The Aspern Papers
Brief Synopsis
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A telecast of Dominick Argento's opera based on Henry James' novella of the same name. In the opera, set in a crumbling villa on Lake Como, Italy, in 1895 (with flashbacks to 1835), a long-retired and reclusive diva lives with her unmarried niece. A scholar charms his way into their impoverished hou
Cast & Crew
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Kirk Browning
Director
Joan Gibbons
Elisabeth Soederstroem
Neil Rosenshein
Nicola Rescigno
Richard Stillwell
Film Details
Also Known As
Aspern Papers, Great Performances (06/09/89)
Genre
Music
Release Date
1989
Technical Specs
Duration
2h
Synopsis
A telecast of Dominick Argento's opera based on Henry James' novella of the same name. In the opera, set in a crumbling villa on Lake Como, Italy, in 1895 (with flashbacks to 1835), a long-retired and reclusive diva lives with her unmarried niece. A scholar charms his way into their impoverished household where he rents rooms in order to work on the biography of the late composer Jeffrey Aspern. The lodger suspects that the diva, once Aspern's mistress, knows the location of the composer's lost opera, "Medea." In an attempt to discover its whereabouts, he woos her middle-aged niece, who destroys the manuscript when she learns of the lodger's true intentions.
Cast
Joan Gibbons
Elisabeth Soederstroem
Neil Rosenshein
Nicola Rescigno
Richard Stillwell
Eric Johnson
Frederica Von Stade
John Calvin West
Katherine Ciensinki
Eric Halfvarson
Crew
Dominick Argento
Music
Dominick Argento
Other
Ken Billington
Lighting
Gary Bradley
Editor
John Conklin
Scenery
John Conklin
Costume Designer
Suzanne Dooley
Line Producer
David Horn
Executive Producer
Henry James
Source Material (From Novel)
Elizabeth Ostrow
Audio
Nicola Rescigno
Music Conductor
Jac Venza
Executive Producer
John Walker
Producer
Richard Winkler
Lighting
Film Details
Also Known As
Aspern Papers, Great Performances (06/09/89)
Genre
Music
Release Date
1989
Technical Specs
Duration
2h
