Thursday, 31. January 2013

Femininity in Silent Film

Kunstwerk, Saarbrücken
www.kwsb.de

20:30

Rémi Panossian (Piano), Maxime Delporte (Double Bass), Frédéric Petitprez (Drums), Nicole Johänntgen (Soprano Saxophone, Alto Saxophone)

Alla Nazimova: Eccentricity and Decadence

Like a true prima donna or celebrated dancer, Alla Nazimova omitted her first name already in her lifetime and appeared as Nazimova ‘tout court’ in the adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s play ‘Salomé’. Since pressure on the production company was increasing, she provided the idea for the film and produced and in part financed it herself. Moralisers saw it as a decadent and dangerous work, from which the public had to be protected at all cost. It took several years after its completion until the film was first shown; it was badly received and remained the last production of the free-spirited exotic Russian.

The film will be accompanied by Rémi Panossian’s Toulouse-based piano trio and Zurich-based saxophonist Nicole Johänntgen. In this way extended to a quartet, the interplay of this formation is a truly explosive cocktail and creates an opulent counterpart to the film.