A VILLAGE ROMEO 1971

After the success of Koanga in 1970, and the opening of the Kennedy Center with Beatrice Cenci, Chase and Corsara were asked to stage another opera by Delius, A Village Romeo and Juliet for the Washington Opera. This film was created for that production.

The story concerned two country lovers whose family forbid them to wed. As counterpoints to the two doomed lovers in Shakespeare’s play, they visit a country fair, spend the afternoon walking in the forest, make love and drown themselves. The original film, used in the opera, is a longer one, which played to a live orchestra —the lover’s were seen onstage surrounded by nature, and then on film — moving in and out to the music of Delius’ famous, A Walk to Paradise Garden. Chase later shortened the film and it played to music. This film had been thought lost. It was found in 2019 and transferred to HD, making it possible to reconstruct the sound, adding new music.

A VILLAGE ROMEO TRT: 9:15