Gardens of the World with Audrey Hepburn

Last updated

Gardens of the World with Audrey Hepburn was a 1993 documentary television series filmed on location in some of the world's most beautiful, noteworthy gardens, hosted by Audrey Hepburn, who also co-narrates the series with Michael York.

Contents

Audrey Hepburn, who loved nature and gardens, saw a rare opportunity to bring forth their beauty in poetic and meaningful ways in Gardens of the World. Her unique vision of the series included fusing the historical and aesthetic aspects with the arts of literature, music and painting. She was awarded her Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Individual Achievement, Informational Programming, posthumously in the fall of 1993. [1] It was Hepburn's first and only television series, and her final appearance on screen; she died on January 20, 1993, four days before the series debuted on PBS in the United States.

Audrey Hepburn in between takes during filming for Gardens of the World -- breathing in the beauty of her mise-en-scene in Monet's gardens in Giverny, June 11, 1990. Insert photo: Director of Photography Jeri Sopanen and crew. Audrey Hepburn during filming, Gardens of the World with Audrey Hepburn, Monet's garden in Giverny, June 1990, Production Still.jpg
Audrey Hepburn in between takes during filming for Gardens of the World -- breathing in the beauty of her mise-en-scène in Monet's gardens in Giverny, June 11, 1990. Insert photo: Director of Photography Jeri Sopanen and crew.

Audrey Hepburn's principal photography was filmed in the spring and summer of 1990 in illustrious public and private gardens in England, France, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Dominican Republic, & U.S.A. Her life partner Robert Wolders was with Hepburn throughout the production: "It became an intensely personal and creative process for her. She immersed herself in not only the beauty of the gardens, but also in their origins and evolution." Also that summer Hepburn wrote her foreword to the series' companion book from her home in Tolochenaz, Switzerland. [2]

In January 1991, Hepburn recorded her voice over narration at LaserPacific in Hollywood; the same month “Audrey Hepburn's Grand Garden Tour for PBS” was the cover story of House & Garden. [3] Writer Katherine Whiteside noted, "Hepburn emphasizes the timeliness of Gardens of the World and its relevance to her work with UNICEF. 'Everyone's concerned with the environment, but of course environment includes flowers and trees as well as children. One cannot survive without the others. Today more than ever, gardens remind us of the beauty we are in danger of losing.'"

In New York on March 6, 1991, Cartier honored Hepburn and Gardens of the World with a High Tea reception at their Fifth Avenue Mansion; the following day, Ralph Lauren hosted the occasion of her book signing at his flagship store on 72nd Street and Madison Avenue. About which Dominick Dunne wrote, “the crowds were so great that the line extended from Madison all the way to Park Avenue.” These occasions preceded PBS’ March premiere of a one-hour Gardens of the World introductory special.

The PBS premiere of the six-part series commenced in 1993, on January 24th. However, KCET Los Angeles premiered the first episode of the series, Roses & Rose Gardens, three days earlier on January 21st. Heartwrendingly, the same day the Los Angeles times published Hepburn's obituary and their review of Roses. “It is hard to imagine any more compelling [title] than the half-hour spent wandering through some of the world's most enchanting rose gardens with one of the world's most enchanting women.”

Two further episodes [4] premiered in January 1996, along with a re-release of the six-part series on Home & Garden Television. The series was shown internationally by top broadcasters in more than 30 countries. A DVD of all 8 programs was released in 1999; in September 2006, an extended DVD Tribute Edition was released.

Episode list

Each episode presents a different garden theme as well as broader concepts of aesthetic, botanical, cultural or environmental significance.

Music Soundtrack CD

Music from Gardens of the World with Audrey Hepburn (Conifer/BMG 1993) was released in the fall of 1993, performed by the Artur Rubinstein Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Ilya Stupel.

  1. Purcell Dido & Aeneas (Overture) – 2:30
  2. Corelli Concerto Grosso Op.6/8 (3rd Movement) – 3:15
  3. Debussy The girl with the flaxen hair (la fille aux cheveaux de lin) Andrew Wilde, piano – 3:06
  4. Debussy Danse Profane – 4:30
  5. Janáček The Cunning Little Vixen Suite (1st Movement) – 9:45
  6. Grieg Holberg Suite (Gavotte) – 4:00
  7. Ravel Piano Trio in A Minor: Modéré - Modere Alexandra Nauve, piano; Tomasz Golebieush, violin; Januari Batelli, cello – 11:00
  8. Rameau (ed. Dukas) Les Paladins, 1st Suite Air pour les pagodes (Editions de L'Oiseau-Lyre) – 2:45
  9. Respighi Antiche Arie e Danze Second Suite (Laura soave) – 3:52
  10. Vivaldi Cello Concerto, RV 418 (1st movement) Arkadiusz Wlodarcyczk, cello – 4:03
  11. Rameau (ed. Dukas) Les indes galantes: 3rd Suite (Danse des sauvages) – 2:00
  12. Berlioz Les nuits d'ete (Le spectre de la rose) Agnieska Dabrowska, mezo-soprano – 7:15
  13. Borodin String Quartet No. 1 (Scherzo) Artur Rubenstein Quartet: Piotr Redel, Tomasz Golebiewski, Miroslaw Pejski, Jolanta Braha – 5:09
  14. Respighi Antiche Arie e Danze Third Suite (Siciliana) – 3:45
  15. Copland Clarinet Concerto (1st movement) Roman Prylinski, clarinet – 9:15
  16. Debussy orch. Caplet Children's Corner Suite (Doctor Gradas ad Parnassus) –2:41

