Diva Dolorosa

Caldera Records is proud to present Loek Dikker's score for the film Diva Dolorosa.

Peter Delpeut's work is a mesmerising found footage collage he assembled in the late 1990s after a flame of passion had been ignited within him: The filmmaker had watched "Rapsodia Satanica," an expressive and exuberant melodrama with a staggering performance by Lydia Borelli as the leading lady, who had thrown herself into the role of the doomed femme fatale - the "diva." Previously unaware of the subgenre of the "Diva Film," Delpeut started to seek out similar works. He quickly found they were like operas. Everything was heightened, and the actresses seemed to dance on every individual frame. Delpeut created Diva Dolorosa, for which he assembled individual scenes from "Diva Films." He put together a new work, a story in the tradition of the Italian classics, for which he needed the appropriate music.

Delpeut entrusted experienced composer Loek Dikker with this Herculean task. The film required a wall-to-wall score, as expressive and lush as an opera. It became his magnum opus, a tribute to the great operas of the late 19th century with subtle jazz influences as they were invoked by, among others, Maurice Ravel and Darius Milhaud in the 1920s. Keen film music enthusiasts might even discover some hints of Nino Rota in the vaudeville music. Dikker's score has it all - instrumental arias, jazz, vaudeville, and even some polyphony. It is the work the composer is proudest of, and indeed, it stands as a towering achievement in his impressive oeuvre. The 55th CD-release of Caldera Records features a detailed booklet text by Stephan Eicke and elegant artwork by Luis Miguel Rojas. The CD was mastered by Richard Moore and produced by Stephan Eicke and John Elborg.