Die Schöne Magelone

Animations for Brahms' song cycle "Die Schöne Magelone", originally commissioned by Liza Ferschtman.

The animations have been projected in the following venues:

January 22nd, 2020 at 92Y.org in NYC
With baritone Roderick Williams, pianist Julius Drake, and narrator Adam Gopnik.

February 2018 at Opera of San Francisco
With soprano Felicia Moore, bass-baritone Christian Pursell, pianist César Cañón, and narrator Albert Rubio. Stage director: Aria Umezawa

October 2013 at De Bazel in Arnhem, The Netherlands
With bariton Andre Morsch, pianist Joseph Breinl, and narrator Micha Wertheim

July 2012 at International Chamber Music Festival, Delft, The Netherlands
Commissioned by Liza Ferschtman, with bariton Andre Morsch, pianist Joseph Breinl, and narrator Micha Wertheim

Pictures 

 Animations for Brahms' song cycle 'Die Schöne Magelone'. Peter was fired by a desire to travel. Peter leaves his parents and goes for adventure

 

Animations for Brahms' song cycle 'Die Schöne Magelone'. After many days riding, Peter arrived in Naples, drawn there by reports of the King’s daughter, the fair Magelone

 

Animations for Brahms' song cycle 'Die Schöne Magelone'

 

Animations for Brahms' song cycle 'Die Schöne Magelone'

 

Animations for Brahms' song cycle 'Die Schöne Magelone'

 

 

 

© Cristina Garcia Martin

 

Synopsis
Animations for Brahms' song cycle "Die Schöne Magelone". This classical piece is situated in the Middle Age and celebrates love in the most romantic possible way. The main protagonist of the story is Count Peter who feels unhappy and restless. He says goodbye to his parents and goes on adventures, meets princess Magelone in Naples, falls in love with her. Then they decide to elope, but they lose each in the woods. Peter ends up captured by pirates who bring him to the Gardens of the Sultan. There he meets Sulima, the daughter of the Sultan, who falls in love with him. He eventually flees and meets Magelone again.

Original commission by Liza Ferschtman
When Liza Ferschtman proposed to me to produce an animation for "The Wondrous Love Story of the Beautiful Magelone and Count Peter of Provence" I immediately said yes. After hanging up the phone, I realized I had to produce a very long and complex animation in a short period of time, with lots of characters and different settings.

I could count my blessings, though, as Liza sort of gave me carte blanche. In 3 weeks I produced a 12-minute animation and rehearsed several 'magical' tricks to be conducted by narrator Micha Wertheim. Most drawings are made by hand. There are also many cut-outs and live-action fragments between the 2D animations. The final presentation was produced in Keynote and adjusted live to the rhythm of the narration. Sound design was kept to a minimum to avoid any interference with the performance itself.

Latest venue: 92Y (New York)
A very successful concert with a delighted audience. Thanks to Nicholas Russotto for his efforts making this concert possible and of course to Adam, Roderick, and Julius.

Support for travel and accommodation provided by SCI Woordbeeld EN 1 regel RGB

 

Interested?
Would you like to show "The Fair Magelone" at your venue or festival, contact us This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..