For Barbara, Annette, Florian and Franziska Prey
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PREY When love falls silent A documentary by Michael Harder & Martin Blum
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It’s fascinating and exciting to delve into the life of someone you’ve never met. Especially if the person is famous and his life is documented – on film, in journals and organizers. But it’s also a strange feeling. Should I remain distanced – a professional filmmaker – or follow my human instincts? Do I run the danger of becoming an eager voyeur? There is no end to the traps you can fall into. Without even noticing. The Prey family set the tone for us. And gave us their trust. During almost three years of filming, we have felt and understood what it means to allow strangers – and we were strangers to the family – to share in something so personal. Memories, longings, doubts, inner pain and love. We listened, and were touched by the story of this extraordinary family. A story that we hadn’t experienced ourselves, yet wanted to bring to life in our film.
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We never actually planned to shoot a film about Hermann Prey. But Martin Blum has been a friend of the singer’s son Florian Prey for two decades. And once, while we sat together talking about music and films, Martin mentioned Florian and his father. One thought lead to another. We search all over the Internet and find nothing – nothing that brings back a real impression of the artist, years after his death. Then we meet with Florian Prey, just to talk. During our conversation, he says something that sets us both on fire:
I DON’T WANT MY FATHER TO BE FORGOTTEN. This sentence speaks of longing and love. And it gives us a vision, which we follow. Yet without even knowing what story our film will tell. Sometimes films are created because you let yourself be led – by intuition, by emotions and by your heart.
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The filming begins on the North Sea island of Amrum. We’ve arranged to meet Barbara Prey, Florian’s mother and the widow of Hermann Prey. It’s a stormy day. But the ferry between the mainland and the island sails, despite the high waves. We want to introduce ourselves to Barbara Prey, talk with her and find out whether she’ll place her trust in us. We’re nervous, because everything depends on this meeting. Barbara Prey could stop the project before it even starts. We drive to the holiday home of the Prey family, and there in the yard is Barbara Prey in work clothes. She invites us in for coffee. No actual filming is planned, but we set up the equipment to help familiarise her with the situation. What she says before the camera on that day becomes one of the most important parts of our film.
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I FEEL AS THOUGH I’VE SIMPLY FORGOTTEN EVERYTHING. IT’S ALL GONE. I CAN’T RECALL ANYTHING; EVEN IF I WANT TO. EXCEPT WHEN SOMEONE ASKS. Barbara Prey
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Hermann Prey made hundreds and hundreds of short little films – over decades. Shooting films was his passion. He documented his public and private life meticulously in organizers. You can reconstruct it on a day-by-day basis. In this way, he left an impression of himself.
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We stay for three hours. Barbara Prey speaks with us, and does so with an openness and familiarity that take our breath away. She talks of memories, of her mourning, the loss of her husband and the father of her children, of doubts, longings, fulfilling and unfulfilling moments in her life at the side of Hermann Prey. It feels as though all distance between us has vanished in our conversation. Nothing separates us. Because she shares her innermost thoughts and feelings with us.
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Barbara Prey accompanied her husband, always at his side. They travelled all over the world and saw the major opera houses and concert halls.
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WE’D ONLY MET FOR THE SECOND TIME WHEN HE SAID: I WANT TO MARRY YOU. I WAS STILL VERY YOUNG, KNEW NOTHING ABOUT LIFE. BUT I FOLLOWED HIM – UNCONDITIONALLY; OUT OF LOVE. Barbara Prey 19
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When we meet Franziska Prey, the youngest of the three Prey siblings, to talk, we sense reservations. Because this is about something private, about memories of her father, about the pain caused by his death and life with him from a child’s perspective.
I WOULDN’T HAVE WANTED TO TRADE LIVES WITH MY MOTHER. “Only after my father’s death did I realise the dimensions life at his side must have taken on for her”, she says. “She was his wife, our mother. She loved him, accompanied him, organized things and protected him, and she had to leave us behind to do so.”
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We look at hundreds of pictures and film sequences to use in our film. We’re touched by how much happiness and love we discover. And we understand how important the moments spent together as a normal family were to the parents and children.
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Annette, Florian and Franziska Prey
HIS STAGE LIFE TOOK HIM AWAY FROM ME. Annette Prey “That’s why I could never listen to his recordings, never wanted to, when he was away. Florian was always listening to our father’s recordings. But we never talked with each other about life with and without him. At least not that I can remember”, says Annette Prey.
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We meet with the baritone Thomas Hampson. Because we want to hear what an international star says about how Hermann Prey dedicated his entire life to the stage – without ever doubting his actions . Is it an impulse that you follow because it’s your calling? Or is it a passion that becomes an obsession, which you feel is your destiny? Hampson allows us half an hour, but it turns out to be three. When we say goodbye, we don’t want to shake his hand, because we have both been sweating. He has captivated us and given us a completely different response from what we expected. Disarming, open, realistic and honest. “It’s a serious thing”, he says. “I want to talk about it seriously. I am honoured by the privilege to be in this film about Hermann Prey.”
