Montreal is the place to be!
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Set in the opulent 1920s, "Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky," part of the Cinemania Film Festival, tells the tale of the tumultuous love affair between the great fashion designer and the greatest composer of the 20th century. COURTESY CINEMANIA FILM FESTIVAL |
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By Jim Lowe Times Argus Staff - Published: October 30, 2009
"Montreal is the place to be!" The somewhat modified line from the "Green Acres" theme describes the coming week in Montreal to a tee. For one, the Cinemania Film Festival, North America's most acclaimed French film festival with Vermont ties, opens on Wednesday with a Woody Allen-esque comedy à la française. A classic American tragedy, with a familiar top director opens at the Centaur on Friday, while the Opera de Montréal begins a new production of one of the most universally entertaining comic operas on Saturday.
Comedy en français
Cinemania was created 15 years ago by Maidy Teitelbaum, who spends half her time at her Waitsfield home, during the depths of French-Anglo conflict in Quebec. The French weren't allowing English subtitles on French films and Anglos like Teitelbaum were miffed. So she started a film festival.
The conflict has died down, but Cinemania has come to be one of the foremost French film festivals in North America.
In 2007, it presented the North American premiere of "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly," which subsequently became a box office hit throughout the United State and Canada. Last year, the Dardenne brothers' riveting "Lorna's Silence," an almost tragic tale of the European immigrant crisis starring Arta Dobroshi, had its North American premiere, and will be a highlight of the next Green Mountain Film Festival.
This year's opening film is a bit different, a twisted comedy inspired by Allen as well as Buster Keaton, Emmanuel Mouret's "Fais-moi plaisir! (Please Me, Please Me)." Mouret, who will be on hand to introduce the film, plays an endearing oaf who is so obsessed with another woman that his girlfriend insists he consummate the passion – so he will get over it.
This year's guest of honor will be the legendary French director and political activist Costa-Gravas (born Constantinos Gravas in Greece in 1933). In addition to a public master class, he will present a re-mastering of his classic 1969 "Z," starring Yves Montand. He will also be on hand for the Canadian premiere of his 2009 tale of an immigrant's woe," "Eden is West."
Another intriguing film is "Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky," Jan Kounen's imagining of the tumultuous love affair between the great fashion designer and the greatest composer of the 20th century, set in the opulent 1920s Paris. From Nov. 5 to 15, Cinemania will present 28 French films with English subtitles – 15 North American premieres, five Canadian and eight Quebec.
All screenings will be at the Imperial Cinema, 1430 rue de Bleury (near the corner of St. Catherine). Individual film admission is $10.50 Canadian, $8.50 for students and seniors; for schedule and information, go online to www.cinemaniafilmfestival.com.
Dark and darker
"Death and the Maiden," winner of the 1991 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Play, is Ariel Dorfman's now classic psychological thriller set in an unnamed country, likely Chile. A former political prisoner finds herself with the man whom she thinks participated in her torture and rape to Schubert's "Death and the Maiden" string quartet. She kidnaps him in order to extract a confession, while her husband, a lawyer for the Truth and Reconciliation Committee, is torn between his wife and the law. As the married couple seeks the truth from the clouded past, the tension builds to a startling conclusion.
The Centaur Theatre's production, which runs Nov. 5-Dec. 6 at its Old Montreal playhouse (around the corner from Notre Dame), will be directed by Gordon McCall. More than a year ago the Canadian- born director left his position of more than a decade as the Centaur's artistic director to become theater professor at Purdue University. Last month, McCall directed a production of Evelyne de la Chenelière's "Strawberries in January" at Burlington's Champlain College using local professional actors. The production proved compelling and the actors found McCall inspiring.
The Centaur Theatre is Montreal's top English-language theater, and McCall is one of the finest directors around, so "Death and the Maiden" should be a powerful experience. Performances are at 8 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday (except Dec. 2 at 7 p.m.), plus 2 p.m. matinees on Saturdays and some Sundays. Tickets are $43.50-$38.50 Canadian, $36 for seniors; $24 for students; call (514) 288-3161, or go online to www.centaurtheatre.com.
And into the light
"The Magic Flute," Mozart's fantasy opera, has something for everyone. On one level, it's a fairy tale on two levels – one for children, and a subtly darker and more sexual one for adults; it's a layered tale of Masonic morality full of symbolism; and it's a sublimely beautiful and entertaining musical masterpiece. Any way you look at it it's entertaining – and touching.
It's also Mozart's only opera that was written for and premiered in a vaudeville house.
The Opéra de Montréal production, which opens Saturday, Nov. 7, features an all-Canadian cast. Familiar to central Vermont audiences for her Violetta in the Green Mountain Opera Festival's 2008 "La Traviata," as well as concert appearances, soprano Aline Kutan sill sing the virtuoso role of the terrible Queen of the Night. The beautifully lyrical soprano Karina Gauvin will play Princess Pamina, while the oh-so-human bird-catcher Papageno will be the rich-sounding baritone Aaron St. Clair Nicholson. The oh-so-earnest Prince Tamino will be sung by tenor John Tessier, while the magnificent Sirastro will be portrayed by bass Richard Hagen.
Using sets and costumes by the famed David Hockney, Kelly Robinson will direct. Quebec conductor Alain Trudel will be in the pit with the Metropolitan Orchestra – and the Opéra de Montréal Chorus on stage.
If you've seen "The Magic Flute," I don't need to convince you to see it again. If you haven't, it's about time. You won't regret it.
Performances at Place des Arts' Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier are: Nov, 7, 11, 14, 16 and 19, at 8 p.m., plus 2 p.m. on Nov. 21. Tickets start at $48 (with discounts for 30 and younger); call 1-866-842-2112, or go online to www.operademontreal.com.
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