Letter to Peter, on Saint François d'Assise by Olivier Messiaen

Synopsis

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.

Main Cast

Esa-Pekka Salonen

Conductor

Age : 65 | Popularity : 3%

Peter Sellars

Director

Age : 66 | Popularity : 3%

George Tsypin

Set Designer

Age : N/A | Popularity : 3%

Dunya Ramicova

Costume Designer

Age : N/A | Popularity : 3%

James F. Ingalls

Lighting Designer

Age : N/A | Popularity : 3%

Dawn Upshaw

Soprano

Age : 63 | Popularity : 3%

José van Dam

Bass-Baritone

Age : 83 | Popularity : 3%

Urban Malmberg

Baritone

Age : 62 | Popularity : 3%

Crew

Department	Role	Name
Camera	Camera Operator	Walter Rektorik Felix Kränkl
Directing	Director	Jean-Pierre Gorin
	Assistant Director	Brooks Riley
Production	Executive Producer	Rainer Mockert
	Producer	Manfred Frei
Crew	Cinematography	Wolfgang Koch
Department	Role	Name

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