REFRAME Conversations brought together two men with a shared interest in the life and work of French writer, artist and filmmaker Jean Cocteau:
- JAMES S. WILLIAMS, Professor of Modern French Literature and Film at Royal Holloway, University of London, author of two books on Cocteau (Reaktion Books, 2007; Manchester University Press, 2010), and the audio commentary to the Criterion Collection DVD/Blu Ray disk release of Cocteau’s 1950 film Orphée/Orpheus.
- ED HUGHES, Senior Lecturer in Music at the University of Sussex, and composer of When the Flame Dies, a 2013 opera, with libretto by Roger Morris, which pays homage to ORPHÉE.
The two discussed their mutual interest in Cocteau’s work and its legacy, with particular reference to Orphée as well as to Hughes and Morris’s operatic reinterpretation of the film.
Excerpts from When the Flame Dies (DVD 2013) are used by kind permission of Ed Hughes, Roger Morris, University of York Music Press and Metier/Divine Art/. Otherwise, all rights are reserved.
The full opera (including libretto and essay by James S. Williams) is available on Metier msv77203 CD+DVD.
Further REFRAME Video Credits:
- Interview filmed and mixed by
RACHEL TAVERNOR
- Interview and opera footage edited by
OLIVIA FLINT
- Video title card and related publicity images designed by
TANYA KANT
- Picture & film footage research and editing, titles,
further editing, production and direction by
CATHERINE GRANT
Published in September 2014.