Sky Arts and English National Opera have teamed up for a unique collaboration with leading figures from the visual arts to produce short films. Werner Herzog, Sam Taylor-Wood and Dougal Wilson’s short-films accompany a popular aria from ENO’s 2008/09 Sky Arts Season.
The varied body of work was produced to celebrate six years of Sky Arts’ season sponsorship of ENO and both organisations’ commitment to widening the appeal of opera. Set to recordings by ENO Orchestra conducted by ENO Music Director Edward Gardner, they feature singers Peter Auty, Geraint Dodd, Mary Plazas and Mark Stone.
The films shown in an exclusive documentary, Opera Shorts: Behind The Scenes, on Sky Arts. Featuring interviews with all three directors, and their films in full, the programme reveal the story behind this innovative project.
The short films can be seen below:
Short film from director Werner Herzog. The four minute film features images of harsh life in Ethiopia set to “O Soave Fanciulla” from the opera La Bohème.
“I’ve no doubt that the film shorts will generate interest from a whole new generation of music lovers – the results are fantastic. Filming in High Definition in Africa allowed us to juxtapose the traditions of opera with a real innovative setting, the uniqueness of which is hopefully reflected in the final film.” -Werner Herzog
You can also read Herzog’s interview here
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Sam Taylor-Wood chose to interpret Vesti la giubba (Put on the costume) from Pagliacci.
She commented: “I’m really happy to be involved in such a great project. I think by capturing one of opera’s most moving moments in a film short, we have put a modern spin on the aria.”
She commented: “I’m really happy to be involved in such a great project. I think by capturing one of opera’s most moving moments in a film short, we have put a modern spin on the aria.”
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Pop video director Dougal Wilson chose Largo al Factotum (Here at your service to do or die) from The Barber Of Seville.
“I’m used to working with artists such as Goldfrapp and Will Young, so working with ENO presented me with a really fresh challenge. Directing an opera short allowed me to apply modern artistic disciplines to a traditional source to hopefully create a really engaging piece of work.” - Dougal Wilson
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