Hal Hartley, European Opera, and the Kyle Gilman Connection (Cinema Purgatorio)

Hal Hartley, European Opera, and the Kyle Gilman Connection

May 16, 2008

We’ve noted before the Opera “Double Bill,” which Lech Majewski will direct at Bard college in late July and early August. Meanwhile, filmmaker and stalker Kyle Gilman reminds us of another summertime opera: La commedia, directed next month in Amsterdam by Hal Hartley, in collaboration with Louis Andriessen.

A former Hartley student, Kyle has been working with Hal for several years now, notably on The Girl from Monday and Fay Grim; Kyle then worked on other projects made by other filmmakers, such as Richard Sylvarnes and D.J. Mendel, also in Hal’s circle; more recently he has been working as an editor for hire. Hal now lives and works out of Berlin, and NYC-based Kyle isn’t on full time with him anymore, but the two still collaborate on a lot of projects. Such as the filmed parts of La commedia, which are presented as integral parts of the opera.

Kyle has posted technical notes about editing the film here and here, and he has generously shared some further information. La commedia premieres June 12 at De Nederlandse Opera, then runs June 14-18; tickets are running very low though a few might be available if you call +31(0)20 625 54 55. Here is the official synopsis:

Filmopera in five parts
texts by Dante, Vondel, and others, and from the Old Testament

Louis Andriessen’s latest music-theatre work, a collaboration with film director Hal Hartley, is based principally on Dante’s Divina Commedia. The non-linear narration unfolds in five stadia that also show the influence of Hieronymus Bosch. The simultaneous existence of heaven, purgatory, and hell; parallels between various scenes; and the use of film and stage effects; all create the complexity that is necessary to do justice to Dante’s greatest creation. To this end, all events portrayed on the film screen and on stage, including dance, the spoken word and song, should be regarded as a reaction to Andriessens’ extremely varied music. At the end of the piece we are left alone in the silence of eternity, with Beatrice and the perennial grumbler Cacciaguida.

The coincidence of these two operas - one directed by Majewski and one directed by Hartley - is remarkable, and not just in simultaneity. A few years ago Lech made a film explicitly influenced by and even titled after Bosch: The Garden of Earthly Delights. Lech has also directed opera before, including an adaptation of a different, canonical epic text: The Odyssey, which he staged on the River Thames in the 80s. Both directors regularly compose the music for their filmworks, and both direct performances that often feel aggressive and somewhat stilted as compared with performance norms elsewhere.

And, though I don’t think Hal and Lech have ever met each other, more importantly both have met Kyle Gilman!