Recently screened at the Italian Cultural Institute of Los Angeles, the documentary VIVA VERDI! has garnered an eleventh-hour Oscar Nomination for Music: Best Original Song.
I’m very honored to be nominated for ’Sweet Dreams of Joy’ and thrilled that a contemporary operatic aria,
befitting a film on Verdi’s legacy, has been recognized. It speaks to the sophistication of the Academy’s music branch acknowledging a song outside the norm.” – Nicholas Pike, Composer
VIVA VERDI! is an intimate glimpse into the lives of the celebrated opera singers and musicians currently living out their ‘third act’ while mentoring international music students who live among them at Milan’s unique retirement home, Casa Verdi, built by the composer Guiseppe Verdi in 1896.
The film premiered at the Woodstock Film Festival, with the West Coast premiere at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. It also screened at Toronto’s HOT DOCS’ Doc Soup. And it premiered theatrically at Laemmle’s Theaters’ Monica Film Center on October 3, 2025. There will be an additional SoCal screening of the film on March 26, 2026 at the Laemmle Theatre, Glendale. Find more information on the VIVA VERDI! Official Website.
From these ‘Guests of Verdi,’ aged 77 to 107, comprised of international opera singers, ballet dancers, musicians, conductors and composers, we hear an extraordinary array of personal and professional stories filled with music, magic and passion, and ultimately learn why Verdi called this remarkable home his “best work.”
Verdi, the most influential Italian Opera composer of the 19th century (La Traviata, Aïda, Falstaff, Rigoletto) willed his vast fortune to build Casa Verdi. Entering it is like walking into a living masterpiece. The air is thick with sounds of music so thick, it’s almost as if you can see it floating in and out of the dozens of rooms, as your heart warms as the music envelopes you, because there is quite frankly, no other place like it in the world.
“Among my works, the one I like best is the home that I have had built in Milan for accommodating old singers not favored by fortune, or who, when they were young, did not possess the virtue of saving. The poor, dear companions of my lifetime! Believe me, my friend, that home is truly my most beautiful work.” – GIUSEPPE VERDI
Nicholas Pike, Music Composer is an Emmy award-winning Hollywood composer. Pike has scored films ranging from the family-oriented Captain Ron, Return to Me and Virginia’s Run to darker films like Fear Dot Com and The Shining mini-series. He has also scored large scale music videos like Michael Jackson’s Ghost, You Rock My World and Will Smith’s Wild, Wild West. His current releases include feature documentary, VIVA VERDI!, directed by Yvonne Russo, and produced by Christine La Monte, features his composition Sweet Dreams of Joy performed by international soprano Ana Maria Martinez, and the feature film, romantic comedy Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off, written and directed by Liz Guest, produced by Pamela Guest.
Nicholas won the 2013 Outstanding Music and Sound Emmy for the HBO documentary In Tahrir Square. Other awards include the Elmer Bernstein Award for his score to Love Object at the Woodstock Film Festival and the Best Music Award from the Sitges Cinema Fantastic Festival for his score to Critters 2.
Pike was hand-picked by actress/comedienne and talk show host Bonnie Hunt to create and lead the first-ever daytime talk show live band for The Bonnie Hunt Show on the NBC network as well composing The Bonnie Hunt Show theme. Most recently he scored Amazing Stories for Steven Spielberg and Bonnie Hunt’s Amber Brown for the Apple streaming service, as well as the documentaries 100 Years about Native American activist Elouise Cobell, Fiddlin’ about the roots of Bluegrass music. Los Angeles-based Pike, is known for his innovative use of instruments and sounds to create music, while also exhibiting a wide stylistic range and facile command of both orchestral and electronic composition.
VIVA VERDI!
Documentary, Unrated, 78 minutes, USA 2024
Language: Italian, English with subtitles
Director: Yvonne Russo
Producers: Christine LaMonte, p.g.a.; Yvonne Russo, p.g.a.; Ron Simons
Writers: Yvonne Russo and Christine La Monte
Cinematographer: Jacek Laskus
Editors: Federico Conforti, Darianna Cardilli
Music Composer: Nicholas Pike
Executive Producers: James Tumminia, Simone Pero, Allan Rich, Sharron Burgess, Marni E.J. Grossman, Jamie Wolf, Regina K. Scully, Ruth Ann and Bill Harnisch, David J. and Linda A. Cornfield, Marni, Zain Sheikh, James Costa, Matt Zarley, Tiffany and Joe Soares
Co-Producers: Federico Rodelli and Nathalie Seaver
Distributor: VIVA VERDI! LLC
LA MONTE PRODUCTIONS, WANBLI AND SIMONSAYS ENTERTAINMENT PRESENT
Photos provided by Kelly Hargraves PR. Displayed with permission.