Opera House to screen 1916 ‘Snow White’
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FREDONIA - The 1891 Fredonia Opera House Performing Arts Center will present a screening of the 1916 silent film Snow White with a live original score performed by Leslie and Barbara McMichael, on Friday at 7:30 p.m. Harpist Leslie McMichael also will give a brief talk about the film and her work in composing the score.
This special screening in celebration of NATIONAL SILENT MOVIE DAY on Sept. 29, is the not the first time this long-lost theatrical version of Snow White was screened in the area. It actually was screened right here at what then was the Grand Opera House on Jan. 18, 1918.
Everyone knows Disney's 1937 animated film classic, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs; but few are aware that a teenage Walt Disney growing up in Kansas City saw this original silent movie of the fairy tale, which inspired him to blaze a path in filmmaking and make his own version 21 years later.
Like all silent films, Snow White was made on flammable nitrate film stock; and for many years, it was rumored to have been destroyed in a vault fire. But a single theatrical print was discovered in the Netherlands in 1992; and, a heroic restoration was performed by the George Eastman House film archive.
Seattle Harpist Leslie McMichael will perform her original score live on the concert harp for this 63-minute film, alongside her sister Barbara on viola. The Northwest Film Forum commissioned McMichael to compose a new score for Snow White in 2016; and the film and McMichael's live music premiered at opening night of Children's Film Festival Seattle that year. Since then, the old film and new live score have toured across the country.
General Admission tickets are $18, $15 (Opera House Members), and $10 (Students). They can be purchased in person at the Opera House Box Office or by phone at 716-679-1891, Tuesday-Friday, 12-4:30 p.m. They can be purchased online anytime at www.fredopera.org.
The 1891 Fredonia Opera House Performing Arts Center is a member-supported not-for-profit performing arts center with a mission to "present the performing arts for the benefit of our community and region ... providing access to artistic diversity ... and high-quality programming at an affordable price." It is located in Village Hall in downtown Fredonia. For a complete schedule of events, visit www.fredopera.org.