20/05/2025

LYFE TUESDAY | MAY 20, 2025

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Dream Requiem explores catastrophe, redemption

T HE historic Mount Tambora volcanic eruption spewed so much ash and debris that it triggered a “year without summer” and the apocalypse seemed nigh – an apt parallel to our own chaotic existence, said the eclectic musician Rufus Wainwright. The artiste’s ambitious modern-day requiem, which draws inspiration from the 19th-century catastrophe as well as the Requiem Mass , premiered stateside on Sunday in Los Angeles, with narration by the actress and activist Jane Fonda. The Canadian-American Wainwright composed Dream Requiem as the globe was picking up the pieces after the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic, and turned to Lord Byron’s poem Darkness which is centred on the fear and disarray that followed the 1815 Mount Tambora eruption. Focus on opera The artiste, best known for his distinct theatrical pop, has focused more on opera in recent years and said the poem is all the more prescient given the looming threat of climate cataclysm, as well as our tumultuous contemporary politics. “In this day and age, it is a similar kind of intense sense of doom. “I think we are a little less misguided than they were back then, but who knows what the future holds?” said Wainwright in an interview ahead of the Los Angeles show Wainwright’s global premiere of Dream Requiem was at the Auditorium de Radio France in Paris last summer, with Meryl Streep narrating and featuring soprano Anna Prohaska. A recording of the work is available from Warner Classics. Wainwright said Fonda’s participation in the upcoming performance with the Los Angeles Master Chorale lends additional

o Choral, orchestral performance to feature narration by Jane Fonda intensity to the piece, given her long history of activism and her special emphasis in recent years on climate change. “She is one of the great heroines,” he said of the storied 87-year-old film star. “Certainly with what America has been through in the last couple of months, I think it will be very powerful.” He added that the show’s US premiere, which comes mere months after the deadly wildfires ravaged parts of Los Angeles, adds yet another layer. Glimmer of life Wainwright has written two classical operas, set Shakespearean sonnets to song and produced a tribute concert to Judy Garland in addition to releasing a string of pop albums. He has a particular penchant for Giuseppe Verdi. “When I was 13, I listened to Verdi’s Requiem from top to tail, and it was like I had been infected by a virus,” he said. Musical settings of the Catholic Requiem Mass are themselves

Wainwright’s Dream Requiem has premiered stateside on Sunday in Los Angeles. – AFPPIC

known as requiems. Verdi’s tells of the death-fearing living who seek deliverance. “I have always been more at ease, you know, communicating dread and foreboding,” the 51-year-old Wainwright said.

But it is not all gloom, he added: “A few weeks after I premiered it, and I had some distance from it – I realised, oh no, there is hope. There is sort of this little glimmer of life.” “Redemption and forgiveness” go hand in hand with the dread, and “I

like to maintain some modicum of hope,” Wainwright said. “Hopefully this is sort of like a resurrection, shall we say, of both that feeling of dread – but also that need to face the music and deal with the problem at hand.” – AFP

Letterboxd launching video-on-demand platform WITH the Cannes Film Festival 2025 in full swing, Letterboxd, the social platform popular with moviegoers, has taken the opportunity to unveil the forthcoming launch of its own video-on-demand (VOD) service – the Letterboxd Video Store. This initiative aims to offer an alternative to traditional streaming services, with an emphasis on thoughtful curation and an enriched community experience. “Every day, we see members recommending films to each other, adding to their watchlists and hungry to discover more,” said Letterboxd CEO Matthew Buchanan, quoted by The Hollywood Reporter . “Letterboxd Video Store is our way of delivering for those film lovers, creating a dedicated space for films that deserve an audience.”

Putting HBO back into Max WARNER’S streaming service, the home of hits including The Last of Us and Hacks , is changing its name again – back to HBO, the company announced last Wednesday. Warner Bros. Discovery says they are reversing course and rebranding the service as HBO Max. – PIC FROM FACEBOOK @HBO

and Disney’s Hulu. Parent company Warner Bros. Discovery said they were reversing course and putting the HBO back into the name, rebranding the offering HBO Max middle of this year. “The powerful growth we have seen in our global streaming service is built around the quality of our programming,” said Warner Bros. Discovery president and CEO David Zaslav. “Today, we are bringing back HBO – the brand that represents the highest quality in media, to further accelerate that growth in the years ahead.” The company said it has momentum and has added 22 million subscribers over the last two years, envisaging more than 150 million paying customers by the end of 2026. – AFP

With 20 million active users, Letterboxd intends to harness behavioural data from its platform to guide the selection of movies on offer. By analysing members’ watchlists, reviews and interactions, the team would offer a lineup that reflects the interests and preferences of its community. Unlike traditional VOD platforms, the Letterboxd Video Store will offer limited viewing windows, similar to festival screenings. Users will have temporary access to a selection of movies, including festival favourites, lesser-known works, world cinema, and productions by new talents. This approach aims to recreate the

The pioneering HBO launched as a streaming service in 2020 and carved out a niche for itself with offerings that many viewers saw as a cut above the fare on other platforms. Some fans and industry watchers were baffled two years ago when bosses decided to ditch a name long associated with quality television such as The Sopranos, Game of Thrones and The Wire in favour of the anodyne “Max”. The move left some wondering about the direction of a platform that was competing in an increasingly crowded streaming space against giants such as Netflix

Letterboxd intends to make its mark by focusing on films that are often absent from the catalogues of industry giants. – PEXELSPIC

excitement of unique cinematic discoveries, often reserved for specialist circuits. By focusing on films that are often absent from the catalogues of industry giants, Letterboxd intends to

make its mark. For the moment, the company has not announced a launch date, potential movie titles or the countries and territories in which the platform might be launched. – ETX Studio