Vox Lumiere
Encyclopedia
Vox Lumiere is a Los Angeles
-based theater/concert
production and company. Vox Lumiere's shows combine the playing of a silent film
with the live performance of original songs, dance and music. Vox Lumiere has combined live performance with the following silent films: Metropolis
, The Hunchback of Notre Dame
, Peter Pan
and The Phantom of the Opera
.
and French
) was founded in 2000 by composer Kevin Saunders Hayes. On April 30, 2000, Vox Lumiere debuted the music for its first production, "Vox Lumiere – Metropolis
" at the sixth annual Avignon Film Festival
in New York City
. In September 2005, Vox Lumiere’s second full-length production, "Vox Lumiere – The Hunchback of Notre Dame
" opened the Prince Music Theater 2005–2006 season in Philadelphia. From 2005 to 2008, Vox Lumiere toured extensively throughout the United States and Canada with "Vox Lumiere–The Hunchback of Notre Dame."
Vox Lumiere has performed in theaters and opera houses throughout North America
and Europe
, including the Cinémathèque Française
in Paris
, the Avignon Opera House in Avignon
, France
, and the Hollywood and Highland
Center in Los Angeles
.
In fall 2008, Vox Lumiere’s production of "Vox Lumiere – The Hunchback of Notre Dame" was filmed at the La Mirada Theater in La Mirada, California
, to be distributed and broadcast nationally on PBS. CD and DVD recordings of the special were produced by Detroit Public TV and released in October 2008 by Koch/E1 Entertainment.
Vox Lumiere productions have featured performers from Broadway
, film
and television
. Performers have included Melissa Fahn
, Christian Nesmith
, Victoria Levy and Suzi Carr George among others. Vox Lumiere and its tagline "silents you can hear" are registered United States trademarks.
in New York. This production is performed in conjunction with the 1927 silent film Metropolis
, a science fiction classic directed by Fritz Lang
.
"Vox Lumiere – The Hunchback of Notre Dame" premiered in 2005 at the Prince Music Theater as part of the Philadelphia Fringe Festival. This production is performed in conjunction with the 1923 silent film The Hunchback of Notre Dame
starring Lon Chaney, Sr.
.
"Vox Lumiere – Phantom of the Opera" is performed in conjunction with the 1925 silent film The Phantom of the Opera
, adapted from the novel by Gaston Leroux
and starring Lon Chaney, Sr.
.
"Vox Lumiere – Peter Pan" is performed in conjunction with the 1924 Paramount Pictures
silent film Peter Pan
.
"Vox Lumiere – Intolerance" is performed in conjunction with the 1916 Triangle Film Corporation
silent film Intolerance
.
Live Albums
Vox Lumiere was featured on the soundtrack to the 2010 feature film Expecting Mary
and the 2006 feature film Mr. Fix It.
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
-based theater/concert
Concert
A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...
production and company. Vox Lumiere's shows combine the playing of a silent film
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
with the live performance of original songs, dance and music. Vox Lumiere has combined live performance with the following silent films: Metropolis
Metropolis (film)
Metropolis is a 1927 German expressionist film in the science-fiction genre directed by Fritz Lang. Produced in Germany during a stable period of the Weimar Republic, Metropolis is set in a futuristic urban dystopia and makes use of this context to explore the social crisis between workers and...
, The Hunchback of Notre Dame
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923 film)
The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a 1923 American film directed by Wallace Worsley and produced by Carl Laemmle and Irving Thalberg. It stars Lon Chaney, Sr., Patsy Ruth Miller, Norman Kerry, Nigel de Brulier, Brandon Hurst. The film is the second most famous adaptation of Victor Hugo's novel,...
, Peter Pan
Peter Pan (1924 film)
Peter Pan is a 1924 adventure silent film released by Paramount Pictures, the first film adaptation of the play by J. M. Barrie. It was directed by Herbert Brenon and starred Betty Bronson as Peter Pan, Ernest Torrence as Captain Hook, Mary Brian as Wendy, and Virginia Browne Faire as Tinker Bell...
and The Phantom of the Opera
The Phantom of the Opera (1925 film)
The Phantom of the Opera is a 1925 American silent horror film adaptation of the Gaston Leroux novel of the same title directed by Rupert Julian. The film featured Lon Chaney in the title role as the deformed Phantom who haunts the Paris Opera House, causing murder and mayhem in an attempt to force...
