André Previn – The Kindness of Strangers

One of the most remarkable artistic events of the 1990s was the staging of the first opera composed by pianist, composer, and conductor André Previn – an adaptation of Tennessee Williams’s A Streetcar Named Desire. This film tells the story of the making of the opera and presents Previn’s life story as well – from fleeing Nazi Germany to the United States to his success as a conductor and as a multi-Oscar-winning composer of more than 50 film scores, including My Fair Lady.

As a jazz pianist, Previn collaborated with Ella Fitzgerald and many others. Among his five wives were equally famous women such as Mia Farrow and violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter. The film’s inside look at the rehearsal room, combined with extensive parts of the opera, result in pure delight for both eyes and ears.