MARTIN KALMANOFF: AMERICAN COMPOSER

MARTIN KALMANOFF: AMERICAN COMPOSER

    Price: $59.95

    Code: 1067

    Directed by Ron Myrvik
    1990, 28 minutes
    Purchase:$59.95

    Kalmanoff, who studied composition at Harvard with Walter Piston, has written over fifty-four works for the musical theater, including seventeen operas, all of which feature lyrical, witty and inventive music. Among his notable operas are The Bald Soprano, adapted from the Ionesco play, The Harmfulness of Tobacco by Anton Chekhov, Opera Opera by William Saroyan, and a three-act grand-opera version of The Insect Comedy by Karel and Josef Capek. In addition, Kalmanoff's popular songs have been recorded over 200 times by such singers as Mario Lanza, Dean Martin, Eddie Fisher, Pat Boone, Connie Francis, Steve Lawrence, Robert Goulet, Tony Bennet, and Elvis Presley. This video tells the composer's own story, in his own words, and shows the difficulties a creative artist has in bring his work before the public. The video also includes Kalmanoff's Photograph 1920, a video opera with text by Gertrude Stein, which features a duet of a soprano singing with herself. Director Ron Myrvik has utilized state-of-the-art video techniques and special effects to create a 1920's sensibility filtered through a 1990's perspective, with the visuals complemented by Kalmanoff's raucous 1920's piano score.

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