DIABOLUS IN MUSICA
A screenplay of Niccolo Paganini
HISTORICAL DRAMA/LOVE STORY
LENGTH: 118 pages
SCREENPLAY: “DIABOLUS IN MUSICA”. Richard Rees tells the life-story of Niccolo Paganini, the world’s greatest ever violinist. To his adoring public he played the violin like a god. To Holy Church he was of The Devil. Available as a book but not, because of its script format, in Kindle, it narrates how vast crowds, especially women, flocked to hear him play, and ends in a climactic finale at a Vatican Inquiry, convened to decide the destination of Paganini’s soul.
LOGLINE
To his adoring public his violin playing was divine; to Holy Church he was of The Devil.
SYNOPSIS:
Having created, over the course of his life, an impact that, historically, can be compared to the “Beatlemania” of the 1960s, and with the same effect on his female fans as Elvis Presley and Tom Jones, when the Genovese violinist, Niccolo Paganini, dies in Nice in 1840, aged 58, his parish priest and jealous enemy, Romolo Caferelli, refuses to allow his body to be buried in consecrated earth, or given a Requiem Mass, claiming that Paganini’s mesmeric playing came from a Faustian pact he made with Satan, rather than his own genius.
Dubbed “The Spellbinder”, “The Enchanter”, “The Mesmeriser”, by an adoring and awestruck public who flocked to hear him play, Caferelli’s claim is given to a Papal Court to decide:
Was Paganini of God? Or was he of The Devil?
On the Court’s verdict depends the promise begged of his beloved and only son, Achille, when he was but 5-years old, that when Paganini died, he would have “a monument to my name that will declare my fame for all generations to follow”.
Defended by his best friend, road manager, and advocate, Luigi Germi, Paganini’s story is told – through his own eyes – to the Papal Court, mostly concentrating on his “unearthly playing”, and infamous reputation with women, including his lifelong love for the Florentine courtesan,Princess Dida, his 10-year affair with Princess Marie Elisa, sister of Napoleon Bonaparte; and a one-night stand with Achille’s mother, soprano Antonia Bianchi.
Meanwhile, Paganini’s body has to be moved at night by Achille, from one bizarre hiding-place to another to prevent Caferelli from stealing it and dumping it in the Mediterranean, thus ridding Holy Church of the problem; a problem made greater by an earlier Pope, Leo XII, having knighted Paganini as a “Chevalier of the Golden Spur”, one of the Church of Rome’s highest honours.
Having heard Caferelli’s evidence over three Sessions, each two years apart, and an impassioned plea by Achille at the final Session, it takes the Vatican Commission another 30 years to decide.
Is Paganini to be granted a Requiem Mass and burial? Or be thrown into an unmarked grave?
And will Achille, at long last, be able to honour his childhood vow to his beloved father?
REVIEW IN “THE STRAD” MAGAZINE, LONDON
Thanks in no small part to Mai Kawabata’s 2013 biography Paganini: The ‘Demonic’ Virtuoso, we are now able to separate fantasy from fact when dealing with the life of the most celebrated violinist who ever lived. We also have a greater understanding as to how difficult telling the story of a fantastical figure such as Paganini can be. While some of the tales handed down over generations are indisputably pure fiction, questioning their veracity only affects how we view this iconic figure today – their part in the legend can never be undone, and they remain an inextricable part of the Paganini mythos.
If Kawabata’s approach was essentially one of rationalisation; by telling the story in the form of a screenplay, Richard Rees focuses on the social context and externals of Paganini’s undeniably colourful career, told in flashback as the Church deliberates as to whether he had been essentially a man of God, or (as was popularly assumed at the time) the Devil’s musical agent. As its final verdict is considered, we see Paganini in action as a musician, lover – special focus is given to his long-term relationship with Florentine courtesan Princess Dida – and once-favoured son of the Church, receiving The Knighthood of the Golden Spur from Pope Leo XII.
Erudite readers of The Strad will find little here in the way of fresh musicological insight: this is a story told for a general cinema audience, not an academic forum. One must also accept the conventions of the genre – scene settings and action points are naturally intended as visual aids, rather than presented in a flowing, literary style. That said, this is far more wide-ranging in its biographical terms of reference than, say, the delightfully twee 1946 film The Magic Bow, and is clearly written for a contemporary audience – an early sexual encounter is littered with light-hearted musical metaphors that crescendo towards the composer’s (literal) climax. Rees proves extremely adept at revealing the complexity of Paganini’s multifaceted personality – it is all too easy to forget sometimes that behind the fabulous technique, dazzling performance skills and creative talent lay a fallible human being, who both initiated and (at times) revelled in the mores of the Romantic era, with all the natural flaws and appetites this implies. I for one will never be able to view the great Italian violinist in quite the same light again.
JULIAN HAYLOCK
Review from the OnlineBookClub, USA
Richard Rees is an established author who has written a string of novels. and has also turned his hand to writing for the screen. Diabolus In Musica: A Story of Niccolo Paganini is a screenplay based on the life of the celebrated Italian violinist and composer who died in 1840 at the age of fifty-eight. The Latin phrase, ‘Diabolus in Musica’, translates as ‘The Devil in music’. This is a reference to the tritone, a musical effect that produces a sinister sound. It also references the suspicion held at the time that Paganini had struck a Faustian deal with The Devil, so brilliant was his playing.
The screenplay is described in the synopsis as a historical drama and love story. The drama arises from the battle Paganini wages with a Catholic priest, Romolo Cafarelli. Convinced that Paganini’s talent stems from The Devil, Cafarelli informs the violinist that he will be refused a Requiem Mass and a proper burial when he dies. The story is told through the proceedings of the Papal Inquiry held to determine if Paganini should be buried in consecrated ground, with events in the violinist’s life played out in a series of flashbacks. The love story centres around Paganini’s longstanding relationship with Princess Dida, a former courtesan.
With this screenplay, Richard Rees has taken the life story of a remarkable musician and, with the use of a bit of artistic licence, produced a riveting tale of Oscar-nomination calbre that hits all the right notes. Plays and screenplays often make for poor reading simply because that’s not what they’re designed for; they’re written to be acted, after all. This smashes that rule by being extremely readable. The dialogue is crisp and authentic, while directions on such things as locations, flashbacks and scene settings are clear and easy to follow.
Paganini was the foremost violinist of his time and attracted the kind of adulation familiar to modern rockstars. He also lived the rockstar lifestyle. He was a gambler, a drinker and a notorious womaniser. One suspects that he was not an easy man to like. Despite this, Rees makes him a sympathetic character. He tells his story with a good deal of warmth, outlining mitigating circumstances such as Paganini’s tough childhood at the hands of a demanding and abusive father. Paganini’s character also benefits from the reflected likeability of characters such as Princess Dida, his tour manager Luigi Germi, musician Gioachino Rossini and soprano Isabella Colbrand. The author also earns sympathy for Paganini by pitching him against the thoroughly dislikeable Cafarelli.
The book follows classic screenplay formatting rules and has been professionally edited. In short, there is nothing to find fault with here. It is especially recommended to older teenagers and adults who enjoy historical dramas. There are one or two sex scenes, though nothing to frighten the horses, and strong language is used but occasionally.
It is a particularly enjoyable read, and really ought to one day be a wide-screen film.
Rating 4/4
