Edouard Manet war ein Flaneur im Paris des 19. Jahrhunderts. Zu Hause im Großbürgertum und befreundet mit Zolá und Baudelaire, wandte er sich von der Historienmalerei zunehmend Szenen des urbanen Lebens zu. Ein Leben lang sehnte er sich nach Anerkennung, doch Werke wie Frühstück im Freien und Olympia lösten nur heftige Skandale aus. Provokante Momentaufnahmen des Alltags schienen zudem nur halbfertig gemalt. Das beeindruckte jene Künstler, die später Impressionisten
genannt wurden. Der Film erzählt von der bewegten Zeit und dem Wirken Manets – eines Wegbereiters der Moderne.
From the English National Opera 1988 Nicholas Hytner’s innovative production has been
much acclaimed and this live recording from the English National Opera features outstanding
performances from a fine English cast, including Dame Ann Murray, Christopher Robson, Jean Rigby,
Lesley Garrett, Rodney Macann and Valerie Masterson. Designer David Fielding adds curious,
surreal touches to his eighteenth-century settings in the London pleasure gardens at Vauxhall,
which heighten the absurdity of the love intrigues in Handel’s comic opera. (Sung in
English)
Carolyn Carlson: Her body is long and slender – emaciated, almost. But certainly not lacking strength. Those distinctive lines – once in motion – are reminiscent of the rapid strokes of a calligrapher’s brush moving across a sheet of paper. Yet for all the spontaneity, every detail is considered. Nothing is left to chance. And the observer is given complete freedom to interpret the message the choreographer communicates in partnership with her performers, the composer and the designers of set, costume and lighting.
Carolyn Carlson is a magician of ambiguity who transports her audience into a netherworld where life meets death. Her characters (or choreographic structures) are subject to constant metamorphosis. For the inspiration she offers, modern and contemporary dance owes a debt of gratitude to this purist of simplicity.
The piece is set to an original score by Joachim Kühn, played on a piano, modified via a digital console. A company of eight dancers, including Carlson herself, perform Dark for this specially-shot studio recording.
Francis Bacon (1910-1992) is widely regarded as the greatest British painter of the twentieth century. He took the human figure as his main subject, painting distorted bodies that sit or lie alone in empty rooms. This programme follows Bacon from his studio, where he began work at dawn every day, to his favourite drinking club and gambling Joint in London’s Soho, and explores the way in which the life he led affected his vision of the world.
West Indian poet and playwright Derek Walcott has an unrivalled reputation among his peers and has been described by many, Salman Rushdie and the late Joseph Brodsky among them, as the greatest living English language poet. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1992. He now teaches at Boston University but returns to his native St. Lucia every summer to write. This programme was shot on location there and shows how Walcott sets out to capture the beauty of this Caribbean island in words.
Arvo Pärt’s St. John Passion stands foremost among the large number of works which can be assigned to the liturgical period of the Passion, for he takes up the narrative tradition of the Christian liturgy yet dramatises the Passion story to reveal historical and even timeless aspects as well. What most clearly distinguishes his works from other liturgical compositions is the silence, the many pauses. The missing notes are in some ways more important than those which have been composed. ‘Silence is always more perfect than music. One must just learn to hear this.’ (Arvo Pärt). With introduction.
Resounding through Durham Cathedral, Arvo Pärt’s St. John Passion is performed by the world-renowned Hilliard Ensemble, the Western Wind Choir and numerous soloists (including John Potter as Pilate and Michael George as Christ) under the overall direction of Paul Hillier.
Nicaragua’s terrorist troubles are well-known, but not so its other political phenomenon. When this programme was made in 1988, during turbulent peace negotiations, the
country was controlled almost entirely by prominent creative writers – from the President and his ministers, to key figures in the Opposition. The remarkable developments instigated by this literary government are shown in this film.
Peter Hall ended his distinguished fifteen-year reign as director of Britain’s Royal National Theatre by staging three of Shakespeare’s last plays – Cymbeline, The Tempest and The Winter’s Tale. This programme follows Hall and his actors from the first read-through up to the dress rehearsal, sharing the discoveries they made about Shakespeare’s plays along the way.
