Gazzolo Productions

Est. by Livia Gazzolo October 2023 to create innovative multimedia musical experiences.

"Charade"

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In October 2023, Livia Gazzolo partnered with The Vickers Theatre in Three Oaks, MI to create the first Silent Film Show featuring Livia Gazzolo on vocals and Reynaldo Certain on guitar performing Brazilian Tropicalia in front of Jean Cocteau's Blood of a Poet (1932). Since then, Ms. Gazzolo has produced and performed in a selection of shows with different concepts combining silent films from the early 1900's with wildly varied musical accompaniments, including improvisational jazz, traditional Kurdish folk music, memorable rock and roll hits and Brazilian Tropicalia (to mention a few). Ms. Gazzolo believes that the juxtaposition of live performance with silent film can bring into relief historical patterns still relevant, while highlighting the ingenuity born of a time that was pure analogue. She uses ethnomusicology as a lens to explore the connection between cultures through music while experimenting with how mood and tone (beyond language) can bring a new dimension to the story unfurling on film.

Ms. Gazzolo and Gazzolo Productions have partnered with Dr. Sherry Wang and T.C.T. (Transcultural Cymatics Theatre) to create The Sound of Silence. This project brought the silent film performance concept to Guangzhou, China November 2024.

Director Hu of the Grandview Museum wrote a beautiful review in which he said, "For hundreds of years, the "meaning" of music has been like a fog that has swirled in the hearts of aesthetes, musicians, and philosophers, leaving them intoxicated and confused. I once thought that "music without boarders" was just a beautiful vision, but tonight, "The Sound of Silence," a world-class live music feast, has truly built an emotional bridge between Chinese tourists and exotic artists."

Past Performances:

October 5, 2023:
- Venue: The Vickers Theatre in Three Oaks, MI (6 N Elm St.)
- Film: Jean Cocteau's Blood of a Poet (1932)
- LIVE Musical Performance: Brazilian Tropicalia, a Venezuelan Tonada, and an Italian Classic
- Musicians: Livia Gazzolo (vocals) and Reynaldo Certain (guitar)
April 28, 2024:
- Venue: The Society for Arts in Chicago, IL (1112 N Milwaukee Ave.)
- Film: Aleksander Hertz's Bestia, The Polish Dancer (1917) staring Pola Negri
- LIVE Musical Performance: Brazilian Tropicalia and Polish Folk Music
- Musicians: Livia Gazzolo (vocals) and both Ari Lindo and Reynaldo Certain (guitar)
May 31, 2024:
- Venue: The Vickers Theatre in Three Oaks, MI (6 N Elm St.)
- Films: 3-shorts based on Shakespeare plays including D.W. Griffith's Taming of the Shrew (1908), Percy Stow's The Tempest (1908), and Ugo Falena's Romeo and Juliet (1912)
- LIVE Musical Performance: 1970’s sound track blended with improvisational jazz riffs using Shakespeare's own words
- Musicians: Livia Gazzolo (vocals) and Ben Kinsinger (piano)
June 28, 2024:
- Venue: The Vickers Theatre in Three Oaks, MI (6 N Elm St.)
- Films: 3 George Meliés shorts including The Merry Frolics of Satan (1906), The Kingdom of Fairies (1903), and A Trip to the Moon (1902)
- LIVE Musical Performance: Brazilian Tropoicalia
- Musicians: Livia Gazzolo (vocals) and Reynaldo Certain (guitar)
July 15, 2024:
- Venue: Dorthy in Chicago, IL (2500 W Chicago Ave.)
- Films: 3-shorts based on Shakespeare plays (same as May 31, 2024)
- LIVE Musical Performance: 1970’s sound track blended with improvisational jazz riffs using Shakespeare's own words
- Musicians: Livia Gazzolo (vocals) and Ben Kinsinger (piano)
July 26, 2024:
- Venue: The Vickers Theatre in Three Oaks, MI (6 N Elm St.)
- Film: W.W. Young's Alice in Wonderland (1915)
- LIVE Musical Performance: The Great American Songbook
- Musicians: Livia Gazzolo (vocals) and David Lahm (piano)
August 23, 2024:
- Venue: The Vickers Theatre in Three Oaks, MI (6 N Elm St.)
- Film: Hamo Beknazarian's Kurdish-Armenian film Zare (1926)
- LIVE Musical Performance: Kurdish Folk Music and Jazz
- Musicians: Livia Gazzolo (vocals), Pat Leary (piano), Jeff Wheaton (bass), Eric Novak (flute), Mohamed Rudwan (oud), and Steven Rutlidge (percussion)
September 27, 2024:
- Venue: The Vickers Theatre in Three Oaks, MI (6 N Elm St.)
- Film: Jean Cocteau's Blood of a Poet (same as Oct. 5,2023)
- LIVE Musical Performance: Brazilian Tropicalia, a Venezuelan Tonada, and an Italian Classic
- Musicians: Livia Gazzolo (vocals) and Reynaldo Certain (guitar)
November 1 and 2, 2024
- Venue: The Grandview Mall in Guangzhou, China
- Films: Films: 2-shorts based on Shakespeare plays including Percy Stow's The Tempest (1908), and Ugo Falena's Romeo and Juliet (1912)
- LIVE Musical Performance: 1970’s sound track blended with improvisational jazz riffs using Shakespeare's own words
- Musicians: Livia Gazzolo (vocals), Ben Kinsinger (piano), Eric Novak (flute)