In a stroke of sheer brilliance, the award-winning French composer Ludovic Bource commissioned Dutch-born conductor Ernst van Tiel and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra to recreate the magic of Michel Hazanavicius’ 2011 black-and-white silent film. The result: The Artist Live In Concert.
In its opening season, the production played to sold-out venues across Europe and the UK before finding its way to the Sydney Opera House as part of the 38th annual Sydney Festival. A more perfect location could not have been chosen for the occasion. The film jumped off the screen and into the room from the opening bar of Bource’s exquisite score, allowing the audience to travel back in time to the golden age of cinema within the hallowed halls of our city’s premier music venue.
The film’s protagonist, George Valentin (masterfully portrayed by Jean Dujardin), is a charming and charismatic silent movie star whose life is thrown into disarray with the arrival of (cue scary music) the ‘talkies’. Hazanavicius’ wife Bérénice Bejo plays the ingénue flawlessly in a part written specially for her.
Tears, tantrums, laughter and love are only a handful of reasons why The Artist is the most-awarded French film in history and has been named a modern-day classic – even Valentin’s scene-stealing pooch Uggie was named Best Dog in a Theatrical Film at the first annual Golden Collar Awards.
Bource’s musical genius didn’t go unnoticed either – he took home a BAFTA, Golden Globe and an Oscar (just to name a few) for his work on The Artist, and he has since enjoyed international and critical acclaim. His presence was noticed right away – Bource received a round of applause as he entered stage left, and like a true entertainer the revered pianist mirrored the spirit of the film as he comically (and silently) played up nearly tipping over his chair before sitting down to play as part of the 90-plus-piece orchestra.
Hazanavicius called The Artist a “love letter to cinema”. The Artist Live In Concert is that letter sealed with a kiss.
