Letter to Peter, on Saint François d'Assise by Olivier Messiaen (1992)
Letter to Peter, on Saint François d'Assise by Olivier Messiaen
In 1992, Olivier Messiaen's epic opera "Saint François d'Assise" was brought to the Salzburg Festival in a staging by Peter Sellars. The distinct visual appearance that Sellars lent to the opera, where video monitors with powerful images are used as a sort of high-tech metaphor for a cathedral's stained glass, drew critical acclaim and is still talked about as a watershed moment in opera to this day. This film here is a 75-minute documentary on the 1992 staging. Jean-Pierre Gorin filmed Sellars, baritone José van Dam (St. Francis) soprano Dawn Upshaw (The Angel), and the LA Philharmonic and conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen as they rehearsed for the big day. There are interviews with these artists, though Sellars gets most of the screen time. The documentary is very much about Sellars' vision for Messiaen's theatrical drama. Very little is said about Messiaen's music.
Casting arrow_drop_down
as Self - Conductor
as Self - Soprano
as Self - Bass-Baritone
as Self - Baritone
as Self - Tenor
as Self - Baritone
as Self - Tenor
Crew arrow_drop_down
Producer
Executive Producer
Cinematography
Assistant Director
Camera Operator
Camera Operator
Director
Stage Director
Set Designer
Costume Designer
Lighting Design