Heiners Filmseiten – Handel’s Last Chance (en)

Handel’s Last Chance

Spain title: La última oportunidad de Handel
Russian title: Последний шанс Генделя
Original title: Handel’s Last Chance

Music movie – Canada, Slovakia
Production year: 1995
Movie length: 51 minutes

Director: Milan Cheylov
Writer: Marlene Matthews, David Devine
Cinematograph: David Perrault
Music: Georg Friedrich Händel

Movie description:

Â»Handel’s Last Chance« is set in 1742 Dublin, where 10 year old Jamie O’Flaherty and the brilliant composer George Friderick Handel live. Jamie comes from a very poor family and has been caught stealing and he is in jail when the film opens. Handel, whose career is failing, needs his newest composition to be a big hit. By a stroke of destiny, the young boy and composer become unlikely allies. Handel gets Jamie out of jail and the boy lends his golden voice to the premiere performance of »The MessiahÂ«.

After their music has endured centuries, it’s hard to believe that some classical composers were not as successful in their own lifetimes. In this edition of the composer series from HBO, George Friderick Handel travels to Dublin to try to revive his failing music career by premiering his first oratorio, »The MessiahÂ«, what would become his greatest work. While searching for singers to perform in the production, Handel meets street urchin Jamie O’Flaherty, who has the perfect voice for a solo. Handel saves Jamie from poverty, and Jamie saves the show and Handel’s career.
Historically accurate and musically adept, this video is a valuable resource for music appreciation programs.

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