La Belle et la Bête
Minimalist composer Philip Glass’s magical reimagining of Jean Cocteau’s 1946 La Belle et la Bête combines the classic black and white film with live performance in aÂsophisticated work that is at once a touching fairy tale and a meditation on creativity.
Removing the film’s original dialogue track and score by Georges Auric, Glass replaces them with his own scintillating music, played live by the Philip Glass Ensemble, the dialogue sung by vocalists synchonised live with the screen.
The result boldly harnesses movie technology to create a stunning synthesis of opera and film, as Cocteau’s bewitching storytelling is matched by some of Glass’s most evocative music in an unforgettable tale of love triumphing over greed.
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La Belle et la Bête is also part of the BFI Gothic season. Find out more here
Film by Jean Cocteau (1946)
Music by Philip Glass
Conducted by Michael Riesman
Performed in French with English surtitles
Marie Mascari Soprano
Hai-Ting Chinn Mezzo soprano
Gregory Purnhagen Baritone
Peter Stewart Baritone