Six minutes of opera that'll wreck your entire day (in the best way).
'La Mamma Morta’ is an aria from the opera Andrea Chenier that is also well-known for its use in a memorable sequence in the Oscar award-winning Philadelphia. Thirty years on, this new short film from WNO includes a brand-new recording of the aria featured alongside recreated scenes that better encapsulate the perspectives of people living with HIV today. To mark World AIDS Day 2023, the Welsh National Orchestra released a special new version of La mamma morta, featuring WNO Orchestra, soprano Camilla Roberts and Nathaniel Hall from Channel 4’s It’s a Sin. Released as part of the last rendition in the Three Letters project, this film aims to tackle societal stigma around HIV.
Sound
Roberts' soprano cuts through thirty years of silence.
Production
WNO Orchestra makes six minutes feel infinite.
Director
Michael Graham
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The original Philadelphia scene made opera accessible to millions; this film asks who was left out of that moment.
Hall's casting deliberately mirrors his own It's a Sin role—turning fictional tragedy into lived testimony.
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