“True Magic…it is like listening to music with your eyes.”
- Ben Brantley, The New York Times
In 1998, puppeteer Basil Twist debuted his boundary-breaking response to Berlioz's 1830 "Symphonie Fantastique" to universal acclaim. In the two decades since this New York premiere, Twist has become an internationally recognized artist in opera, ballet, and on Broadway, and has won countless awards including the illustrious MacArthur Fellowship.
In 2018 Twist revisited his legendary masterpiece in its original home, the HERE Arts Center in NYC with live accompaniment by the virtuosic Christopher O'Riley playing the exquisite Liszt transcription for concert piano and in a significantly larger aquarium. Symphonie floated and swirled for a critically lauded and sold-out six-month run, fortunately allowing the finest performances to be captured in front of, behind, and inside the 1,000-gallon water tank by Twist and director Bobby Sheehan of Working Pictures. Soon after, while on a Rome Prize fellowship, Twist was blessed to collaborate with master Italian film artisans to edit and refine the definitive filmed version of this iconic theatrical experience. The resulting film is not just a document of a performance but rather an artistic expression in its own right. It weaves imagery as seen by the audience with the unseen backstage ballet of the puppeteers and the emotional synergy of the live musical performance.
The film's World premiere was at the 2019 World Puppetry Festival in Charleville Mezieres, France where Twist was the guest of honor. This is Basil Twist’s first full length film.
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Creative team
Basil Twist (Creator) Since coming to New York over 20 years ago, Basil Twist has garnered an international reputation as an audacious designer, director and performer. He creates iconic, visionary puppetry worlds with a remarkable range of style and scope appearing in intimate nightclubs to large orchestra halls. He is a sought after collaborator for theater, dance, opera and film. His utterly unique approaches have been recognized with awards; critical acclaim and have furthered contemporary artistry and the technical craft of puppetry.
Basil, a MacArthur Fellow, lives in New York City where he leads The Dream Music Puppetry Program at HERE.
Christopher O’Riley (Pianist, arranger, collaborative artist, composer, educator and media personality); Christopher O’Riley follows his passions into a fractal array of innovative directions, ever striving for the truest and deepest human connection, through performance, collaboration, communion. For nearly 20 years he was the host of the weekly National Public Radio program From the Top. O’Riley is highly regarded for his transcriptions of music by Radiohead, Elliott Smith, Nirvana, Nick Drake, Tori Amos, Tears For Fears & many more..He performs around the world and has garnered widespread praise for his untiring efforts to reach new audiences. Christopher O’Riley has performed as a soloist with virtually all of the major American orchestras.
Andrew Hill (Lighting Designer) Previous work with Basil Twist includes the original presentations of Symphonie Fantastique; Petrushka; La bella dormente nel bosco; and Dogugaeshi. Other designs include Budapest Festival Orchestra’s stagings of Don Giovanni and Le nozze di Figaro at Lincoln Center and the Edinburgh International Festival; Freiburger Barockorchester’s Cosi fan tutti and Idomeneo for Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart Festival; and Phantom Limb’s 69°S for BAM’s Next Wave Festival. Numerous designs at HERE with Dream Music Puppetry artists include Lyubo with Chris Green; What’s Inside the Egg with Lake Simons; Savage Nursery with Erin Orr; Fortune Teller with Erik Sanko; and Virgo Genitrix with Christopher Williams.
