Opera Meets Film: Strained Relations and Non-Endings in Sebastian Fagerlund’s ‘Autumn Sonata’

(Photo: Sakari Viika/Finnish Music Quarterly) Throughout operatic history, family difficulties are among the most widely utilized themes by composers, with the more recognizable feuds seemingly being children and their (step) mothers. From Pamina and her mother (“Die Zauberflöte”), Hansel, Gretel, and their stepmother (“Hansel and Gretel”), Lucette/Cinderella and her stepmother (“Cendrillon”), and Elektra and her stepmother (“Elektra”), there is something {…}

Jul 31, 2025

Opera Meets Film: The Dramaturgy of an Operatic Life in Alan Crosland’s ‘Greater Than Fame’

In the body of opera-oriented films, from contemporary works like ‘The Moon and the Stars‘ (2007), and ‘Florence Foster Jenkins‘ (2016), to earlier icons like ‘Fire at the Opera‘ (1930) and ‘Champagne Waltz‘ (1939), the ways opera and operatic life is conveyed on screen is highly diverse. However, go far enough backwards and one will find a way of conveying the operatic body {…}

Jan 23, 2025

Opera Meets Film: The Follies of Acting Singers in Paolo Gep Cucco & Davide Livermore’s ‘The Opera!’

What happens when a rather questionable story where good intentions end up futile in the face of capricious behavior is re-conceptualized? “The Opera!” by directors Paolo Gep Cucco and Davide Livermore. It is a strange sort of film where the two central characters are played by opera singers (Orpheus, Valentino Buzza and Eurydice, Mariam Battistelli) who seem woefully under-prepared to {…}

Jul 20, 2023

Opera Meets Film: Fiction Meets Fairytale In Henry Cass’ ‘The Glass Mountain’

The idea of putting a movie inside of movie isn’t new, just look at films like “Matinee” (1993) and “The Stunt Man” (1980). But what about an opera inside an opera-based film? This is also not new. For example, the 1947 British film, “Take My Life.” For British director Henry Cass, however, the idea was realized in his 1949 film, {…}

Nov 10, 2022

Opera Meets Film: Shostakovich Reimagined In Andrey Khrzhanovsky’s ‘The Nose’

Censorship. Repression. Scorn. Brutality. Humor. Absurdity. Hysteria. Russia’s relationship with self-expression has been a fraught one throughout its tumultuous history. Full of danger and hardship, with no guarantee that your vision will be seen, respected, or even tolerated unless it is confined to authorized narratives, music has always been that one art form whose voice is hard to control and {…}

Sep 23, 2021

Opera Meets Film: For Love & Motherland – the Glorious Ideals of ‘Tosca’ and ‘Stalingrad’

Following the signing of the Moscow Declarations in October 1943, an international agreement between the four key allied powers—China, Soviet Union, United States, and United Kingdom— formed to defeat the Tripartite Pact and restore global peace by proxy; Stalin would issue an emphatic, jingo-hawk address only a month later. Speaking at the 26th Anniversary of the October Revolution Celebration Meeting {…}

Aug 26, 2021

Opera Meets Film: How Leos Carax Spotlights Opera’s Inherent Misogyny in ‘Annette’

“Opera Meets Film” is a feature dedicated to exploring the way that opera has been employed in cinema. We will select a section or a film in its entirety, highlighting the impact that utilizing the operatic form or sections from an opera can alter our perception of a film that we are viewing. This week’s installment features Leo Carax’s “Annette.’ {…}

Jan 7, 2021

Opera Meets Film: The Narrative & Emotional Nuance of Wagner’s ‘Das Rheingold’ in Herzog’s ‘Nosferatu the Vampyre

“Opera Meets Film” is a feature dedicated to exploring the way that opera has been employed in cinema. We will select a film section or a film in its entirety and highlight the impact that utilizing the operatic form or sections from an opera can alter our perception of a film that we are viewing. This week’s installment features Werner {…}

Apr 23, 2020

Opera Meets Film: How the Meditation of ‘Thais’ Develops Character in ‘Transamerica’

Credit: Weinstein Company/Metropolitan Opera “Opera Meets Film is a feature dedicated to exploring the way that opera has been employed in cinema. We will hone in on a selection or a film in its entirety, highlighting the impact that utilizing the operatic form or sections from an opera can alter our perceptions of a film that we are viewing. This {…}

Apr 9, 2020

Opera Meets Film: The Opera House [Review]

Opera Meets Film” is a feature dedicated to exploring the way that opera has been employed in cinema. We will select a section or a film in its entirety, highlighting the impact that utilizing the operatic form or sections from an opera can alter our perception of a film that we are viewing. This week’s installment features “The Opera House. {…}

Mar 5, 2020

Opera Meets Film: How the ‘Così Fan Tutte’ Moment in ‘The Greatest Showman’ Is Emblematic of Film’s Structure

“Opera Meets Film” is a feature dedicated to exploring the way that opera has been employed in cinema. We will select a section or a film in its entirety, highlighting the impact that utilizing the operatic form or sections from an opera can alter our perception of a film that we are viewing. This week’s installment features “The Greatest Showman.” {…}

opera meets film