Pola Negri, the most famous Polish actress of all time, a tragic love triangle story brought to the screen in 1917, and excellent musicians specialising in creating new music for silent films – this is our proposal to crown this Sunday afternoon in May.
Aleksander Hertz's film is the oldest and only surviving film featuring Pola Negri from when the actress was still performing in Poland. Let us remember that the artist ended her career with the status of an undisputed legend of Hollywood. Pola Negri is the most famous Polish actress in the world. She started on the stages of Polish theatres and in small film productions. After Bestia's success, she moved to the German film market and eventually went to Hollywood.
The soundtrack for the film will be provided by the Czerwie band, representing the elite of Polish groups playing live music for silent films. The band has five original albums in its discography. Czerwie's music has often been featured on Polish and European radio stations. The group currently consists of four musicians: Wojtek Zaborowski, Maciek Kudłacik, Mirosław Ładoś, Piotrek Bogunia, who utilise ethnic instruments, xylophone, and many other percussion instruments, bass, guitar, mandolin, accordion, as well as synthesisers in their work.
The Czerwie band will be accompanied by the West Side Sinfonietta – a joint initiative of musicians from the National Forum of Music in Wrocław and the Mieczysław Karłowicz Philharmonic in Szczecin. The orchestra is led by Marcin Danilewski and Paweł Maślanka, who, along with the excellent double bassist Jacek Sosna, form the ensemble's core.
The concert by the Czerwie Band from 2020 at the Philharmonic in Szczecin, during which the band performed live music for the silent film "Metropolis" from 1927:
