The Oyster Princess
‘The Oyster Princess’ tells the story of oyster tycoon Quaker, a man so rich he even has a butler to hold his cigar while he smokes. The one thing left that could possibly impress king Quaker, would be to have his daughter Ossi marry a bona fide prince. He finds a poor prince, prince Nucki, who in turn sends his friend Joseph to get an idea of what Ossi is like... ‘The Oyster Princess’ marks a turning point in director Ernst Lubitsch’ comedy work. He leaves the slapstick behind and evolves toward a sophisticated form of satire. The target of his humour in this case is the American bourgeoisie, personified by the wealthy businessman ‘the Oyster King’. Laced with sour humour, we hear the story of the boundless wealth of the American bourgeoisie in the twenties and the snobbish attitude of the impoverished European aristocracy. Lubitsch is known mainly for his Hollywood-period in the 1940’s and 1950’s with ‘The Shop Around the Corner’, ‘Ninotchka’, ‘Heaven can wait’ and many others. A few films from his Berlin period (ca. 1915) were recently restored, amongst others Carmen (Gypsy Blood) and Die Austernprinzessin from 1919.
For the 2005 edition of the Flanders International Film Festival – Ghent, composer Peter Vermeersch wrote the music (score and sound mix) for the Oyster Princess and FES accompanied this film live. This project combines a director of historical importance with the refreshing FES approach and therefore appeals not only to the habitual audience of music lovers but also to film fans. For this specific audience FES recorded The Oyster Princess on DVD, together with the short film ‘Brasschaet 1932’, a curiosum about a bicycle race with a score by Peter Vermeersch.
The screening of The Oyster Princess is a co-production of the Festival of Flanders, Vooruit Arts Centre, the Flanders International Film Festival - Ghent, deSingel, Motives Festival Genk and Bonk vzw. The dvd was released in 2007 by Bonk vzw in cooperation with the Royal Belgian Film Archive.
More info: www.lubitsch.com
Agenda
26 November 2010
GC Spikkerelle, Avelgem, Belgium
(The Oyster Princess + FES & Esther Lybeert)
14 December 2010
Muziekgebouw aan het IJ
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Past dates
11 June 2010
The Hague Jazz, The Hague, The Netherlands
4 July 2009
Mégaphone festival, Dijon, France
6 May 2009
Brighton Festival, Brighton, UK
24 March 2009
Le Channel, Calais, France
15 November 2008
Philharmonie Luxembourg, Luxembourg
27 April 2008
Festival de las Artes de Naucalpan, Mexico City, Mexico
26 April 2008
Ecatepec, Mexico City, Mexico
17 April 2008
Chassé Theater, Breda, The Netherlands
9 December 2007
NT Gent, Ghent, Belgium
7 December 2007
NT Gent, Ghent, Belgium
6 October 2007
CC De Schakel, Waregem, Belgium
7 September 2007
Openluchttheater Zuiderpark, Den Haag, The Netherlands
9 July 2007
Verkadefabriek, Den Bosch, The Netherlands
8 July 2007
Opéra de Lille, France
3 February 2007
Grand Theatre, Groningen, The Netherlands
13 December 2006
Vooruit, Ghent, Belgium
12 December 2006
Vooruit, Ghent, Belgium
11 December 2006
Vooruit, Ghent, Belgium
8 December 2006
Konzerthaus, Vienna, Austria
12 November 2006
Lantaren-Venster, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
6 November 2006
Vredenburg, Utrecht, The Netherlands
5 November 2006
De Werf, Aalst, Belgium
2 November 2006
JazzFest Berlin, Berlin, Germany
18 October 2006
Buda Kunstencentrum, Kortrijk, Belgium
14 October 2006
Pordenone Silent Film Festival, Italy
6 October 2006
CC Hasselt, Hasselt, Belgium
30 September 2006
Stadsschouwburg Mechelen, Mechelen, Belgium
29 September 2006
De Singel, Antwerp, Belgium
28 September 2006
Stadsschouwburg, Brugge, Belgium
22 September 2006
CC poorthuis, Peer, Belgium
16 September 2006
Flagey, Brussels, Belgium
7 September 2006
Zeeland Nazomer Festival, Middelburg, The Netherlands
5 July 2006
Klinkende Munt, Brussels, Belgium
20 November 2005
Trafó, Budapest, Hungary
18 November 2005
Motives Festival, Genk, Belgium
8 October 2005
KC Vooruit, Ghent, Belgium
7 October 2005
KC Vooruit, Ghent, Belgium (première)