David and Francisco Salazar discuss Timothée Chalamet’s comments on opera and the response to it. They also response to how opera and film have been intertwined for many years.
Additionally, they discuss the Oscars and the fact that the nominated song from “Viva Verdi!” will not be performed.
“Even those who know little about opera have heard of Giuseppe Verdi. What many don’t know is one of his most enduring accomplishments is Casa Verdi — a retirement home for musicians. Yvonne Russo’s documentary “Viva Verdi!” captures the vibrant life inside its walls, expressed in the aria “Sweet Dreams of Joy,” sung by soprano Ana María Martínez and composed by Nicholas Pike.
Producer Christine La Monte “sent me this 12-minute assembly, kind of like a teaser, and that’s all I saw,” says Pike. “The passion, the vitality of these residents, the mentoring of young, up-and-coming artists … I went over to the piano and wrote the song.”
He says the whole thing took about a day to craft, with its contemporary piano figures and classical vocals, imbued with the vivaciousness of Casa Verdi’s residents.
He wanted to capture the footage’s “energy and life and hope. We’ve all been to retirement homes; they can be pretty down places. This is 180 degrees from that.”
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The nominees -- also including Nicholas Pike and Max Richter -- share their reactions to being nominated with Billboard.
"Nicholas Pike, “Sweet Dreams of Joy,” Viva Verdi! (original song)
Writing an aria for the closing of Viva Verdi!, an independent documentary that shines a light on the elderly opera singers and musicians who live in Milan’s Casa Verdi retirement home (built by the composer in 1896) and mentor young music students, opened up a whole new path for Pike. “I can’t say I was a huge opera fan or going to the opera all the time,” he says before writing the song, but he found the process so enjoyable, he has written more arias for upcoming films and is now entertaining the idea of writing an opera that could hopefully appeal to a younger audience to “This is a passion of mine at the moment,” he says, adding the film “really brought all that to life. Ideally, I would get a commission of some sort.”
Pike, who also scored the documentary, wrote “Sweet Dreams of Joy” based on a 12-minute snippet of the film sent to him by producer Christine La Monte. “It was so inspiring, it was so full of humanity and music and energy, that I literally walked over to the piano and wrote the piece without any thought of would it end up in the film,” he says. “It was just so moving I had to write the piece. The lyrics took me a little longer to finesse them, but, really, it was just pure inspiration.”
"Dear Me" from DIANE WARREN: RELENTLESS
Music and Lyric by Diane Warren
"Golden" from KPOP DEMON HUNTERS
Music and Lyric by EJAE, Mark Sonnenblick, Joong Gyu Kwak, Yu Han Lee, Hee Dong Nam, Jeong Hoon Seo and Teddy Park
"I Lied To You" from SINNERS
Music and Lyric by Raphael Saadiq and Ludwig Goransson
"Sweet Dreams Of Joy" from VIVA VERDI!
Music and Lyric by Nicholas Pike
"Train Dreams" from TRAIN DREAMS
Music by Nick Cave and Bryce Dessner; Lyric by Nick Cave
The film is full of vibrancy and joy, enveloping us in an energetic community of the arts. Russo captures the essence of residents who grew up with the terribly antiquated mentality that life stops once you reach a certain age.
Read MoreChristine La Monte, producer/director/writer and former film marketing executive at Universal, Disney, and Orion is the founder/president of La Monte Productions where current projects include VIVA VERDI! the feature documentary Shortlisted for Best Song, where she serves as producer, writer and executive producer
Read More“An intimate glimpse into the lives of celebrated opera singers living out their ‘third act.’”
Christine emphasizes the importance of mentorship and nurturing emerging talent, sharing how storytelling through art can elevate consciousness and inspire meaningful dialogue. In this conversation, she invites us to explore a world where every voice matters and creativity becomes a force for change.
Read MoreIn VIVA VERDI, there’s another kind of alternative therapy at work,less medical, more unmistakably Italian. The men and women in their 80s and 90s dress to impress. No hospital gowns here. Instead, men button into sharp suits, women slip into high heels, and everyone heads out to lunch, to shop, to dine and yes, even to date.
Read MoreAs the documentary opens, Ai arrives at the theater for the first rehearsal and introduces himself and his closest colleague, choreographer Chiang Ching. He takes a moment. Then, in his soft but affirmative English, states to everyone's astonishment, "I'm not interested in opera at all. Ordinarily I don't listen to music. My Turandot is going to be different."
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