The year is 1800 and music reigns supreme at the College of Sant Ignazio near Venice. More specifically, the music of the insufferable Father Perlina. He is meant to compose a new piece for the upcoming papal visit and is suffering from a creative block. This is especially felt by the female orphan orchestra. What Perlina doesn’t know is that the biggest talent on campus is working as a domestic servant. For “mute“ Teresa, the entire world is made up of music. She feels the rhythm in the dullest work. The scratching of animals, the scrubbing of laundry, the knocking and chopping in the kitchen merge into symphonies in her ears. When she discovers a pianoforte in the basement, Teresa can finally use her hidden talent. But the piano is popular. First violinist Lucia and her friends also want to use the instrument to play their own compositions instead of the Father’s tired songs. The competitiveness at the beginning turns into a musician’s bond that doesn’t only turn the papal visit on its head.

Actress and musician Margherita Vicario dedicates her directorial debut to the women that history has forgotten: musicians, artists, composers. However, GLORIA! doesn’t mention any of the forgotten people by name. The fictional story is somewhere between a pop musical and a historical melodrama with a good dose of Italian comedy. This is most fun in the scenes with all of the young female musicians. Some supporting characters and subplots, like Lucia’s love story or the dodgy countertenor, could’ve been scratched. Vicario’s narrative isn’t as rebellious as her musicians, but those who have fun with kitsch and Gloria is in the right movie.

Clarissa Lempp

Translation: Elinor Lewy