- This event has passed.
Il Boemo + Q&A with actor Vojtěch Dyk and director Petr Václav
November 18 @ 5:15 pm – 8:00 pm
A biopic of Josef Mysliveček, one of the most prolific opera composers in 18th century Italy, who was admired by Mozart and forgotten by history.
It’s 1764, and a charismatic Czech musician, Josef Mysliveček (Vojtěch Dyk), arrives in Venice to fulfil his dream of becoming an opera composer. His fortune changes along with his unpronounceable name when he forms a liaison with a libertine marquise who introduces him to a hedonistic existence and high society.
As Il Boemo, he is commissioned to write an opera for the San Carlo, Europe’s largest theatre, and soon becomes one of the biggest stars of the Italian opera, working closely with legendarily volatile opera diva La Gabrielli, writing an opera for the King of Naples and inspiring and befriending Mozart. Emphasising personal relationships, director Petr Vaclav, who has meticulously researched the composer, uses flashbacks to tell Mysliveček’s extraordinary story from his ascent to glory to his death in the poverty ravaged by syphilis.
Prompting comparison with Forman’s Amadeus, this is a lavish period piece, rich in costume and the sounds of live music recorded for the film by the Czech period ensemble Collegium 1704 with real-life opera stars. It is a must for all classic music lovers.
It premiered at the 2022 San Sebastian Film Festival. Czech Republic’s entry for the 2022 Academy Awards.
Part of the 27th Made in Prague Festival, 3rd Nov – 10th December 2023, organized by the Czech Centre London.
Responses