"Aldo Baldin, A Life For Music" under the baton of producer Marcelo Nigri
by Micki Mihich.
In pre-production stage is one of the most-important-to-be documentaries about Brazil and music, "Aldo Baldin, A Life For Music". No, there is no Samba nor Bossa Nova here, both very well-represented in countless other documentaries from "terra brasilis"; more than a musical category, even though the documentary deals with classical music, the film is rather about an instrument - Brazilian tenor Aldo Baldin.
If you are acquainted with the lyric singer's work, you'll certainly be pleased to know that finally we'll have a definitive proper documentation about the great Brazilian vocal artist. And if you don't know him, then you're proof of the documentary's importance.
Born in Urussanga, a small city in the state of Santa Catarina, Baldin sang with some of the most acclaimed maestros in the world, such as Helmuth Rilling, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Henrique Morelenbaum, Riccardo Muti, Karl Richter, Herbert von Karajan, among others; he was one of the biggest interpreters of Bach, as well as Mozart's and Verdi's; he was one of the most prolific tenors in existence, both in chamber music as well as in lyrical, with over 500 performances in 60 different operas and 300 oratories, having 150 recordings (over 60 in CD). Counting all his registered performances all over the world, including radio and TV, there are over one thousand works. Baldin was even the recipient of a Grammy, having been the greatest Brazilian lyrical singer, and one of the greatest in the world.
With the noble purpose of bringing to the fore and preserving the memory of this Brazilian giant, from his humble beginning in Santa Catarina's countryside to the international acclaim, through his struggles and challenges in Santa Catarina, Rio Grande do Sul, Rio de Janeiro until his moving to Germany, "Aldo Baldin, A Life For Music" has already been garnering its due support. "We've been awarded the Feature Film Project Research and Development Grant from the Santa Catarina Government", states proudly producer Marcelo Nigri. The film also has the unrestricted support from the Baldin family, "Which is extremely important", declares the producer, "Not only for the support per se and legitimacy added to the project but also for the unique source materials provided". Nigri refers to the quasi-unlimited photographic, videographic and discographic archives on the tenor, maintained by his widow, Irene Flesch Baldin, and their two daughters, Serena and Sofia.
The film also has a director from Urussanga, the same city as the tenor's, Yves Goulart, director of the multi-awarded "Beyond The Light", also produced by Nigri. "The presence of Yves in the project obviously is due to his professional quality and unique vision as director, and also because he's a big fighter for the preservation and promotion of Baldin's memory", says the producer, "But of course, the fact that both artists share the same roots makes that an extra special item in an ideal marriage".
Natural from Rio de Janeiro, Marcelo Nigri came from the world of the dance, where he already used cinematographic
elements in his choreographies. "The dance, as much as cinema, always were very present in my life", reveals the producer, who's also a choreographer, "The image in movement in cinema is also choreographic and that has always fascinated and inspired me".
Nigri has several projects in different stages of production, all focused in Brazilian culture, one of which being about dance, as expected. "To reveal the 'other Brazils' through art has always been my target", says the producer, who presently resides in New York, "We should not forget, for instance, that our musical gifts also go beyond the Samba and the Bossa Nova. And nobody better than Aldo Baldin to prove it".
* Foto de Rodrigo Barbosa
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