Rossini: Guillaume TellMovie
The hero of this admirably complete August 2013 Guillaume Tell from Pesaro is homegrown maestro Michele Mariotti. The inimitable overture is (mercifully) unstaged and terrifically played, with splendid cello and flute solos: the fine standard never flags. Rossini’s extraordinary 1829 score audibly presages Meyerbeer, Berlioz, Glinka, Verdi and Wagner, among many others. Graham Vick’s direction privileges class conflict, with a clenched fist on the red-and-white forecurtain. The Edwardian costumes place Austrians in white evening garb; the black-clad Swiss polish the floor while the rulers savor a filming (much of that to follow) — the fisherman Ruodi, in a boat with a blonde and fake scenery, with Tell and his family providing tech support. Vick deploys geographical and historical kitsch liberally but not (always) pointlessly. Ron Howell’s pretentious, mannered choreography, however, beggars belief.
About Rossini: Guillaume Tell
Rossini: Guillaume Tell is a 2013 music movie directed by Graham Vick.
The production information lists a runtime of 4h 7m, production credits from Italy, an original language code of FR.
The credited cast includes Nicola Alaimo, Simone Alberghini, Juan Diego Flórez, Amanda Forsythe. The synopsis above summarizes the central premise without adding details beyond the available title information.
