Behind the Oscar-Nominated Songs From Documentaries ‘Viva Verdi’ and Diane Warren
For only the second time in Academy Awards history, two of the five nominated songs are from documentaries—and one of them is an aria performed an opera star, also only the second time during the 91-year history of the category.
Veteran songwriter Diane Warren earned her 17th nomination for “Dear Me” (written for a documentary about her career). The surprise in this list (outpolling songs by Stephen Schwartz, Miley Cyrus and Sara Bareilles) was “Sweet Dreams of Joy” from an obscure documentary titled “Viva Verdi!”
The film is about a retirement home for musicians, built in 1896 by Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi (composer of such operas as “Aida” and “La Traviata”) and still in operation in Milan today.
Composer Nicholas Pike watched a 12-minute compilation of scenes and was so moved that he wrote, in a day, a song he called “Sweet Dreams of Joy.” But, as the filmmakers were still shooting, he had plenty of time to consider how best to present it.
Since most of the residents of Casa Verdi were active in classical music, he decided to recast it in operatic form and ask a soprano to perform it. Ana Maria Martinez, who sang “Carmen” with the Los Angeles Opera and “Tosca” with the Pittsburgh Opera, loved both the song and the idea of the film and agreed to record it.
Pike wrote both music and lyrics, inspired by the residents (ages 77 to 103) who were still mentoring young musicians. “These people, in their third act in life, were just so full of joy and passion; I was feeling the energy of the place,” he says.
The composer, who is better known as a score composer (TV’s “The Shining”), sees the piece as “a celebration of life as an artist, living a life through music.
“These residents at Casa Verdi have that, and shared that with Verdi, so the aria is a musical rendering in the most visceral way of joy, inspiration and possibilities. And because the aria is steeped in more of a classical vibe, it naturally brings a deeper level of complexity, finesse and weight that appeals, I think, to anybody with musical leanings.”
Martinez’s soaring soprano, Pike’s classically styled piano and an ensemble of strings lend an air of sophistication as well as a nostalgia for the kind of music once practiced by Europe’s practitioners of grand opera. Pike was pleased that the Academy’s music branch had, he said, “acknowledged a song outside of the norm.”
Veteran songwriter Diane Warren earned her 17th nomination for “Dear Me” (written for a documentary about her career). The surprise in this list (outpolling songs by Stephen Schwartz, Miley Cyrus and Sara Bareilles) was “Sweet Dreams of Joy” from an obscure documentary titled “Viva Verdi!”
The film is about a retirement home for musicians, built in 1896 by Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi (composer of such operas as “Aida” and “La Traviata”) and still in operation in Milan today.
Composer Nicholas Pike watched a 12-minute compilation of scenes and was so moved that he wrote, in a day, a song he called “Sweet Dreams of Joy.” But, as the filmmakers were still shooting, he had plenty of time to consider how best to present it.
Since most of the residents of Casa Verdi were active in classical music, he decided to recast it in operatic form and ask a soprano to perform it. Ana Maria Martinez, who sang “Carmen” with the Los Angeles Opera and “Tosca” with the Pittsburgh Opera, loved both the song and the idea of the film and agreed to record it.
Pike wrote both music and lyrics, inspired by the residents (ages 77 to 103) who were still mentoring young musicians. “These people, in their third act in life, were just so full of joy and passion; I was feeling the energy of the place,” he says.
The composer, who is better known as a score composer (TV’s “The Shining”), sees the piece as “a celebration of life as an artist, living a life through music.
“These residents at Casa Verdi have that, and shared that with Verdi, so the aria is a musical rendering in the most visceral way of joy, inspiration and possibilities. And because the aria is steeped in more of a classical vibe, it naturally brings a deeper level of complexity, finesse and weight that appeals, I think, to anybody with musical leanings.”
Martinez’s soaring soprano, Pike’s classically styled piano and an ensemble of strings lend an air of sophistication as well as a nostalgia for the kind of music once practiced by Europe’s practitioners of grand opera. Pike was pleased that the Academy’s music branch had, he said, “acknowledged a song outside of the norm.”