大象传媒

In the early 1980s the German film director Werner Herzog kept a diary of his struggle to make his film Fitzcarraldo in the Amazon. Entitled Conquest of the Useless, its descriptions of nature and Herzog鈥檚 day-today battle inspired composer David Fennessy to create an epic threepart work that touches on madness, ambition, Verdi, belief, Enrico Caruso, musical Romanticism and the teeming, chaotic brutality of the jungle.

Fennessy鈥檚 Conquest of the Useless moves from an orchestral depiction of Herzog鈥檚 original vision 鈥� 鈥渁 large steamship scaling a hill under its own steam鈥� 鈥� though a four-part choir made up of samples from Caruso鈥檚 recordings, to a finale once described by the composer as 鈥淢ahler鈥檚 Das Lied von der Erde put through a blender.鈥�

Part-premiered by the 大象传媒 SSO at Glasgow鈥檚 first Tectonics festival in 2013, the completed work returns to City Halls for a performance preceded by a discussion with the composer and a screening of Les Blank鈥檚 1982 documentary of the Fitzcarraldo shoot, Burden of Dreams (Cert. 15).

5.30pm Screening of 'Burden of Dreams' (Location: Old Fruitmarket)
7.15pm Herzog鈥檚 legacy 鈥� A panel discussion, including David Fennessy
8.00pm Conquest of the Useless (Location: City Halls Auditorium)

Your ticket will allow you access to all three events - documentary screening, panel discussion and performance. Please note that seating is unreserved.