Dynamic and inspiring, Russian conductor Valéry Gergiev’s dedication to his work and his passion for music are unbounded. In recent years he has revitalised the Kirov Opera and the White Nights Festival in St. Petersburg, created the Mikkeli International Festival in Finland, conducted virtually all of the major international orchestras and become the Principal Conductor of the Rotterdam Philharmonic. This documentary covers the wide spectrum of Gergiev’s musical activities, shows him in rehearsal and performance and includes an in-depth interview.
Roger Ballen
Roger Ballen is an American photographer who lives and works in South Africa. His shocking and moving pictures of poor rural whites confound preconceptions about this troubled country and reveal some of the deeper complexities and contradictions of its tragedy. This film follows Ballen on a photographic shoot in the flat, bleak platteland of the Western Transvaal.
The Fairy Queen
The new production of Purcell’s The Fairy Queen launched in 1995 by the English National Opera (ENO) was received with great enthusiasm by both the public and musical press. This atmospheric production was prepared by David Pountney, Robert Israel created the stage set, Dunya Ramicova was responsible for costume design and Quinny Sacks was responsible for the choreography of the dance roles as well as the numerous breathtaking ballet scenes. Under the musical direction of Nicholas Kok, the English National Orchestra played a baroque music which was as crystal clear as it was expressively infectious. Next to outstanding performers of the dancing roles such as Puck (Simon Rice) and the Indian boy (Arthur Pita), an entire armada of excellent singers was summoned up such as one seldom experiences together on the baroque opera stage. These included Yvonne Kenny as Titania, Thomas Randle as Oberon and Richard Van Allan as King Theseus. Jonathan Best, with his comic portrayal of the drunken poet, was loved by the audience and praised highly by the press, while other singers like Michael Chance, Mary Hegarthy, Janis Kelly, Marc Le Brocq and Christopher Ross all contributed their talents to produce an unusual musical theatre experience.
P. J. O’Rourke
P. J. O’Rourke is America’s funniest political satirist. He combines brilliant humour with a right-wing libertarianism that verges on anarchism. In best-selling books such as
Republican Party Reptile, Parliament of Whores and Holidays in Hell, he has attacked the absurdities of political life and savaged his opponents with style and wit. In these days of political correctness, he endeavours to offend as many people as he can. Filmed at the writer’s home in New Hampshire, this programme explores the O’Rourke phenomenon.
Miriam Makeba
This exclusive profile of singer Miriam Makeba, whose music and story are a powerful and moving testimony to South Africa’s struggle for freedom, was filmed on location in her homeland. Miriam and her band are featured in specially-recorded performances and she talks in interview about her early life in South Africa and the time she spent in exile in America, where she was involved with the civil rights movement. Archive newsreel and feature film footage are vivid reminders of her country’s troubled past.
Jordi Savall
Jordi Savall, the internationally-acclaimed Catalan musician, is a pre-eminent exponent of medieval, Renaissance and baroque music interpretation, and is widely credited with the rebirth of the viola da gamba. His schedule of performances is intense, but he still finds time to teach and to continue his musical research. All these aspects of his work are illuminated in this documentary, which includes a rich variety of performance and rehearsal extracts, exemplifying the musical eclecticism of this exceptional practitioner.
Norman Forster
Norman Foster is widely considered to be one of the world’s greatest living architects, a master of Modernism, but also highly respected for his flair when converting older
buildings to present day needs. This portrait reveals not only his genius, but also his highly sensitive and artistic personality. His passion for architecture, his perfectionism and his deep concern with creating life-enhancing environments are clearly demonstrated as he is seen at work, and in the consideration of some of his major projects.
Jonathan Miller
Jonathan Miller is one of the world’s most sought-after directors of plays and operas. In this programme, he talks illuminatingly about his ideas on bringing classic works to life for today’s audiences, focusing on Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Mozart’s Così fan tutte. This film of Miller rehearsing this opera at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden gives a fascinating insight into his way of working and shows how he puts his ideas into action.
Edward Albee
Albee is one of America’s most important modern dramatists. In this overview of his work, he talks candidly about his writing and discusses one of its central themes: the essential stripping away of illusion and self-delusion in order to live the extraordinary experience of life to the full. Filmed in New York, the programme is illustrated with extracts from stage and screen versions of his plays including Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, A Delicate Balance and Three Tall Women.
Country Music
This colourful, upbeat documentary travels to Nashville to look at the huge impact women singers have recently made on the country music scene. It is jam-packed with music, from wonderful catchy songs to hauntingly emotive ballads and features artists including Kathy Mattea, Mary Chapin Carpenter and Pam Tillis, as well as long-time stars Dolly Parton and Tammy Wynette.