.
History
Vox Lumiere (“voices of light” in LatinLatin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
and French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
) was founded in 2000 by composer Kevin Saunders Hayes. On April 30, 2000, Vox Lumiere debuted the music for its first production, "Vox Lumiere – Metropolis
Metropolis
A metropolis is a very large city or urban area which is a significant economic, political and cultural center for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections and communications...
" at the sixth annual Avignon Film Festival
Avignon Film Festival
Avignon Film Festival is also known as the Rencontres Cinématographiques Franco-Américain d'Avignon. The festival used to be called the French/American Film Workshop.The festival took place in Avignon, France every year and was devoted to promoting Film...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. In September 2005, Vox Lumiere’s second full-length production, "Vox Lumiere – The Hunchback of Notre Dame
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923 film)
The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a 1923 American film directed by Wallace Worsley and produced by Carl Laemmle and Irving Thalberg. It stars Lon Chaney, Sr., Patsy Ruth Miller, Norman Kerry, Nigel de Brulier, Brandon Hurst. The film is the second most famous adaptation of Victor Hugo's novel,...
" opened the Prince Music Theater 2005–2006 season in Philadelphia. From 2005 to 2008, Vox Lumiere toured extensively throughout the United States and Canada with "Vox Lumiere–The Hunchback of Notre Dame."
Vox Lumiere has performed in theaters and opera houses throughout North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, including the Cinémathèque Française
Cinémathèque Française
The Cinémathèque Française holds one of the largest archives of films, movie documents and film-related objects in the world. Located in Paris, the Cinémathèque holds daily screenings of films from around the world.-History:...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, the Avignon Opera House in Avignon
Avignon
Avignon is a French commune in southeastern France in the départment of the Vaucluse bordered by the left bank of the Rhône river. Of the 94,787 inhabitants of the city on 1 January 2010, 12 000 live in the ancient town centre surrounded by its medieval ramparts.Often referred to as the...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, and the Hollywood and Highland
Hollywood and Highland
The Hollywood & Highland Center is a shopping mall and entertainment complex at Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue in the Hollywood district in Los Angeles. The center also includes Grauman's Chinese Theatre and the Kodak Theatre, home to the Academy Awards. The historic site was once the...
Center in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
.
In fall 2008, Vox Lumiere’s production of "Vox Lumiere – The Hunchback of Notre Dame" was filmed at the La Mirada Theater in La Mirada, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, to be distributed and broadcast nationally on PBS. CD and DVD recordings of the special were produced by Detroit Public TV and released in October 2008 by Koch/E1 Entertainment.
Vox Lumiere productions have featured performers from Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
, film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
. Performers have included Melissa Fahn
Melissa Fahn
Melissa Fahn is an American voice and stage actress and singer known for her work in anime dubs and other mainstream animated series, as well as her work in Broadway and Los Angeles Theatre.-Biography:...
, Christian Nesmith
Christian Nesmith
Christian DuVal Nesmith is a musician, and the eldest son of former Monkee Michael Nesmith and Phyllis Gibson. He has worked with his father , Michael Sherwood , Ty Tabor , Doug Pinnick of King's X and formerly Cindy...
, Victoria Levy and Suzi Carr George among others. Vox Lumiere and its tagline "silents you can hear" are registered United States trademarks.
Productions
"Vox Lumiere – Metropolis" premiered in 2000 at the sixth annual Avignon Film FestivalAvignon Film Festival
Avignon Film Festival is also known as the Rencontres Cinématographiques Franco-Américain d'Avignon. The festival used to be called the French/American Film Workshop.The festival took place in Avignon, France every year and was devoted to promoting Film...
in New York. This production is performed in conjunction with the 1927 silent film Metropolis
Metropolis (film)
Metropolis is a 1927 German expressionist film in the science-fiction genre directed by Fritz Lang. Produced in Germany during a stable period of the Weimar Republic, Metropolis is set in a futuristic urban dystopia and makes use of this context to explore the social crisis between workers and...
, a science fiction classic directed by Fritz Lang
Fritz Lang
Friedrich Christian Anton "Fritz" Lang was an Austrian-American filmmaker, screenwriter, and occasional film producer and actor. One of the best known émigrés from Germany's school of Expressionism, he was dubbed the "Master of Darkness" by the British Film Institute...
