Leonora

The enterprising and successful composer Paër comes from the tradition of the Italian opera and finds his place at the beginning of the bel canto opera. Spirited recitatives, extended arias, cabalettas, and marvelously mellow duets occur in sequence in his works, including his opera Leonora, premiered in 1804. During the Napoleonic Wars what he presented here was a heroic liberation opera of French stamp. The action corresponds to the spirit of the times, and the faithful wife displays heroism in her rescue of her unjustly imprisoned husband from a self-complacent tyrant’s dungeon. Dark political intrigues are denounced, and honesty, uprightness, and pure love are glorified.

Leonora Carrington was a key part of the surrealist movement during its heyday in Paris and yet, until recently, remained a virtual unknown in the country of her birth. This film explores her dramatic evolution from British debutante to artist in exile, living out her days in Mexico City, and takes us on a journey into her darkly strange and cinematic world.

Leonora Carrington was a key part of the surrealist movement during its heyday in Paris and yet, until recently, remained a virtual unknown in the country of her birth. This film explores her dramatic evolution from British debutante to artist in exile, living out her days in Mexico City, and takes us on a journey into her darkly strange and cinematic world.

Imprigionata per ventidue anni, dal 1663 al 1685, nella Torre Blu del Castello Reale di Copenaghen – sotto l’accusa di aver congiurato contro il re insieme a suo marito, il nobile Corfitz – Leonora Christina, figlia morganatica del re Cristiano IV di Danimarca, annotò clandestinamente le sue vicende, durante la prigionia, per istruirne i suoi figli. Ne è risultata una delle opere più enigmatiche e scabre di tutta la memorialistica – modernissima per l’asciuttezza del tono, per la prontezza nel cogliere il particolare, per l’invincibile ambiguità psicologica che la percorre. Scoperte e pubblicate soltanto nel 1869, ammirate da Rilke, Jacobsen e Andersen e oggi considerate un grande classico della letteratura danese, le «Memorie» di Leonora Christina vengono qui presentate per la prima volta in Italia..