In the Shadows of the Stars which won the 1991 Best Documentary feature Oscar, focuses on several members of the San Francisco Opera Chorus. they are the people who stand without fame or fortune in the shadows of the opera divas and star players. 

The documentary starts off slowly. The members are not identified by name and one seems arrogant, another seems bitter, another seems a bit detached. It’s also about opera and while I enjoy it on occasion I am not an opera buff and I don’t know a lot about it.  I almost turned it off after about 20 minutes.  I just didn't care very much about what I was watching.

However, somewhere around the 30 minute point, I became more interested in the individual stories and the people who are not actually identified by name because they are after-all, background players, supporting stars. The documentary mixes interviews, takes us backstage into rehearsals and shows us clips from various performance of the San Francisco Opera on several stages as the company toured the country circa 1989.   The people we meet have a passion and dedication to their work and take pride in what they are doing.  Most do not expect to become famous or rich, but need to sing professionally and get great satisfaction, in many cases feeling very blessed to have the jobs that they have.

If you really like opera you’ll hear partial live arias from Il Trovatore, Africaine, MacBeth, The Flying Dutchman, The Rakes Progress and others. If you enjoy opera on occasion you’ll also find the aria excerpts quite interesting and enjoyable.

None of the interviewees are identified and we see they are treated differently from the stars of the opera by the dressers, and others backstage. There are rules the chorus members must adhere to and they is why they are supposed to sit in their underwear in make-up in their dressing rooms for several hours. You can’t have food in the dressing rooms, you can’t eat food while in costume.

As the film progresses the chorus members become three dimensional, there’s the married couple who sing duets to each other, the husband encouraging his wife to audition for major roles, because she is more hungry and the chances are better she will get the big part, the chorus member who is also truck driver and practices with the score opened in front of him as he drives his big rig down the road; the slightly bitter man who has told us about his unique relationship with his mother, the loss of people in the chorus from Aids. You meet the black singer who complains there is little interest in casting black man for lead roles even though white men regularly used make-up to play ethnic roles. He is willing to wear light make-up or green make-up if it gives him a good part.

The film does not have any particularly story arc that we follow, but I became more interested in these chorus members as the film progressed.  The DVD extras update the lives of the chorus members a couple of years after most of the movie was shot.

EXTRAS

The extras consist of 9 trailers for documentaries, 6 deleted scenes and 2 featuretttes. There is the Oscar acceptance speech by the film’s two producers.

The best extra is a 25 minute plus sequence concerning the strike /lockout of the chorus members over their wage demands which you should make sure to watch as we see many of the chorus members interacting with each other for the first time.  They discuss the wage and working conditions sometimes with a bit of anger and hostility.  I would have edited out some of the earlier scenes in the completed film and make sure this was sequence was part of the movie.  Excellent sequence.  
 

There are also a series of funny stories and anecdotes that didn’t make it into the feature. There are two short featurettes in which the directors explain how the film came about. Originally it was going to revolve around some old 1950’s footage that was shot somewhat secretly by a former chorus member and included some very famous productions of operas. The film changed into something different than originally planned, perhaps because it was difficult to get the rights to air much of the old black and white footage. We only see a few seconds of the footage in the completed film and it does not pop up as an extra.

There is footage of children’s matinee of LaBoheme, and we have extended scenes and interviews with one of the chorus members who talks about his gay marriage. We also hear from the non-chorus member who enjoys seeing his partner perform as part of the chorus and tells a funny story about how his partner delivered a message to one of the stars as a surprise to his partner.

 The film is a fascinating look at some very important hard working singers and actors who might stand in the shadows of the stars but are integral to the success of any theatrical production. I will remember many of the stories told. You’ll also gain some insight and respect for the supporting players and behind the scenes people that make any theatrical or even film production possible.

If your are even slightly interested in the subject matter, it’s definitely worth a rental. Recommended.

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD