The Music Teacher (1988)
"Le maître de musique" (original title)

Aging opera singer Joachim Dallayrac retires from the stage and retreats to the countryside to school two young singers, Sophie and Jean. Although the rigorous training takes its toll on ... See full summary »

Director:

Gérard Corbiau

Writers:

Andrée Corbiau, Gérard Corbiau (screenplay),

Stars:

José van Dam, Anne Roussel, Philippe Volter

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
José van Dam	...	Joachim Dallayrac
Anne Roussel	...	Sophie Maurier
Philippe Volter	...	Jean Nilson
Sylvie Fennec	...	Estelle Fischer
Patrick Bauchau	...	Prince Scotti
Johan Leysen	...	François Manssaux
Marc Schreiber	...	Arcas
Alain Carre	...	Attendant
David Ashman	...	English Critic
Bob Bender	...	English Critic
Jonathan Fox	...	English Critic
Jeannette Bakker	...	Diva
Philippe Drecq	...	Dandy
Jean Gerardy	...	Old Man
Yvette Merlin	...	Louise

Storyline

Aging opera singer Joachim Dallayrac retires from the stage and retreats to the countryside to school two young singers, Sophie and Jean. Although the rigorous training takes its toll on both teacher and students, there is plenty of time for relationships to develop between the three. Based on their teacher's reputation, Sophie and Jean are invited to participate in a singing contest staged by Prince Scotti. Scotti's protege is set up to get revenge for Scotti's defeat at the hands of Dallayrac in a similar competition many years ago. The young students overcome Scotti's trickery to win the competition.

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Plot Keywords:

singing contest | man slaps man | metronome | piano playing

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Genres:

Drama | Music

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

Belgium

Language:

French English German Italian

Release Date:

1 February 1989 (France)

Also Known As:

The Music Teacher

Filming Locations:

Château de La Hulpe - 111 Chaussée de Bruxelles, La Hulpe, Wallonia, Belgium

Box Office

Gross:

$1,086,894 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Radio Télévision Belge Francophone (RTBF), K2 SA

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Fujicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

[first lines]
Joachim Dallayrac: Ladies and gentlemen, that was my last performance.

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Soundtracks

"Widmung"
(from song cycle "Myrthen, op. 25" No. 1)
Composed by Robert Schumann
Text by Friedrich Rückert
Performed by José van Dam with Jean-Claude Vanden, piano

User Reviews

worthwhile for the music alone

Belgium's nominee for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar of 1988 is an elegant highbrow crowd pleaser, in which music scores by Verdi, Mahler, Mozart et al get top billing over the actors, and not without good reason. World-renowned baritone Jose van Dam stars as a (surprise) world-renowned baritone, who for reasons never fully explained abruptly retires to train aspiring soprano Anne Roussel and (again for unclear reasons) a common thief with a raw singing talent. But what begins as a polite, continental variation of 'Pygmalion', with all the usual trappings of a turn-of-the-century period piece, works up considerable steam when, unknown to van Dam, his arch enemy Prince Scotti begins training his own protégé, hoping to match him against his rival's two pupils in a no-holds-barred aria duel (to the death?) It's a thrilling (if slightly ridiculous) climax, and goes a long way toward compensating for some of the film's earlier, nagging deficiencies. If for no one else, this is a must for classical music aficionados.