FUOCO SACRO – A Search for the Sacred Fire of Song

A film by Jan Schmidt-Garre

Opera confronts us with extremes of emotion, sometimes delivering unforgettable, life-changing experiences. Fuoro sacro (‘Sacred Fire’) seeks out singers who have the power to pierce our hearts, presenting three of them at work in the most intimate details of their rehearsals and preparations. Ermonela Jaho, Barbara Hannigan and Asmik Grigorian are watched closely as some of their secrets are revealed: how they inhabit their roles and transform words and notation on a page into that intangible but powerful magic being communicated to audiences from the opera stage. Over 90 minutes of extras are included featuring vocal warm-ups and live performances accompanied by pianists Evgenia Rubinova, Reinbert de Leeuw and Francesco Piemontesi.

with
Asmik Grigorian
Barbara Hannigan
Ermonela Jaho
Evgenia Rubinova
Reinbert de Leeuw
Francesco Piemontesi

Bonus:
- Tchaikovsky: Letter Scene from Eugene Onegin
- Satie: Trois mélodies, Trois autres mélodies
- Three arias from Adriana Lecouvreur, La rondine, Gianni Schicchi
- Satie: Gnossiennes Nos. 2–6
- Warm-ups with Asmik Grigorian, Barbara Hannigan and Ermonela Jaho

Picture format: NTSC 16:9
Sound format: PCM Stereo / DTS 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Audio language: English
Subtitles: English, German, French, Russian, Japanese, Korean
Running time: 189 mins
No. of DVDs: 1 (DVD 9)

Also available on Blu-ray (NBD0141V)