.
"Vox Lumiere – The Hunchback of Notre Dame" premiered in 2005 at the Prince Music Theater as part of the Philadelphia Fringe Festival. This production is performed in conjunction with the 1923 silent film The Hunchback of Notre Dame
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923 film)
The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a 1923 American film directed by Wallace Worsley and produced by Carl Laemmle and Irving Thalberg. It stars Lon Chaney, Sr., Patsy Ruth Miller, Norman Kerry, Nigel de Brulier, Brandon Hurst. The film is the second most famous adaptation of Victor Hugo's novel,...
starring Lon Chaney, Sr.
Lon Chaney, Sr.
Lon Chaney , nicknamed "The Man of a Thousand Faces," was an American actor during the age of silent films. He was one of the most versatile and powerful actors of early cinema...
.
"Vox Lumiere – Phantom of the Opera" is performed in conjunction with the 1925 silent film The Phantom of the Opera
The Phantom of the Opera (1925 film)
The Phantom of the Opera is a 1925 American silent horror film adaptation of the Gaston Leroux novel of the same title directed by Rupert Julian. The film featured Lon Chaney in the title role as the deformed Phantom who haunts the Paris Opera House, causing murder and mayhem in an attempt to force...
, adapted from the novel by Gaston Leroux
Gaston Leroux
Gaston Louis Alfred Leroux was a French journalist and author of detective fiction.In the English-speaking world, he is best known for writing the novel The Phantom of the Opera , which has been made into several film and stage productions of the same name, notably the 1925 film starring Lon...
and starring Lon Chaney, Sr.
Lon Chaney, Sr.
Lon Chaney , nicknamed "The Man of a Thousand Faces," was an American actor during the age of silent films. He was one of the most versatile and powerful actors of early cinema...
.
"Vox Lumiere – Peter Pan" is performed in conjunction with the 1924 Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
silent film Peter Pan
Peter Pan (1924 film)
Peter Pan is a 1924 adventure silent film released by Paramount Pictures, the first film adaptation of the play by J. M. Barrie. It was directed by Herbert Brenon and starred Betty Bronson as Peter Pan, Ernest Torrence as Captain Hook, Mary Brian as Wendy, and Virginia Browne Faire as Tinker Bell...
.
"Vox Lumiere – Intolerance" is performed in conjunction with the 1916 Triangle Film Corporation
Triangle Film Corporation
Triangle Film Corporation was a major American motion-picture studio, founded in the summer of 1915 in Culver City, California, and envisioned as a prestige studio based on the producing abilities of filmmakers D. W. Griffith, Thomas Ince and Mack Sennett...
silent film Intolerance
Intolerance (film)
Intolerance is a 1916 American silent film directed by D. W. Griffith and is considered one of the great masterpieces of the Silent Era. The three-and-a-half hour epic intercuts four parallel storylines each separated by several centuries: A contemporary melodrama of crime and redemption; a...
.
Discography
Studio Albums- Vox Lumiere – The Phantom of the Opera (2010)
- Vox Lumiere – Metropolis – Special Limited Edition (2007)
- Vox Lumiere – The Hunchback of Notre Dame – Special Limited Edition (2003)
- Vox Lumiere – Highlights from Five Vox Lumiere Productions (2007)
- Vox Lumiere – Metropolis – Avignon Film FestivalAvignon Film FestivalAvignon Film Festival is also known as the Rencontres Cinématographiques Franco-Américain d'Avignon. The festival used to be called the French/American Film Workshop.The festival took place in Avignon, France every year and was devoted to promoting Film...
Special Limited Edition (2000)
Live Albums
- Vox Lumiere – The Hunchback of Notre Dame (2008)
Appearances and other work
MoviesVox Lumiere was featured on the soundtrack to the 2010 feature film Expecting Mary
Expecting Mary
Expecting Mary is a 2010 comedy-drama film starring Elliott Gould and Linda Gray. It was directed by Dan Gordon and produced by Kim Waltrip with executive producer Jim Casey The film premiered at the Palm Springs International Film Festival 2010 on January 16 and was selected as the opening film at...
and the 2006 feature film Mr. Fix It.