool but not freezing.

The $25 ticket price might sound steep. But consider what you're getting. (Also consider the cost of a seat at the city's only remaining major opera house, and I think you will be convinced.) If you have not yet tried this yearly series, coming to us via Emerging Pictures, you owe yourself a treat. Click here for a listing of future  Nabucco showings, plus the dates, times and cities in which you can attend. For those who missed seeing all four acts -- due to yesterday's weather -- there is an encore performance of the entire opera (without any transmission problem, since it will be shown in full HD quality off a server hard drive), on August 21st at 11 a.m., again at Big Cinema in New York City.)

Further, should one of these interruptions occur in any Emerging Pictures LIVE presentation, a full refund or a gratis ticket to the encore screening (or another opera) will be provided. To see a complete listing of the remaining "Live" and Encore performances in the 20111-12 Opera-in-Cinema season, click here. Or consult the listing below, which offers the latest information as per Emerging Pictures:

OPERA in CINEMA 2011-2012

Faust, Charles-Francois Gounod LIVE FROM THE Royal Opera House, London, England LIVE: Wednesday September 28, 2pm EDT RECOMMENDED RECORDED SCREENING DATE: Sunday October 2, 2011 RECOMMENDED ENCORE DATE: Tuesday October 11, 2011 STARRING Vittorio Grigolo, René Pape, Angela Gheorghiu and Dimitri Hvorostovsky ESTIMATED RUNNING TIME: 255 minutes including one intermission

Adriana Lecouvreur, Francesco Cilea CAPTURED LIVE AT THE Royal Opera House RECOMMENDED RECORDED SCREENING DATE: Sunday October 23, 2011 RECOMMENDED ENCORE DATE: Tuesday November 1, 2011 STARRING Angela Gheorghiu, Jonas Kaufmann, Olga Borodina ESTIMATED RUNNING TIME: 151 minutes plus 2 intermissions

Tosca, Giacomo Puccini CAPTURED LIVE AT THE Royal Opera House RECOMMENDED RECORDED SCREENING DATE: Sunday November 13, 2011 RECOMMENDED ENCORE DATE: Tuesday November 15, 2011 STARRING: Angela Gheorghiu, Jonas Kaufmann, Bryn Terfel and Lukas Jakobski ESTIMATED RUNNING TIME: 194 minutes including two intermissions

Don Giovanni, W.A. Mozart LIVE FROM Opening Night at Teatro alla Scala LIVE: Wednesday December 7, 2011, 12noon EST RECOMMENDED RECORDED SCREENING DATE: Sunday December 11, 2011 RECOMMENDED ENCORE DATE: Tuesday December 13, 2011 STARRING Anna Netrebko and Bryn Terfel CONDUCTED BY Daniel Barenboim ESTIMATED RUNNING TIME: 195 minutes including intermissions

Cendrillon, Jules Massenet CAPTURED LIVE AT THE Royal Opera House RECOMMENDED RECORDED SCREENING DATE: Sunday January 22, 2012 RECOMMENDED ENCORE DATE: Tuesday January 24, 2012 STARRING: Joyce DiDonato, Alice Coote and Eglise Guttiérez ESTIMATED RUNNING TIME: 170 minutes including one intermission

Il Trittico, Giacomo Puccini CAPTURED LIVE AT THE Royal Opera House RECOMMENDED RECORDED SCREENING DATE: Sunday February 12, 2012 RECOMMENDED ENCORE DATE: Tuesday February 21, 2012 STARRING: Lucio Gallo, Eva-Maria Westbroek, Anja Harteros, Anna Larsson, Elena Zilio ESTIMATED RUNNING TIME: 225 minutes including two intermissions

La Bohème, Giacomo Puccini LIVE FROM THE Gran Teatre del Liceu LIVE: Tuesday March 13, 2012, 3pm EDT RECOMMENDED RECORDED SCREENING DATE: Sunday March 25, 2012 RECOMMENDED ENCORE DATE: Tuesday March 27, 2012 STARRING Ramón Vargas and Fiorenza Cedolins ESTIMATED RUNNING TIME: 170 minutes including intermissions

Rigoletto, Giuseppe Verdi LIVE FROM THE Royal Opera House, London, England LIVE: Tuesday April 17, 2012, Time TBA RECOMMENDED RECORDED SCREENING DATE: Sunday April 22, 2012 RECOMMENDED ENCORE DATE: Tuesday April 24, 2012 STARRING Dimitri Plantanias, Ekaterina Siurina, Vittorio Grigolo, Christine Rice ESTIMATED RUNNING TIME: 129 minutes with intermissions

Spotlight Titles Available Now

La Traviata, Giuseppe Verdi CAPTURED LIVE AT THE Royal Opera House, London STARRING Renée Fleming, Joseph Calleja and Thomas Hampson RUNNING TIME: 136 minutes, plus 2 intermissions

Rigoletto from Mantua, Giuseppe Verdi CAPTURED LIVE On location in Mantua, Italy STARRING Plácido Domingo, Vittorio Grigolo, Julia Novikova and Ruggero Raimondi RUNNING TIME: 153 minutes, plus 1 intermission

The Magic Flute,W.A. Mozart CAPTURED LIVE AT Teatro alla Scala, Milan, Italy DIRECTED BY William Kentridge RUNNING TIME: 164 minutes plus one intermission

Manon, Jules Massenet CAPTURED LIVE AT THE Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona, Spain STARRING Natalie Dessay, Rolando Villazón and Samuel Ramey RUNNING TIME: 182 minutes with one intermission

Aida, Giuseppe Verdi CAPTURED LIVE AT THE Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino STARRING Roberto Tagliavini, Luciana D’Intino, Hui He and Marco Berti RUNNING TIME: 165 minutes plus 1 intermission

Carmen, Georges Bizet CAPTURED LIVE AT Teatro alla Scala STARRING Jonas Kaufmann, Erwin Schrott and Anita Rachvelishvili RUNNING TIME: 172 minutes plus 1 intermission

Macbeth, Giuseppe Verdi CAPTURED LIVE AT THE Royal Opera House STARRING Simon Keenlyside RUNNING TIME: 161 minutes plus one intermission