Le Maître de Musique

restored version

After Gérard Corbiau dedicated a portrait to José van Dam in 1982, a deep friendship developed between the two men and gave rise to the project for his first feature film: Le Maître de Musique, which caused an immediate sensation upon its theatrical release. The film was also nominated for the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film at the 61st Academy Awards. 

In the film, Joachim Dallayrac, an opera singer, suddenly announces his retirement in order to pass on his musical legacy to Sophie (Anne Roussel), whom he senses is the opera singer of the future. He also takes a talented young man (Philippe Volter) under his wing with a view to bringing together these two voices to replace his own. 

During this special evening, the film will be screened in a restored version, with Gérard Corbiau in attendance. A musical tribute will also be paid to José Van Dam by his former pupil and MM Laureate Louise Foor. Accompanied by pianist Marie Datcharry, the young soprano will perform several German lieder, including Franz Schubert’s splendid An die Musik, sung by the maestro in one of the film’s most memorable scenes.