Respiro

Last night I watched 'Respiro' (2002) by Emanuele Crialese (b.1965). Set in southern Sicily on the Mediterranean island of Lampedusa, Crialese's warm and moving story of a young woman, Grazia, who behaves unconventionally, to the annoyance of the tight-knitted community, is a wonderful film. Crilese states of Grazia, the central character of the film-

"We have this weird tendency as human beings to look for the black sheep...they're the ones who get the blame, but it's through their sacrifice that we understand more about ourselves."

'Respiro's main attractions are equally, the great performance of Valerio Golino as the rebellious mother, the poor but supportive fishing community, and the spectacular coast-line, all of which are beautifully photographed throughout. The film concludes wordlessly, with a highly atmospheric piece of music which accompanys a collective swim and the reconciliation of runaway mother to husband and children .

The Marriage of Figaro

Last night I watched 'The Marriage of Figaro' on DVD. More lingua Italia, thank heavens for sub-titles! The whole art of Opera has been made much more accessible and comprehendable through DVD sub-titles. Nowadays super-text is also projected overhead at theatrical productions. At 140 minutes another marathon viewing session.

Mozart's opera Le Nozze di Figaro (K 492 ) concerns itself with sexuality in relation to social standing. There's some strong social comment going on here, as well as some heavenly harmonies and melodies. The production I watched was from 1993, with the Welsh singer Bryn Terfel in the role of Figaro and John Elliot Gardiner conducting the English baroque soloists . Imagine my surprise when near the denouement or unraveling of 2 hours of intrigue, deception, true love tested and attempted seduction, Figaro sings the following lines-

Fair Venus has gone in,
Her lover Mars will follow in,
Like a modern Vulcan,
I will catch them in my net.

It looks as if the Greek myth of Venus and Mars entangled by Vulcan's net was still in common stock in the eighteenth century, though credit where credit's due, it would have been the dramatist and librettist Beaumarchais who was familiar with the Greek myth, not Mozart. Beaumarchais wrote his scandalous play in 1784, the Mozart adaptation followed swiftly, its premiere was on May 1, 1786 . It was a great triumph for the composer, an instant hit and a box-office sell-out in Vienna. Cherubino's aria and maybe more from The Marriage of Figaro can be found on my Modern Dance and Ballet Videos page.

The Leopard

In Luchino Visconti's 1963 film 'The Leopard' Il Gattopardo, the star of the film is the Sicilian landscape, the whole film being a pageant of Sicilian culture. Burt Lancaster acts the lead as a Prince Salina, a Sicilian aristocrat. The highlight of the 178 minute film is a 45 minute ballroom sequence in which the world-weary Prince dances with the bride-to-be. Visually stunning in its photography, Visconti makes a political statement about the era in which the film is set, namely the Italian unification of 1870.