Josh Groban, Renée Fleming and Joshua Bell will all be a part of Thirteen’s Great Performance’s concert “La Dolce Vita: The Music of Italian Cinema.”
The show will thrill movies fans, offering an eclectic mix of movie classics from a variety of different, talented directors including Frederico Fellini, Luchino Visconti, Sergio Leone and many more. Great Performances has partnered with the New York Philharmonic and music director Alan Gilbert for a concert of memorable movie themes with music from Amarcord, Cinema Paradiso, Il Postino and others.
"There's so much great music written for film, and to hear it played live by the New York Philharmonic is an amazing experience," Music Director Alan Gilbert said in a press release. "The best film music is expressive and dramatic, which are the qualities that you look for all the time in music. The chance to make it come alive and paint pictures for the audiences is something I relish and love.”
The show was taped in September and will include video projection combining animated graphics and film clips designed by visual artist Giuseppe Ragazzini, under the direction of Giampiero Solari, and historical footage from Istituto Luce Cinecittà.
The concert will display a variety of famous songs from the top films including Federico Fellini's 8½ and La Dolce Vita; Sergio Leone's Once Upon a Time in the West; and Giuseppe Tornatore's Cinema Paradiso.
These song’s aren’t new to the stars who will be performing. Groban and Bell previously performed and recorded the title song from Cinema Paradiso as well as Mi Mancherai from Luis Bacalov's Academy Award-winning score to Michael Radford's Il Postino. Fleming has also had her share of experience, she was featured in the Sony album We All Love Ennio Morricone, and has appeared on numerous sound tracks.
The show will air on Thirteen’s Great Performance Friday, Feb. 27 at 9 p.m.
