Herzog on Gesualdo
Carlo Gesualdo (1566 – 1613) was descended from the Norman rulers of Sicily and a Medici mother. He married a twice-widowed 24-year-old woman when he was 20, then murdered her and her lover (as local tradition required) when his uncle, having himself failed to seduce her, informed Carlo of his wife's infidelity. As a result, Gesualdo was subject to fits of melancholy that could be lifted only by thrice-daily beatings from a team of young men hired for the purpose. He also composed some of the most beautiful music ever written. Carlo Gesualdo was a killer, a genius and an enigma.
In 1995, Werner Herzog dedicated a documentary to Carlo Gesualdo. "Death for Five Voices" is as puzzling as its subject. The Herzogian narration is priceless.
