Cecily, Reggie and Wilfred are in a home for retired opera singers. Every year, on October 10, there is a concert to celebrate Verdi’s birthday. Jean, who used to be married to Reggie, arrives at the home and disrupts their equilibrium. She still acts like a diva, but she refuses to sing. Still, the show must go on… and it does.
Quartet is a British comedy-drama film based on the play Quartet by Ronald Harwood, which ran in London’s West End from September 1999 until January 2000. It was filmed late in 2011 at Hedsor House, Buckinghamshire. The film is actor Dustin Hoffman’s directorial debut.
About the Story (2013)
The plot takes place in Beecham House, a retirement home for former professional musicians, patterned after the real-life Casa di Riposo per Musicisti founded by Giuseppe Verdi.
Reg, Wilf and Cissy are retired opera singers who often worked together in the past; among other residents are Cedric Livingstone, a former director, and diva Anne Langley. All the guests in the retirement home continue to be engaged in their former professions in one way or the other, including lecturing and initiating young people to music.
Finances threaten closure of the home but proceeds from a yearly gala concert on Verdi’s birthday hold hope for a continuation of the place. However, Cedric has been rather desperate due to the fact that some of the most prominent singers have either died or decided not to participate at all. Reg, Wilf and Cissy, were in the cast of a very highly rated recording of the opera Rigoletto, which includes a famous quartet for soprano, mezzo-soprano, tenor, and baritone. This version is very prominent amongst opera buffs as THE Rigoletto of the post-war era.
One day, Reg is shocked to find his former wife Jean Horton, the missing soprano of the Rigoletto recording, turning up to live at Beecham House. Reg is angry not to have been warned as their parting was on very sour terms.
At first Jean tries unsuccessfully to mend things with Reg. In the ensuing conversations her infidelity arises, as well as her past marriages, but Reg comes to understand that all that is past. In the meantime, Wilf and Cissy convince Cedric that bringing together those who sang the quartet on the famous recording to sing it again for the Verdi Gala concert will sell enough tickets to save the home. Enchanted with the idea, they convince Reg to overcome his objections to performing with Jean again. However, she is harder to persuade as she vowed never to sing again after retiring.
Quartet (2013)
Directed by: Dustin Hoffman
Starring: Maggie Smith, Michael Gambon, Billy Connolly, Pauline Collins, Sheridan Smith
Screenplay by: Ronald Harwood
Production Design by: Andrew McAlpine
Cinematography by: John de Borman
Film Editing by: Barney Pilling
Set Decoration by: Sarah Whittle
Costume Design by: Odile Dicks-Mireaux
Music by: Dario Marianelli
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for brief strong language and suggestive humor.
Studio: The Weinstein Company
Release Date: January 4th, 2013
Visits: 64
