70%User score 70 percent
Western Stars
2019 · Music · Documentary
User Score
9 votes
Commissioned by the U.S. Office of War Information, this short film features conductor Arturo Toscanini leading the NBC Symphony Orchestra, tenor Jan Peerce, and the Westminster Choir in Verdi’s Inno delle nazioni. Originally composed in the 1860s as a musical tribute to Europe, Toscanini expanded the score to include The Star-Spangled Banner and The Internationale in honor of the Allied struggle and Italian partisans. Filmed in NBC’s Studio 8H, the documentary interweaves performance with scenes of Toscanini at home, emphasizing his anti-fascist stance and celebrating the liberation of Italy. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2010.
Recommendations based on this film
CinemaSerf
March 27, 2026
With the assistance of the NBC Symphony Orchestra, we watch accomplished maestro Arturo Toscanini present us with an adapted version of Verdi’s overture to “La Forza del Destino” so it incorporates elements of the national anthems of the UK, France and the USA. It is all to celebrate the collapse of the Italian part of the Axis triumvirate during the Second World War and to also celebrate the contributions of Italian…
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