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EVERYTHING IN A SINGER’S LIFE REVOLVES AROUND THIS CALLING. YOUR WEIGHT; YOUR HEALTH; YOUR DAY-TO-DAY LIFE. HERMANN PREY WOULDN’T HAVE BEEN HERMANN PREY, HAD HE LIVED DIFFERENTLY.
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HE WAS A ROLE MODEL FOR ME. HE SANG EVERYTHING; FROM OPERETTA AND COLE PORTER TO LIEDER AND THE BIG OPERA ROLES. THAT’S HOW A SINGER SHOULD BE. Thomas Hampson
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I TRY TO LIKE OTHER SINGERS, ONES WHO WIN PRIZES AND ACCLAIM. BUT I JUST CAN’T. THERE IS NO OTHER VOICE THAT TOUCHES THE HEART THE WAY MY HUSBAND’S DID. Barbara Prey
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We ask Florian to allow us a look at his father’s organisers. We have the impression that this is the first time Barbara and Florian Prey look at these notes together. We decide not to film, to take still photos only. This moment must remain private, belonging to Prey’s widow and son alone.
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He says yes the instant we ask him: Jonas Kaufmann, tenor, an international star and friend of Hermann Prey’s. Despite the fact that they are decades apart in age. The atmosphere is already almost familiar when we meet. Jonas Kaufmann continues where Thomas Hampson left off: explaining life on stage and beyond to us two filmmakers. It’s great when an artist is willing to share in this manner – to share the magic and drama of living for music.
I OFTEN SIT DEPRESSED IN MY HOTEL ROOM AND ASK MYSELF: WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS? WHY AREN’T YOU AT HOME WITH YOUR FAMILY? IT’S CRAZY, BUT THE SUFFERING, THE SEPARATION AND LONELINESS YOU EXPERIENCE IN THIS PROFESSION ARE HELPFUL FOR YOUR OWN SINGING, INTERPRETATION ON STAGE AND SUCCESS. Jonas Kaufmann
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During the almost three years it took to shoot and produce this film, something special develops between Florian and us. It was not only about the film itself, something greater: trust. Mature, respectful and mutual trust. It takes a great deal – a very great deal – of trust to say things that could be misinterpreted in front of a camera. Especially as the son of a very famous person. Neither Florian nor his sisters and mother ever tried to influence our work. They just let us do it. A gesture that we interpreted as great esteem for us and our work.
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He went on stage with Hermann Prey for 12 years: Prof. Helmut Deutsch. Another man who doesn’t praise Hermann Prey simply because he’s on camera. But rather because the work and time spent with Hermann Prey means a great deal to him, because he is able to look back in friendship on the substance of their work and because to this day he is full of enthusiasm about Prey. About the music, the interpretation, the devotion and passion. Deutsch and Prey travelled the world, performing in major theatres in big cities – and becoming almost like a (married) couple on stage.
I DON’T ALWAYS MAKE FRIENDS WITH THE ARTISTS I ACCOMPANY TODAY WHEN I SAY: THERE WILL NEVER BE ANOTHER PREY. Helmut deutsch PS: It was a great interview in other ways too – we were allowed to smoke.
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Florian looks for his place in the arts, too. He shoots films, writes his own screenplays, paints and takes pictures, then becomes a singer – like his father. But he doesn’t want to repeat his father’s life or follow in his tracks. They talk about this decision and Hermann Prey – as Florian sees it today – has no choice but to accept his son’s decision, even if he would have wished something else.
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We film the singer Florian Prey as well. In a special place. An old coach house that Florian and friends, artists and art patrons converted into an auditorium years ago. Rico Gulda plays the piano. The two are connected by more than music. Rico too is the son of a world-famous artist – pianist Friedrich Gulda.
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WHEN I’M ON STAGE NOW; SOMETIMES I SEE NOT MYSELF, BUT MY FATHER STANDING IN FRONT OF THE PIANO. Florian Prey
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I LISTEN TO FLORIAN OFTEN IN REHEARSALS AND RECITALS. I RECENTLY PUT ON A RECORDING OF HERMANN AND WAS FASCINATED. BECAUSE I THOUGHT I COULD HEAR MY SON IN MY HUSBAND’S VOICE. Barbara Prey 48
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A retreat for Hermann Prey – a house built of wood in the mountains. Here he studies scores and prepares for the big operatic roles. Hermann Prey left this house, this special place, to Florian.
