Moses and Aaron / Moses und Aron Sunday, January 25, 2009 at 2pm
Introduction, post-screening talk and Q&A with special guest speaker David Levin, Associate Professor of Germanic Studies at the University of Chicago and executive editor of Opera Quarterly. A complimentary reception in the Frieda and Roy Furman Gallery follows the event.
Written in Germany between 1930 and 1932, Moses and Aaron follows the two Biblical brothers as they vie for power and influence over the tribes of Israel. For Moses, revelation and faith are enough. Aaron believes the people need something concrete to direct their belief. Schönberg’s 12-tone music receives a perfect complement in Straub/Huillet’s minimalist direction, as the camerawork becomes the directors’ commentary on the oscillating power struggle at the heart of the opera.
Moses and Aaron / Moses und Aron
Jean-Marie Straub & Danièle Huillet, Austria/France/West Germany/Italy, 1975; 107m
Cinematic Opera / Operatic Cinema: Reflections on the Merging of Media is a collaboration between the Film Society of Lincoln Center and New York City Opera. The screenings in the series investigate the unique and intricate relationship between film and opera.