Hotly anticipated new Mozart drama and British feature film, Interlude in Prague, commences principal photography from today in the eponymous city exactly where the story took place and where Mozart himself walked the streets some 200 years ago.
Joining the all-star cast, which includes James Purefoy (Solomon Kane, John Carter, Ironclad), Aneurin Barnard (War & Peace, The Truth About Emanuel, The White Queen) and Les Miserables’ Samantha Barks, is rising star Morfydd Clark (Love & Friendship, Les Liaisons Dangereuse, The Falling) who will play Zuzanna Luptac, an 18-year-old soprano who begins a passionate affair with Mozart (Aneurin Barnard) but is forced to marry another man. Clark is joined by Ade Edmondson (Ade in Britain, Guest House Paradiso, Bottom) and Charlotte Peters (Pound of Flesh) as principal cast. The six week shoot will take place in spectacular locations across the Bohemian capital including the breath-taking cultural monument, Libochovice Castle, as well as the Nostitz Theatre, the Jemniste Chateau and the town of Ploskovice.
Directed by John Stephenson O.B.E (Animal Farm, Five Children and It, The Christmas Candle) with screenplay by Brian Ashby and Helen Clare Cromarty, Interlude In Prague is produced by Productive International’s Huw Penallt Jones (Damascus Cover, The Man Who Knew Infinity, The Edge of Love, Cold Mountain, Chaos) along with Hannah Leader (Damascus Cover, Lucky Number Slevin, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead) with cinematography by Michael Brewster (The Christmas Candle, Five Children and It, Animal Farm) and production design by Oscar winning Luciana Arrighi (Only You, The Man Who Knew Infinity, Jakob The Liar). Hybrid’s Charlotte and Mike Truman, on board as composers and music producers, have collaborated with Artistic Director & Principal Conductor of the Prague Conservatory Symphony Orchestra, Maestro Miriam Němcová, whose work includes internationally revered recording of Mozart’s Requiem, to produce an original music score remastering Mozart’s work.
Set in Prague in 1787, Interlude in Prague is an intense and emotional narrative of love, lust and murder. Based on true life events, it follows the story of a few turbulent months in the short life of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart that influenced the creation of the operatic masterpiece, Don Giovanni. A love story and a tragedy of epic proportions, the film sees Mozart in a Shakespeare in Love style drama with a Dangerous Liaisons tragic end. The storyline follows a brief interlude in the composer’s colourful life during one of his several visits to Prague - the dates and locations are real but the plot is fictitious.
Tired of demonstrating his talents to a privileged elite, Mozart is brought to the Bohemian city by Baron Saloka, a vain and self-obsessed aristocrat, apparently above the law who lives a privileged life. On his arrival, Mozart is happy to have found the one place on earth where he feels his talent is appreciated and sets about creating a new opera at the Nostitz Theatre. However Mozart’s unconventional presence in Prague soon unleashes a series of dramatic and tragic events. Zuzanna Luptak, a young and beautiful soprano, is betrothed to Saloka but falls in love with Mozart and they have a passionate affair. Saloka, a psychopath, sexual-predator and serial rapist, develops an overwhelming hatred that results in callous brutality and murder. In a tangled web of passion and violence, the drama is captured by the magnificent music of the Don Giovanni.
Director, John Stephenson OB.E. said: “Interlude in Prague will be shot entirely in Prague, a city unaffected by time, across spectacular locations steeped in history and cultural significance. The film will combine the beauty and splendour of eighteenth century Bohemia together with the enchanting glory of Mozart’s music, for which we have produced a captivating original score reengineering Mozart’s work in association with Hybrid and Maestro Miriam Němcová . A love story and a tragedy of epic proportions, the characters, the passions, heartbreak and awful outcome could just as easily exist in a contemporary story. I intend to shoot this with fast moving camera and use modern post-production techniques to capture the energy and atmosphere of a modern thriller. The result will be a glorious heart-in-mouth solar plexus knockout.”
Aneurin Barnard said: “It’s a privilege to be stepping into the shoes of one of the greatest and most influential composers of all time. This is a story of cultural significance and the themes are just as relevant to today’s contemporary audiences as they were in the 18th Century. I’m very excited to be working with such a talented cast and crew, and I can’t wait to start shooting.”
James Purefoy added: “I’m enormously excited about this role. It’s rare to come across a script that offers this level of dramatic possibility and I have no doubt that shooting the movie in the very streets and theatre that Mozart inhabited over two hundred years ago will be an extraordinary experience.”
Interlude in Prague was adapted from screenwriter, Brian Ashby’s, original factional script about Mozart’s visit to Prague to conduct the Marriage of Figaro at the Nostitz Theatre. Working together with Helen Clare Cromarty and John Stephenson O.B.E, Ashby then adapted this into a screenplay for a full feature film. Ashby is currently penning a novel for Interlude in Prague, based on the screenplay.
London-based Carnaby International is handling worldwide sales rights for Interlude in Prague and will be taking the film to market for Cannes Film Festival 2016 in May.
