''Meeting Venus'' is a 1991 British–American-Japanese film directed by the Hungarian director

István Szabó István Szabó (; born 18 February 1938) is a Hungarian film director, screenwriter, and opera director. Szabó is one of the most notable Hungary, Hungarian filmmakers and one who has been best known outside the Hungarian language, Hungarian- ...

and starring

Glenn Close Glenda Veronica Close (born March 19, 1947) is an American actress. In a career spanning over five decades on Glenn Close on screen and stage, screen and stage, she has received List of awards and nominations received by Glenn Close, numerous ac ...

and Niels Arestrup. The movie was filmed in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

, Hungary. This fictional story follows misadventures in making a modern Parisian production of the

Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...

opera ''

Tannhäuser Tannhäuser (; ), often stylized "The Tannhäuser", was a German Minnesinger and traveling poet. Historically, his biography, including the dates he lived, is obscure beyond the poetry, which suggests he lived between 1245 and 1265. His name ...

'', which in itself tells of the production of a singing contest. "Here you can be misunderstood in six different languages." The singing contest, the opera and the film explore the tension between sexuality and spirituality, punctuated by emotionally gripping vocal, choral and orchestral music. "Without hard work, there are no miracles," and in spite of committed, passionate people, the results are in doubt to the final moment in each performance.

Cast

Many of the characters in this movie have the same name and family name as director

, but in different languages. The Hungarian name István in English corresponds with

Stephen Stephen or Steven is an English given name, first name. It is particularly significant to Christianity, Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; he is w ...

. Surname

Szabó Szabó () is a common Hungarian language, Hungarian surname, meaning "tailor". In 2019, it occurred in 203,126 names, making it the fourth most frequent Hungarian names, Hungarian surname. In Czech language, Czech and Slovak language, Slovak, a fem ...

means "

tailor A tailor is a person who makes or alters clothing, particularly in men's clothing. The Oxford English Dictionary dates the term to the thirteenth century. History Although clothing construction goes back to prehistory, there is evidence of ...

"; some persons in the film are: ''

Taylor Taylor, Taylors or Taylor's may refer to: People * Taylor (surname) ** List of people with surname Taylor * Taylor (given name), including Tayla and Taylah * Taylor sept, a branch of Scottish clan Cameron * Justice Taylor (disambiguation) ...

'' (English), ''Stefan Schneider'' (German), ''Stefano Sarto'' (Italian), ''Etienne Tailleur'' (French). There are also ''Maria Krawiecki'' (from the Polish word ''krawiec'' which means ''tailor'') and Isaac Partnoi (from Russian word ''портной ortnoy' = ''tailor").

Voice on singing scenes

The version of ''

'' that can be heard in the movie is performed by

Kiri Te Kanawa Dame Kiri Jeanette Claire Te Kanawa (; born Claire Mary Teresa Rawstron, 6 March 1944) is a New Zealand opera singer. She had a full lyric soprano voice, which has been described as "mellow yet vibrant, warm, ample and unforced". On 1 December ...

as Elisabeth,

René Kollo René Kollo (born 20 November 1937) is a German operatic tenor, especially known for his Wagnerian Heldentenor roles. He also performed a wide variety of operas and operettas, and made several recordings. Biography Born René Kollodzieyski in ...

as Tannhäuser,

Håkan Hagegård Nils Olov Håkan Hagegård (born 25 November 1945)

as Wolfram von Eschenbach and Waltraud Meier as Venus with the London Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by

Marek Janowski Marek Janowski (born 18 February 1939 in Warsaw) is a Polish-born German conductor. Biography Janowski grew up in Wuppertal, near Cologne, after his mother traveled there at the start of World War II to be with her parents. His father disappear ...

. The composer

David Bedford David Vickerman Bedford (4 August 1937 – 1 October 2011) was an English composer and musician. He wrote and played both popular and classical music. He was the brother of the conductor Steuart Bedford, the grandson of the composer, painter ...

provided extra orchestrations and music for the film.

References

External links

* * {{Authority control 1991 films British drama films 1990s English-language films English-language Japanese films Films directed by István Szabó Films produced by David Puttnam Warner Bros. films 1990s British films Japanese drama films English-language drama films