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I AM INFINITELY GRATEFUL TO MY FATHER FOR THIS PLACE. IT CONNECTS ME WITH HIM IN A SPECIAL WAY. BECAUSE HERE HE WORKED AS AN ARTIST AND FOUND PEACE AND CONTEMPLATION AS HUMAN BEING. TO THIS DAY I CAN FEEL HIS PRESENCE, WHEN I SIT ALONE ON THE TERRACE. Florian Prey
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Hermann Prey feels especially at home in Florida. He enjoys the “American way of life”, listens to jazz and receives visits from his children. He develops a plan for life in old age – “Prey after 70”. Retiring is not an option – not for him. He doesn’t want to, he can’t.
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In 1997, a year before his death, Hermann Prey performs in Japan. In six recitals, he performs the Schubert song cycles. At his side is the pianist Michael Endres. Prey tells him the concerts in the famous Suntory Hall in Tokyo are “Maybe my biggest thing�. The Prey family is in possession of TV footage of the event, which has been aired only once, in 1997 on Japanese TV. The Prey family allows us to use excerpts from it exclusively in our film.
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I TOLD HIM I COULD PLAY EVERYTHING. IN REALITY I HAD TO LEARN IT ALL. HE NOTICED, I THINK, BUT NEVER MENTIONED IT.
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IN THE REHEARSALS AND ON STAGE HIS ENERGY WAS ALMOST FRIGHTENING. Michael Endres
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Florian Uhlig is the last pianist to perform with Hermann Prey. Uhlig is in his early 20s when Prey asks him if he wants to work with him. “We’re two generations apart. I’d never accompanied a singer at the piano”, recalls Uhlig. “Prey wanted to reinvent himself, to develop a new approach to performing”, says the pianist in retrospect. Florian Uhlig plays music for our film. As an homage to Hermann Prey. A wonderful gesture.
I EXPERIENCED MOMENTS OF MELDING WITH HIM ON STAGE. EVERYTHING VANISHED. THE AUDIENCE, THE PIANO, THE SINGING. UNTIL NOTHING WAS LEFT. Florian Uhlig
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These pictures of Hermann Prey are in his house. Fascinating images. Because they show Prey in his later years, shortly before his death. And yet they are full of energy. They were sent to Barbara Prey. “Unfortunately, I don’t know anymore where they were taken”, she says. We research. On the Internet, then in the USA, and actually find the photographer: Martha Hart. In 1997 she was working on a book about the San Diego Opera House and attended a concert rehearsal of Hermann Prey. She takes the last pictures of him in the USA. After the recital, the press gives rave reviews, paying tribute and talking of forebodings. Words like “melancholy” and “bidding farewell” appear.
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HIS EMOTIONAL INTENSITY WAS INCREDIBLE. I COULDN’T TAKE MY EYES OFF HIS HANDS AND FACE. IT WAS A PRIVILEGE TO EXPERIENCE THAT MOMENT. martha hart
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I MISS HIS LAUGHTER. HE COULD LAUGH SO WONDERFULLY AND WITH ALL HIS HEART. Annette prey
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I AM SAD THAT HE CAN’T WATCH MY CHILDREN GROW UP. Florian Prey
WHAT WE WANT IS TO REMEMBER HIM. AS LONG AS PEOPLE REMEMBER HIM, HE WON’T BE FORGOTTEN. Franziska Prey
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During our meeting with Franziska Prey we ask a question: what is the best way to remember her father? Franziska Prey pauses a moment, looks off into the distance and says quite naturally:
THE BEST WAY TO REMEMBER MY FATHER IS TO TELL JOKES. Franziska Prey A great answer, because it brings her father to life – in her personal memories. Sorrowfully and with deep love, genuine and free of clichÊs. And because it moved us to ask all interview partners to tell jokes that Hermann Prey loved and liked to tell himself.
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Making this film has been a wonderful undertaking. We consciously decided against using pictures from Hermann Prey’s TV shows, his recitals and big opera performances in Vienna, Milan, New York and other cities all over the world. They would have only shown what the whole world knows or thinks it knows of Hermann Prey. We have avoided paying tribute in a manner that only serves as a tribute, without expressing a true sense of value of the artist. We have tried to explore how Hermann Prey lived and what music meant to him. People who were truly close to him and remain so today should speak of him. People who are not afraid to speak of the self-doubt and shadows that go with the life of an international star and the profession of musician. A profession probably very few live with the intensity of Hermann Prey. We have understood that he had to live his life as he did. His art was his purpose in life and his life followed his calling. Michael Harder und Martin Blum
Hermann Prey WHEN LOVE FALLS SILENT
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EDITOR Martin Blum Kawe Vakil
A FILM BY Michael Harder Martin Blum
Colour matching Kawe Vakil
LINE PRODUCER Torsten Hermanowski
MusiC Georg Weber
PRODUCTION MANAGER Ulrike Dams
Music consulting Tom Dams
TECHNICAL DIRECTOR R체diger Albin
SOUND AND MIXING Thomas Weichler
Camera Michael Harder Martin Blum
FILM TEXT AND SPEAKER Michael Harder
AUTHORING AND ENCODING Industriesauger-TV Subtitles Gerhard Lehmann AG Mike Durrie DVD PRODUCTION Vision Factory Medienproduktion GmbH tryharder tvnetwork GRAPHIC DESIGN Ulrike J채gerfeld Booklet and website Michael Harder Martin Blum Ulrike J채gerfeld
photos Privatarchiv Familie Prey Martha Hart Set photos Martin Blum Michael Harder FILM CLIPS AND MUSIC RECORDINGS Privatarchiv Familie Prey und Orplid Schalltr채ger EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS Michael Harder Martin Blum Torsten Hermanowski
MUSIC TRACKS „Nacht wird Tag“ „1000 Schoen“ „Wind“ Composer: Georg Weber Piano: Georg Weber From the CD „Hell wie die Nacht“ Issued by ROOF Music © ROOF Music, 1995 EAN: 4015698911022 Roof: KD 953350 With kind permission of Roof Music, Bernd Kowalzik „Und das Feuer teilt die Nacht“ Composer: Georg Weber Piano: Georg Weber From the CD „Langsam geht das Leben schnell“ Issued by ROOF Music © ROOF Music, 1999 Roof: KD 993363 With kind permission of Roof Music, Bernd Kowalzik
„Der Schatzgräber“ „Erster Verlust“ Composer: Franz Schubert D 256, D 226 Lyrics: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Michael Endres (piano) Hermann Prey (singer) Suntory Hall Tokio, Japan 1997 With kind permission of Hermann-Prey-Archive/ Florian Prey/Orplid Recordings
„Rückblick“ „Frühlingstraum“ „Leiermann“ „Im Dorfe“ Composer: Franz Schubert D 911 From the song cycle „Winterreise“ by Wilhelm Müller
„Liebestraum Nr. 3“ Composer: Franz Liszt „Wanderer Phantasien“ Composer: Franz Schubert op. 15, D 760 „Impromtus, Moments musicaux“ Composer: Franz Schubert Opus 94, Nr. 4, D 780 Florian Uhlig (piano) Theateraula Warstein, 2009 With kind permission of Florian Uhlig
„Der Taucher“ Composer: Franz Schubert D 111 Lyrics: Friedrich Schiller „Der Neugierige“ Composer: Franz Schubert Lyrics: Wilhelm Müller „Schiffers Scheidelied“ Composer: Franz Schubert D 910
„Auf dem Flusse“ „Leiermann“ „Erstarrung“ „Das Wirtshaus“ Composer: Franz Schubert From the song cycle „Winterreise“ by Wilhelm Müller Remise Schloss Fußberg, 2009 Rico Gulda (piano) Florian Prey (singer) With kind permission of Rico Gulda und Florian Prey 77
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FOR THE INSPIRATION AND SUPPORT WE THANK Thomas Hampson Jonas Kaufmann Peer and Helga Schmidt Bernd Kowalzik Helmut Deutsch Michael Endres Isabel Prey-Schoenen Rico Gulda Alan Green Elke Park Valery Scher Catharine Giordano James and Tom Levine Placido Domingo Thomas Weichler Tom Dams Ulrike, Luis and Wanja Dams THANKS FOR THE KIND SUPPORT OF OUR FILMING AND POSTPRODUCTION Kinotechnik Rinser Remise Schloss Fußberg Stadttheater Neumünster
Theateraula Warstein Herbstliche Musiktage Bad Urach Thomas Braun Hotel Friedrichs, Amrum Hotel Palace, München Uli Schirmer Tof Intermedia Benno Friebe Tonsynchron Hamburg Janster Music & Production Rainer Janster Die Qualitaner Achim du Mesnil Christine Türmer San Diego Union Tribune New York Times European Pacific Stars and Stripes San Francisco Examiner OUR SPECIAL THANKS GO TO Florian Uhlig Martha Hart
All rights reserved Copyrights: tryharder tvnetwork and Vision Factory Medienproduktion GmbH
© 2009 Links www.florianprey.de www.florian-uhlig.com www.roofmusic.de www.georgweber.de www.mlhart.com www.jaegerfeld.com www.visionfactory.de www.thedreamer.de ANY UNAUTHORISED SCREENING, PUBLICATION, RENTAL, COPY, REPRODUCTION OR USE OF THIS PRODUCTION IN ANY FORM WHATSOEVER IN RADIO OR TELEVISION BROADCASTING, CINEMA, INTERNET OR ANY OTHER MEDIUM IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED AND WILL BE CRIMINALLY PROSECUTED.
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THANK YOU FOR YOUR LOVE Friedrich-Wilhelm Timpe Josef und Ingrid Blum
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