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Wind Orchestra returns to "Metropolis"

May 16, 2010

Performing to Metropolis

The Carthage Wind Orchestra performed a special musical tour in April 2010, performing an accompaniment for the classic silent film Metropolis at historic theatres in the Midwest.

Metropolis takes place in 2026, when a city's population has been divided between the poor who live and work far below the surface, and the rich, who enjoy the opulence and luxury of living in a city above ground. The forced balance between the two cities is broken when the son of the city's governor makes his way to the underground world in search of a mysterious woman. Tensions escalate when it is discovered that the workers have been meeting secretly in the catacombs of their underground cathedral. In an effort to subvert their plans, the governor orders his chief scientist to create a robot woman who will look exactly like the leader of the workers.

The film was created in 1927 by German director Fritz Lang, and has fascinated audiences for more than 80 years. Recently, a restored version true to the original story line was released.

The Carthage Wind Orchestra performed music compiled by conductor James C. Ripley and taken from the works of W. Francis McBeth, distinguished American composer noted for his dramatic style of writing. Dr. Ripley's compilation included many of McBeth's finest works, including Of Sailors and Whales, The Seventh Seal, and Divergents, as well as one of his recent composition, The Coventry.

The tour opened April 8 in Downers Grove, Ill., with a 7:30 p.m. showing at the Tivoli Theatre. The following night's showing was at Carthage, at 7:30 p.m. in the A. F. Siebert Chapel. On Saturday, April 10, the Wind Orchestra performed at 7 p.m. at the Al Ringling Theater in Baraboo, Wis.