For Immediate Release
7 June 2016
Contact: Jodi Joseph
Director of Communications
413.664.4481 x8113
jjoseph@massmoca.org
The Triplets of Belleville
Le Hot Jazz, Le Tour
NORTH ADAMS, MASSACHUSETTS — This unclassifiable Oscar-nominated (Best Animated Feature, Best Song) film — a fantastical caper involving the Tour de France and the French Mafia — becomes a spectacular live event featuring dancing, singing, Foley sound effects, and the original hot swing score performed live by its composer, Benoît Charest, and his 9-piece Le Terrible Orchestre de Belleville band. Beautiful, outrageous fun for the whole family, The Triplets of Belleville screens outside under the stars in Courtyard C or in the Hunter Center on Saturday, July 16, at 8:30pm.
AllMusic praises the award-winning jazz guitarist and composer Benoît Charest when reflecting on The Triplets of Belleville — “with melodies that are both snappy and quaint, and lyrics ‘en Francais,’ this inspired soundtrack of jazz tunes harkens back to a bygone era.” The Triplets of Belleville was nominated for two Academy Awards, Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song for Charest’s “Belleville Rendez-vous.” The film won the French César Award for Best Film Music, as well as the Canadian Genie Award for Best Picture.
The celebrated music was inspired by its outrageous source material. As animated characters in Belleville fool around playing vacuums and bicycle wheels as instruments, Charest did the same in creating the film’s score. We’ll see those “instruments” played live on stage during this performance. In an interview with Disquiet.com, the composer discusses how the music was produced. “The Hoover, I played and kept the long sequences and pasted them together. And the bicycle spokes were a bicycle I had in the studio, and I blended it with a kalimba [an African percussion instrument played by plucking] because the bicycle on its own was lacking a bit of punch, so I did that. The newspaper is real newspaper, but I had to blend in a plastic bag, to get it a bit more crisp. And the same with the grill in the fridge — I put in a bass drum.”
At MASS MoCA, Charest brings his 9-piece Le Terrible Orchestre de Belleville, bike wheels, kalimbas, newspapers, and plastic bags to score the film live. Expect his jazzy score with a tongue-in-cheek song and dance schtick to echo the film’s winsome illustrations and charming adventure.
The Triplets of Belleville screens in MASS MoCA’s Courtyard C (or inside our Hunter Center, if it rains) on Saturday, July 16, at 8:30pm. Dinner is available from Lickety Split before and during the show. MASS MoCA’s full bar serves Bright Ideas Brewing beers and Berkshire Mountain Distillery spirits. Tickets are $12 for kids 6-16, $16 for students, $20 in advance, $26 the day of, and $36 for preferred seating. Kids 5 and under come for free. Tickets for all events are available through the MASS MoCA box office located on Marshall Street in North Adams, open 11am – 5pm Wednesdays through Mondays; closed Tuesdays through June 24. Starting June 25, the box office will be open 10am to 6pm every day, with extended evening hours to 7pm on Thursdays through Saturdays. Tickets can also be charged by phone by calling 413.662.2111 during box office hours or purchased online at massmoca.org. All events are held rain or shine.
Images
High-resolution images of MASS MoCA’s summer 2016 events are available through this link: bit.ly/1WpMVOd.
Sponsorship
This event is sponsored by The Porches Inn at MASS MoCA.
About MASS MoCA
MASS MoCA is one of the world’s liveliest (and largest) centers for making and enjoying today’s most important art, music, dance, theater, film, and video. Hundreds of works of visual and performing art have been created on its 19th-century factory campus during fabrication and rehearsal residencies, making MASS MoCA among the most productive sites in the country for the creation and presentation of new art. More platform than box, MASS MoCA strives to bring to its audiences art experiences that are fresh, engaging, and transformative.
MASS MoCA’s galleries are open 11am to 5pm every day except Tuesdays. From June 25 through September 5, MASS MoCA’s galleries are open 10am to 6pm every day, with extended evening hours to 7pm on Thursdays through Saturdays. The Hall Art Foundation’s Anselm Kiefer exhibition is open seasonally, spring – fall. Gallery admission is $18 for adults, $16 for veterans and seniors, $12 for students, $8 for children 6 to 16, and free for children 5 and under. Members are admitted free year-round. For additional information, call 413.662.2111 x1 or visit massmoca.org.