PUPPETEER TEAM
Kate Brehm
Ben Elling
Andy Gaukel
Liz Haronian
Jonothon Lyons
Patrick Newton
Lake Simons
Rachel Shane
Toria Sterling
production Credits
Original Production
Created, Designed, and Directed by Basil Twist
Film Directed/edited by Basil Twist
Produced by Tandem Otter Productions & Barbara Busackino
Co-producers Working Pictures, Bobby Sheehan & Sara Sheehan
Featuring Pianist - Christopher O’Riley
Performed by Kate Brehm, Ben Elling, Andy Gaukel, Jonothon Lyons, Patrick Newton Lake Simons, Rachael Shane, Basil Twist
Symphonie Fantastique composed for orchestra by Hector Berlioz
Piano arrangement by Franz Liszt
Piano generously provided by Steinway
Editing: Letizia Caudullo in collaboration with Arianna Coli
Cameramen
Bobby Sheehan
Damien Massingham
Lucas Sheehan
Basil Twist
Sound mix/engineering - Marinelli Studios, Rome
Thank you to the following donors who helped us complete this film: Paula Lawrence, Peter Mintun, Wayne Barker, William Melamed, Lynne and Bill Twist, The Fetzer Institute
Original Theatrical Credits
Originally developed and produced by HERE Arts Center in New York City in 1998 and then renewed in a return engagement in 2018. Symphonie Fantastique inaugurated the Dream Music Puppetry Program in 1998.
CREATIVE TEAM
Featuring Pianist Christopher O’Riley
Puppeteers: Kate Brehm, Ben Elling, Andy Gaukel
Jonothon Lyons, Lake Simons and Rachael Shane
Swing Puppeteer: Patrick Newton
Lighting Designer: Andrew Hill
Associate Lighting Designer: Ayumu “Poe” Saegusa
Production Manager: Neelam Vaswani
Stage Manager: Liz Haroian
Producer: Barbara Busackino
Original Puppeteers New Yorkk- Chris DeVille, Samantha Hack, Eric Jacobsen, Brian Selznick and in San Francisco -Clove Galilee, Sophia Michahelles, Kevin Taylor.
TANDEM OTTER PRODUCTIONS STAFF
Basil Twist, Artistic Director
Barbara Busackino, Executive Director
Alex West, Finance Associate
Carla Grande, Spirit I Design, Web Desiigner
Brandon Hardy, Studio & Design Associate
Insurance by Arthur Gallagher
Accounting by Prager Metis, Craig Manzino
Studio Production Assistant John Compton
SPECIAL THANKS
Ashton Hawkins and Johnnie Moore Hawkins, Paul Beirne, William Bernard, Robert MacLeod and Steve Byckiewicz, Fredericke Merck, Hope and John L. Moore, Jr., Bill Twist, Sr., Lynne & Bill Twist Jr., Ian & Victoria Watson, Myron Wick, and Mitchell Wolfson, Jr.,Tim Catlett, Kyle Chepulis, Miguel Mendiola, Sam Rudy, TANY and TribeCa Lighting, Trinity Real Estate and Hines, the Twist family, Two Boots Pizzeria, Alex West, and Westville, Kenneth Ard, the Jim Henson Foundation, Mujah Maraini Melehi, The Macarthur Foundation, The American Academy of Rome
PRODUCTION STAFF
Press Representation: John Wyszniewski, Everyman Agency
Press Consultation: Sam Rudy Media Relations
Campaign Design: Open, N.Y. Advertising: Grapeseed Media
Original title treatment: Rudy Speerschneider
HERE Production Manager: Aislinn Curry
Symphonie Co-Technical Directors: David Ojala and Markus Paminger
HERE Technical Director: Kate August
Technical Consultants: Kyle Chepulis and Tim Catlett
Assistant Stage Manager: Toria Sterling
Master Electrician: Betsey Chester
Puppet Build Chief: Kevin Taylor
Puppet Build Crew: Rachel Schapira, Lily Rosen,
Brandon Harding, Toria Sterling, Justin Perkins,
Rosa Elling, Ben Elling, Eric Novak, Sarah Scholl
Electrics Crew
David Glista, Evan Hawkins, Andrew Trent,
Audio Engineer: Travis Wright
Video Engineer: Jason Batcheller
Scenic Interns: Josh Gerber, Gus Sampaio
Stage Management Interns: Hilarie Spangler & Andrew Petrick
Wardrobe Intern: Anna Marie Hurdle
