Earlier this year, composer Elliot Goldenthal scored what amounts to a Hollywood Daily Double, by winning both a Golden Globe and Oscar for his wonderfully imaginative score to Julie Taymor's “Frida.” To acknowledge only that it was a richly deserved honor for an underappreciated movie doesn't quite do justice to the film. The biopic about the surrealist painter Frida Kahlo is a musical tour of 20th-century Mexico in a soundtrack's disguise. Even better, it can be enjoyed without having already seen “Frida” or, for that matter, Kahlo's artwork.
One would assume, then, that Goldenthal's telephone hasn't stopped ringing since he accepted the awards.
“In my case, no, nothing has changed,” said the soft-spoken New York native, who studied under Aaron Copland and John Corigliano. “People, close friends, all thought I was being deluged with offers. But there were almost zero offers.”
That's not to say, of course, that he hasn't kept busy. His most recent collaboration with Irish writer-director Neil Jordan is on display in “The Good Thief,” and, last week, he returned to Mexico City for a seminar on music composition.
Oddly enough, the usually reliable imdb.com website has him involved, as well, in “The Thunderbird,” an “action/fantasy/sci-fi/adventure/comedy” directed by Jonathan Frakes. But it's news to Goldenthal.
“No, I haven't even heard of it,” he allowed. “I'm sorry, but who is Jonathan Frakes?”
Never mind.
This week, on many PBS affiliates, another fascinating Goldenthal work will be on center stage, in the San Francisco Ballet's production of “Othello”. Lar Lubovitch's dance in three-acts, inspired by the Shakespeare tragedy of passion and tragedy, is described as a syntheis of classical and modern movement. A “Dance in America” presentation, the 90-minute performance features Desmond Richardson, Yuan Yuan Tan and Parrish Maynard.
Othello, which debuted at the Metropolitan Opera House in 1997, is a joint production of American Ballet Theatre, San Francisco Ballet and the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company. The PBS concert was recorded in 2002.
The ballet showcases yet another aspect of Goldenthal's diverse repertoire. Along with his movie soundtracks (“Heat,” “Michael Collins,” “Batman Forever”), the 49-year-old composer has collaborated with Taymor on 18 projects (The Green Bird, Juan Darien: A Carnival Mass, “Titus”), and classical commissions ‘Shadow Play Scherzo’ (to commemorate Leonard Bernstein's 70th birthday) and a large-scale orchestral piece, ‘Fire, Water, Paper: A Vietnam Oratorio’.
Lubovitch approached Goldenthal about a year before Othello was scheduled to go into production at the American Ballet Theater.
“There never had been a three-act Othello, with a fleshed-out narrative for ballet,” Goldenthal explained. “Because of the ABT's fractured rehearsal schedule, I had to have the score completed in six months. Lar and his assistant would have to learn it first, then the dancers.”
A lot of ‘give and take’ went into the final interpretation of the music. Both artists had their own ideas about the source material, but Lubovitch knew the limitations of the dancers.
“As a dancer, he understood how long you could sustain a pas de deux physically,” Goldenthal added. “The events depicted in Shakespeare's play took a certain amount of time to play out, so there was a lot of discussion how long the music should be for each section of the ballet.”
What's striking about the scoring is the extensive use of percussion and other unconventional instruments.
“Lar always encouraged me to add more and more percussion,” Goldenthal said. “We add the glass harmonica, which was invented by Benjamin Franklin. It takes in the whole notion of the piece, which is that everyone's emotions are fragile and transparent... like glass.
“Pieces of the set were made of glass, as well.”
Because the storyline is so familiar to theater-goers, Lubovitch and Goldenthal decided to change the emotional climate of the dance, adding some variety.
“We didn't want that sense of foreboding to emerge at the beginning of the work,” Goldenthal stressed, in an interview conducted just after the DVD release of “Frida”. “We wanted a slow disclosure, because a lot happens before the tragedy occurs. When Desdemona is killed, it isn't done in a horrific way... it's as if she'll agree to do anything Othello decides, because they're so much in love.
“She'd rather die by his hands than anyone else's, so there's something deeply romantic about the murder. Along with the rage, there was a tenderness and a sense of their deep spiritual love ... this giant of a man and wisp of a girl.”
Goldenthal's immense contribution to “Frida” is showcased on the two-disc DVD. It includes commentary, a dedicated music track and an interview with singer Chavela Vargas that's almost worth the price of the DVD itself.
“That took place in Mexico City, around the same time 'Frida' opened there,” Goldenthal recalled. “We thought it would be a very cool thing to have as part of the whole experience. Chavela provided a physical connection between Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera ... she lived with part of her life... her body... part of Diego's body, as well.
“To have her with us gave the production a tremendous sense of approval.”
Having all of this bonus material available in one place provides DVD buyers an experience not unlike that of visiting a museum or library.
Because most of the dialogue in “Frida” was in English – and Kahlo remains a controversial figure in Mexico – the project was greeted with some skepticism there.
“They have a love-hate thing with Salma (Hayek), but when everyone saw how earnest we all were – and how beautiful and respectful of the Mexican culture movie was – they felt good about it,” Goldenthal said. “For us, it was a worthwhile pursuit to capture the lives of artists and political minds at a time when people were so alive.”
In a little more than six months, the soundtrack album has sold a very respectable 100,000 units, according to Goldenthal. To put that number in context, the composer also noted that “Chicago” has topped the 1 million barrier, and “Titanic” might have sold 10 times that total.
Viewers will have to decide for themselves whether the thought of watching a full-length ballet is more appealing than “The Bachelor Meets the Parents of the Billionaire Supermodel Who Ate a Mouse Turd While Watching Kelly and Ryan” being interviewed on ‘ET’. “If this column saves even one person from watching another 90 minutes of a reality-based show – or leads to one more “Frida” rental tonight – my mission on Earth will be complete.”