Vox Lumiere is a

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

-based

theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

concert A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variet ...

production and company. Vox Lumiere's shows combine the playing of a

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized Sound recording and reproduction, recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) ...

with the live performance of original songs, dance and music. Vox Lumiere has combined live performance with the following silent films: ''

Metropolis A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural center for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications. A big ci ...

'', ''

The Hunchback of Notre Dame ''The Hunchback of Notre-Dame'' (french: Notre-Dame de Paris, translation=''Our Lady of Paris'', originally titled ''Notre-Dame de Paris. 1482'') is a French Gothic novel by Victor Hugo, published in 1831. It focuses on the unfortunate story ...

'', ''

Peter Pan Peter Pan is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood having adventures on the mythi ...

'' and ''

The Phantom of the Opera ''The Phantom of the Opera'' (french: Le Fantôme de l'Opéra) is a novel by French author Gaston Leroux. It was first published as a serial in from 23 September 1909 to 8 January 1910, and was released in volume form in late March 1910 by Pier ...

''.

History

Vox Lumiere (“voices of light” in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

and French) was founded in 2000 by composer Kevin Saunders Hayes. On April 30, 2000, Vox Lumiere debuted the music for its first production, "Vox Lumiere –

" at the sixth annual

Avignon Film Festival The Avignon Film Festival (created 1984), also known as the Avignon/New York Film Festival or Rencontres Cinématographiques Franco-Américain d'Avignon, took place every year in Avignon, France along with a twin film festival organised in New Yo ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. In September 2005, Vox Lumiere’s second full-length production, "Vox Lumiere –

" opened the

Prince Music Theater The Prince Theater is a non-profit theatrical producing organization located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and specializing in music theatre, including opera, music drama, musical comedy and experimental forms. Founded in 1984 as the American ...

2005–2006 season in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

. From 2005 to 2008, Vox Lumiere toured extensively throughout the United States and Canada with "Vox Lumiere–The Hunchback of Notre Dame." Vox Lumiere has performed in theaters and opera houses throughout North America and

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

, including the

Cinémathèque Française The Cinémathèque Française (), founded in 1936, is a French non-profit film organization that holds one of the largest archives of film documents and film-related objects in the world. Based in Paris's 12th arrondissement, the archive offers ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, the Avignon Opera House in Avignon,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, and the

Hollywood and Highland Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

Center in

. In fall 2008, Vox Lumiere’s production of "Vox Lumiere – The Hunchback of Notre Dame" was filmed at the La Mirada Theater in

La Mirada La Mirada ( Spanish for "The Look") is a city in southeast Los Angeles County, California United States, and is one of the Gateway Cities. The population was 48,527 at the 2010 census, up from 46,783 at the 2000 census. The La Mirada Theatre ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, to be distributed and broadcast nationally on

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

. CD and DVD recordings of the special were produced by Detroit Public TV and released in October 2008 by Koch/E1 Entertainment. Vox Lumiere productions have featured performers from

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

, film and

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

. Performers have included

Melissa Fahn Melissa Fahn is an American actress and singer, best known as the voice of Gaz Membrane in '' Invader Zim'', as well as Hello Kitty in ''Hello Kitty's Paradise'' and voicing many anime and video game characters like Edward from '' Cowboy Bebop'' ...

Christian Nesmith Christian DuVal Nesmith (born January 31, 1965) is an American musician from Los Angeles, California, and the eldest son of Michael Nesmith of the Monkees and Phyllis Gibson. Nesmith has worked with his father (on the album '' The Garden''), Mic ...

, Victoria Levy and Suzi Carr George among others. Vox Lumiere and its tagline "silents you can hear" are registered United States

trademarks A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from othe ...

Productions

"Vox Lumiere – Metropolis" premiered in 2000 at the sixth annual

in New York. This production is performed in conjunction with the 1927 silent film ''

'', a science fiction classic directed by

Fritz Lang Friedrich Christian Anton Lang (; December 5, 1890 – August 2, 1976), known as Fritz Lang, was an Austrian film director, screenwriter, and producer who worked in Germany and later the United States.Obituary ''Variety'', August 4, 1976, p. 6 ...

. "Vox Lumiere – The Hunchback of Notre Dame" premiered in 2005 at the

as part of the Philadelphia Fringe Festival. This production is performed in conjunction with the 1923 silent film ''

'' starring

Lon Chaney, Sr. Leonidas Frank "Lon" Chaney (April 1, 1883 – August 26, 1930) was an American actor. He is regarded as one of the most versatile and powerful actors of cinema, renowned for his characterizations of tortured, often grotesque and affli ...

"Vox Lumiere – Phantom of the Opera" is performed in conjunction with the 1925 silent film ''

'', adapted from the novel by

Gaston Leroux Gaston Louis Alfred Leroux (6 May 186815 April 1927) was a French journalist and author of detective fiction. In the English-speaking world, he is best known for writing the novel '' The Phantom of the Opera'' (french: Le Fantôme de l'Opéra, ...

and starring

"Vox Lumiere – Peter Pan" is performed in conjunction with the 1924 Paramount Pictures silent film ''

''. "Vox Lumiere – Intolerance" is performed in conjunction with the 1916

Triangle Film Corporation Triangle Film Corporation (also known as Triangle Motion Picture Company) was a major American motion-picture studio, founded in July 1915 in Culver City, California and terminated 7 years later in 1922. History The studio was founded in July 1 ...

silent film ''

Intolerance Intolerance may refer to: * Hypersensitivity Hypersensitivity (also called hypersensitivity reaction or intolerance) refers to undesirable reactions produced by the normal immune system, including allergies and autoimmunity. They are usual ...

''.

Discography

;Studio Albums *Vox Lumiere – ''The Phantom of the Opera'' (2010) *Vox Lumiere – ''Metropolis'' – Special Limited Edition (2007) *Vox Lumiere – ''The Hunchback of Notre Dame'' – Special Limited Edition (2003) *Vox Lumiere – ''Highlights from Five Vox Lumiere Productions'' (2007) *Vox Lumiere – ''Metropolis'' –

Special Limited Edition (2000) ;Live Albums *Vox Lumiere – The Hunchback of Notre Dame (2008)

Filmography

*Vox Lumiere – The Hunchback of Notre Dame (2008)

Appearances and other work

;Movies Vox Lumiere was featured on the soundtrack to the 2010 feature film ''

Expecting Mary ''Expecting Mary'' is a 2010 American comedy-drama film starring Elliott Gould, Linda Gray, Lainie Kazan, Cloris Leachman, Della Reese, Olesya Rulin, Cybill Shepherd, Gene Simmons, and Fred Willard. It was written and directed by Dan Gordon and p ...

'' and the 2006 feature film '' Mr. Fix It''.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Vox Lumiere Official WebsiteVox Lumiere Facebook PageVox Lumiere Twitter Page
Companies based in Los Angeles