World Premiere: The Great Dictator Restored Score in Rome
We are delighted to announce that THE GREAT DICTATOR (1940), Chaplin’s visionary satire that marked history, will be presented for the first time with live orchestral accompaniment on June 23rd at the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma’s outdoor summer venue, the ancient Roman ruins of the Baths of Caracalla, located in central Rome. For this world premiere, Timothy Brock will conduct the Orchestra dell’Opera di Roma’s performance of his new painstaking restoration of the original score, commissioned by the Chaplin Office. Brock previously restored twelve other Chaplin film scores.
Composed by Chaplin himself with musical associate Meredith Willson, the score not only features Chaplin’s signature musical style, but also the unforgettable music of Richard Wagner and Johannes Brahms. Willson remarked, “I have never met a man who devoted himself so completely to the ideal of perfection as Charlie Chaplin. […] I was constantly amazed at his attention to details, his feeling for the exact musical phrase or tempo to express the mood he wanted… Always he is seeking to ferret out every false note however minor from film or music”.
THE GREAT DICTATOR was nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Original Score in 1941.
Brock will also conduct a live-to-film concert of THE GREAT DICTATOR at the Ravenna Festival on July 21st, thanks to agent MAMUSIC.
For a film concert near you, see our regularly-updated list of screenings with live orchestra for more dates and different film titles in other countries.