Daniel E. Freeman, author of Josef Myslivecek, "Il Boemo," and Patrick Dewane, artist and performer of The Accidental Hero, will be in attendance on Sun, April 23rd for a post screening discussion.
This sumptuous period drama recreates the tragic life and sublime music of now-forgotten, Czech-born composer Josef Myslivecek (1737-1781), known as “Il Boemo” in Italy where he established his career. Myslivecek was one of the most prolific opera composers of the Baroque era. He inspired the young Mozart and became his friend. His compositions were in-demand at opera houses from Naples to Venice, then the pleasure capital of Europe. But undone by the vices of the age (women, gambling and the changing musical tastes of the aristocracy who once supported his commissions), “Il Boemo” met an untimely and undignified end. Director Petr Václav, a Czech expat living in Paris, spent years on research and it shows on the big screen in magnificent period detail. Musically as well as visually vivid, Václav enlisted the Collegium 1704 ensemble to perform Myslivecek’s music along with an eminent cast of singers including Simona Saturova as Italian diva La Gabrielli. –Alissa Simon
Director Biography
Born in 1967 in Prague, Petr Václav and is a graduate of The Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. His films include Marian (1996), Praha ocima (1999), Paralelní svety (2001), The Way Out (2014), Zpoved' zapomenutého (2015), We Are Never Alone (2016), Skokan (2017) and The Bohemian (2022).