La Vergine Degli Angeli is an aria from the 1862 Italian opera La forza del destino by Giuseppe Verdi. It is sung here by 16 year old Dutch-South-African soprano Amira Willighagen as part of her 2020 streaming concert "African Christmas with Amira and Friends." The full concert is available both on CD and DVD as "Streaming Shows of 2020" exclusively at Amira's website https://www.gelukskinders.org/en/store/. The concert was recorded in Pretoria, South Africa in late November 2020 and premiered December 23, 2020. Amira is accompanied by a men's choir compiled for the occasion by Christo Burger and a string orchestra. Piano and musical arrangement by Professor Charl du Plessis.
Saturday, February 14, 2026
"Ave Amira" Documentary – 2016
Amira Willighagen was catapulted to stardom at age 9 after auditioning for Holland's Got Talent in 2013. In this Dutch documentary made when she was 12, Amira reflects on her unexpected meteoric rise. In 2023, I had the privilege of meeting Amira at a fan event in Madison, GA (U.S.A.) and took these adorable photos of her. She was 19.
Stranger Than Paradise – I Put a Spell on You – 1984
Stranger Than Paradise opening scene, 1984. The song is I Put a Spell on You by Screamin' Jay Hawkins. Below, Norwegian singer Angelia Jordan records her own cover of the same song at 9 years old, in 2015.
Friday, February 13, 2026
'The State of Things,' 1977 – Wim Wenders
After being temporarily kicked out of Zoetrope Studios while making the film Hammett, German director Wim Wenders filmed The State of Things, a self-reflexive film written extemporaneously while filming, in which Wenders reflects on the state of things in cinema. In this scene the fictitious producer Gordon waxes on to the director Friedrich about the reaction of some loan sharks he borrowed from to complete Friedrich's most recent black and white film. The scene was shot in a moving van while driving up and down Hollywood Blvd and ends with Friedrich and Gordon both being killed by the mob. The State of Things was filmed in Portugal and Hollywood, California.
The song What did you do out in Hollywood? was written by actor Allen Garfield, who played Gordon, especially for the scene.
End Credits for 'Nema Aviona Za Zagreb' (2012)
Filmed noncontinuously from 1964 - 2012, the self-reflexive film Nema Aviona Za Zagred ends with the filmmaker Louis Van Gasteren reflecting back on his life at the age of 90. Van Gasteren died two years after completing the film at the age of 92. See the full film here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7BhnI81P8w
