THE FULL MONTEVERDI

Combination of ancient madrigals and a contemporary setting that works surprisingly well. (Review by Lynne Goodman)

And now for something completely different - a combination of ancient madrigals and a contemporary setting that works surprisingly well.

This hour-long cinematic treat features six couples in the process of breaking up their relationships with all the accompanying traumas, from pleading and sighing to storming off - in fact everything that goes to make up a popular modern soapie. The difference is that there is not a single spoken word as the passionate interactions are accompanied throughout by 17th century part singing. Yet this audacious cinematic experiment by John la Bouchardiere is so skilfully devised and presented that by the end it is impossible not to be drawn in to the dramatic interactions.

It is a given that you must enjoy choral music to appreciate the film to the full - and on this level there’s a rich reward in the brilliant singing of the Fagiolini Ensemble to match the very vivid acting from the 12 lovers.

The relatively little known 17th century composer Claudio Monteverdi was seen as a great modernist in his time as he brought the madrigal to its highest level of development in Italy and then became the first great composer of opera. His genius was always searching for a fresh way of expressing itself, so perhaps it is not that improbable to hear his inventive harmonies in tandem with fast cars and cell phones four centuries later. The words of the songs describing such heartfelt truths as the miracle of love and the sorrow of parting, are written on the screen and demonstrate the universality of passion through the ages.

The film’s witty title says it all: The Full Monteverdi is a play on the hit British screen comedy, after which the expression ‘The Full Monty’ came to mean going the whole way. Hailed as a cinematic and musical triumph, this stimulating curiosity is among the filmed operas and ballets that we would never have had the joy of experiencing without the efforts of the Cinema Nouveau. It replaces the spectacular Russian ballet production of Don Quixote, but as it is likely to have a much more limited appeal, don’t bank on it running for longer than a week. – Lynne Goodman