Bullfrog Films
50 minutes
Grades Grades 9-12, College, Adult

Directed by Barbara Willis Sweete
Produced by Rhombus Media

DVD Purchase $79, Rent $45

US Release Date: 1994
Copyright Date: 1993
DVD ISBN: 1-59458-762-0
VHS ISBN: 1-56029-580-5

Subjects
Dance
Humanities
Music
Opera
Performing Arts
Theater

Awards and Festivals
Silver Medal, International Film & TV Festival of New York
Bronze Plaque Award, Columbus International Film and Video Festival
Nominated, Television Broadcast of the Year, The Classical Music Awards, England
Nominated, Golden Sheaf Awards, Yorkton Film Festival
Festival International de Programmes Audiovisuels (FIPA), France
The Sorceress
Kiri Te Kanawa

Part baroque opera, part rock video--A performance fantasy with an edge.

"From this mix of elements a new artform emerges... sound, spectacle and substance." The Toronto Star

Contemporary and baroque styles interweave in this performance fantasy featuring the music of George Frideric Handel. The warring forces of good and evil and the power of romantic love are expressed through music, song, dance and gesture in this stylish and imaginative blend of stage drama and rock video. Opera in Italian with English subtitles.

Web Page: http://www.bullfrogfilms.com/catalog/sor.html

Reviews
For once...someone has succeeded in making a TV opera. It helps that Kiri Te Kanawa is the star and that the conductor is early-music specialist Christopher Hogwood...that George Frederick Handel wrote such glorious scores... that Toronto's baroque Opera Atelier choreographed the show...But most it helps that THE SORCERESS was produced by Rhombus Media and directed by one of the company's partners Barbara Sweete.
"The melding of old and new, real and fake, propels the action and gives it edge. From this mix of elements a new artform emerges, more rock video than documentary, it is sound, spectacle and substance."
The Toronto Star

"A good example of baroque opera's blend of music, singing, dance, and pantomime. Kiri Te Kanawa sings beautifully and looks gorgeous. Christopher Hogwood's orchestra plays crisply...The video is full of visual interest...could be used in a music appreciation course."
***** Video Rating Guide for Libraries

"It is the expert hand of director Barbara Willis Sweete...together with the vocal and personal magic of Te Kanawa...that makes this...especially memorable."
Opera