‘The Art of 7 and 3’ contains the lives of artists who left beautiful music and outstanding paintings. 7 and 3 are the 7th gradation of Doremi Fasolashi, and the ‘three primary colors of light’ of red, green, and blue. All works that move and move people’s hearts are born from these seven tones and three primary colors. It is art to think about how to combine them, and to unfold the results.
Whereas Season 1, which was previously serialized, introduced the lives and philosophies of artists, Season 2, under the subtitle ‘Cinematic Art’, tells stories of various arts such as classical music, art, and dance in the film.
‘A familiar voice’ from Bizet’s opera ‘Pearlfishing’ sung by tenor Roberto Alanya. /Roberto Alanya YouTube Channel
Anthony, an 80-year-old man living in England, is living peacefully in London. She usually wears a headset at home and enjoys listening to opera music. But she says that her daughter Anne, whom she usually visits often, suddenly says she is leaving London. Then Anthony feels the fragments of all her memories scatter and mix. She said, ‘Is Anne really my daughter? Who is the man who suddenly appeared in my house? I wonder if he was the husband of her daughter, as the man said.’
What does it mean to lose your memory? How confusing would it be if you recognized and realized that forgetfulness and loss yourself? Florian Zeller’s film ‘The Father’ (2021) depicts the loss of memory and the great pain it causes through Anthony, a dementia patient. World-renowned famous actors appeared and became a hot topic even more. Anthony Hopkins as Anthony and Olivia Colman as Anne.
Anthony’s favorite opera music helps the audience empathize and makes the film shine. The opera aria that appears most often in movies is the work of the French musician Georges Bizet (1838–1875). This is the aria ‘Your Voice, which is familiar to my ears’, from the opera ‘Pearl Clam’. Anthony listens to music with her headset, her daughter calls her father in her nursing hospital, and her daughter leaves her father behind. Her heart is touched by the desperate melody.
Bizet is well-known for his operas ‘Carmen’ and ‘Suite of the Lady of Arles’ as well as ‘Pearl Fishing’. However, he is considered a representative ‘genius of misfortune’. He showed extraordinary talent from an early age, and it seemed that only a flower road would unfold in his life. However, his life was not as smooth as expected. He even passed away at the young age of 37. Maybe that’s why Bize’s music is more sad and pathetic.
Bizet has set new records since childhood. He was so talented that at the age of nine he was the youngest to enter the Paris Conservatory of musical geniuses. He originally applied for admission at a younger age than he was, but he was too young to be postponed. Even when he entered the conservatory, he won the top prize and continued to win.
When I was 17, I wrote my first symphony. It is said that while attending the conservatory, he was the second youngest student to write a symphony. Afterwards, with the support of the French government, he won the ‘Rome Grand Prize’, which allowed him to study in Rome, Italy for four years, and left for Rome.
Bizet, who had been exposed to various music such as opera in Rome, seemed to have only one thing left to do for success. However, his first work, the religious music ‘Te Deum’, was criticized. Then, the news that his mother was in critical condition made him return to Korea. Due to the death of his mother, he returned to Paris and started working in earnest a year later.
‘Pearl Clam Catching’, which premiered when he was 25, is a work containing a sad love story. It doesn’t fit perfectly with Anthony’s situation in the movie, but it’s similar in that it deals with deep despair and tragedy.
The spearfishing begins when two men, Nadir and Jurga, fall in love with the priestess Leila. However, they each decide to give up their hearts for the sake of friendship, and Nadir sets out on a wandering journey. And years pass, Nadir returns to his homeland.
However, Nadir hears a voice from somewhere and recognizes that it is Layla’s voice. The aria that comes out at this time is the ‘familiar voice’. “The sound of that song still lingers in my ears/ The sound I heard while hiding under the pine tree/ Her voice as soft and roaring as a pigeon’s song/ Oh! Enchanted night, divine ecstasy/ Oh! Seductive memories, crazy intoxication, sweet dreams” This aria It is regarded as the most beautiful of the 19th century French arias.
When Nadir and Leyla fall in love, Jurga tries to kill them. However, when Zurga learns that the girl who saved her from danger in the past was Leila, he decides to protect their love. But when the love of the priestess is forbidden, the couple is in danger. In the end, Zurga sets the village on fire, then escapes the chaos, and he is executed for himself.
The story is interesting and the aria is beautiful, but this piece was also unsuccessful. Critics criticized it as “a work that followed the style of Verdi and Gounod,” and the public did not pay much attention.
‘Habanera’ from the opera ‘Carmen’ sung by soprano Anna Caterina Antonacci./Royal Opera House YouTube channel
Then there seemed to be a sign that the atmosphere was about to change. The ‘Women of Arles Suite’, which consists of the music from the play ‘Woman in Arles’, received a good response. However, contrary to expectations, Bize again became frustrated. I tried to remake it into Opera, but it failed. There was a sudden fire at the Paris National Opera, and I couldn’t upload it.
Today, the opera ‘Carmen’, which is regarded as Bizet’s representative work and a masterpiece, also failed. ‘Carmen’ is a love story of a gypsy woman, Carmen. She tells Carmen that she is in love with the soldier Don José, but she is drawn to the bullfighter Escamilo. The tragic story of Don José becomes jealous and kills Carmen.
Bizet, who suffered from continuous failures, worked all night thinking that only ‘Carmen’ should succeed. But in the end, when even this work failed, Bizet was deeply heartbroken. It is said that the audience was greatly upset that the gypsy woman was the work in which she was the protagonist.
‘The Matador’s Song’ from Bizet’s opera ‘Carmen’ sung by the baritone Kirill Sarobin./Hankyung arteTV YouTube channel
And ‘Carmen’ became Bizet’s last work. After the premiere failed, he died of a heart attack. It was because I was swimming in a bad condition due to working all night and it was overworked.
After Bizet’s death, ‘Carmen’ was loved all over the world. It has attracted many audiences from Europe and America. ‘Habanera’ in the works, ‘The Matador’s Song’ and ‘Flower Song’ also gained great popularity.
The life of Bizet, who suffered from continuous misfortune except for his childhood, feels pitiful. But even when his livelihood was threatened, he tried to defend his world of music to the end. At the time, many musicians were following Wagner’s operas, but Bizet went his own way. “Imitation is what fools do. The greater the work to be imitated, the more ridiculous it is.”
It is not easy to keep up with one’s philosophy without giving in at any moment. Especially when things that were supposed to work out repeatedly fail. So, you will want to find a more comfortable and easy way. But if you keep your beliefs and dignifiedness until the end like Bizet, won’t your efforts pay off someday?
By Kim Hee-kyung, staff reporter [email protected]