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Audrey Hepburn</span> British actress (1929–1993)

Audrey Kathleen Hepburn was a British actress. Recognised as a film and fashion icon, she was ranked by the American Film Institute as the third-greatest female screen legend from the Classical Hollywood cinema and was inducted into the International Best Dressed Hall of Fame List.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penelope Keith</span> British actress (born 1940)

Dame Penelope Anne Constance Keith, is an English actress and presenter, active in film, radio, stage and television and primarily known for her roles in the British sitcoms The Good Life and To the Manor Born. She succeeded Lord Olivier as president of the Actors' Benevolent Fund after his death in 1989, and was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 2014 New Year Honours for services to the arts and to charity.

<i>Ma mère lOye</i> Musical suite by Maurice Ravel

Ma mère l'Oye is a suite by French composer Maurice Ravel. The piece was originally written as a five-movement piano duet in 1910. In 1911, Ravel orchestrated the work.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hidcote Manor Garden</span> Historic garden in Hidcote Bartrim, Gloucestershire, England

Hidcote Manor Garden is a garden in the United Kingdom, located at the village of Hidcote Bartrim, near Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire. It is one of the best-known and most influential Arts and Crafts gardens in Britain, with its linked "garden rooms" of hedges, rare trees, shrubs and herbaceous borders. Created by Lawrence Johnston, it is owned by the National Trust and is open to the public.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tintinhull Garden</span> Grade I listed house in South Somerset, UK

Tintinhull Garden, located in Tintinhull, near Yeovil in the English county of Somerset, is a small 20th century garden surrounding a 17th-century Grade I listed house. The property is in the ownership of the National Trust. It is visited by around 25,000 people per year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kiftsgate Court Gardens</span>

Kiftsgate Court Gardens is situated above the village of Mickleton in the county of Gloucestershire, England, in the far north of the county close to the county border with both Worcestershire and Warwickshire.

Penelope Hobhouse MBE, née Chichester-Clark, is a British garden writer, designer, lecturer and television presenter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Serre de la Madone</span> "garden in France"

Serre de la Madone is a garden in France notable for its design and rare plantings. It is located at 74, Route de Gorbio, Menton, Alpes-Maritimes, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France. It is open to the public during the warm months of the year. In 2008, it was being restored to its former condition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rose garden</span> Garden or park which consists mainly of roses

A rose garden or rosarium is a garden or park, often open to the public, used to present and grow various types of garden roses, and sometimes rose species. Designs vary tremendously and roses may be displayed alongside other plants or grouped by individual variety, colour or class in rose beds. Technically it is a specialized type of shrub garden, but normally treated as a type of flower garden, if only because its origins in Europe go back to at least the Middle Ages in Europe, when roses were effectively the largest and most popular flowers, already existing in numerous garden cultivars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cothay Manor</span> Grade I listed historic house museum in Stawley, United Kingdom

Cothay Manor is a grade one listed medieval house and gardens, in Stawley, near Wellington, Somerset. The manor grounds consist of almost 40 acres and include cottages, outbuildings, stables, and 12 acres of gardens.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Garden room</span>

In gardening, a garden room is a secluded and partly enclosed space within a garden that creates a room-like effect. Such spaces have been part of garden design for centuries. Generally they are regarded as different from terraces and patios just outside a building, although in practice these are often the parts of a garden that are most used as a room, with tables and chairs. Walls and hedges may form part of the boundaries of a garden room, but plants, usually at least a few feet tall, will do as well. Apart from the entrances to the room, these should normally enclose the space. There may be furniture, especially for sitting down, but this is not essential.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gabrielle van Zuylen</span> Franco-Dutch garden writer

Baroness Gabriëlle Andrée van Zuylen van Nyevelt van de Haar was a French landscape architect, garden designer, garden writer and a member of the International Best Dressed Hall of Fame List since 1978. "Baroness Gabrielle van Zuylen personifies the charm and elegance", according to the French magazine L'ŒIL.

<i>The Garden: Visions of Paradise</i> 1994 book by Gabrielle van Zuylen

The Garden: Visions of Paradise is a 1994 illustrated monograph on gardens and cultural history of gardening. Written by the Franco-Dutch garden designer and landscape architect Gabrielle van Zuylen, and published in pocket format by Éditions Gallimard as the 207th volume in their 'Découvertes' collection.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phyllis Reiss</span> UK garden designer (1886 - 1961)

Phyllis Emily Reiss born Phyllis Emily Lucas was a British garden designer noted for her work at her own Tintinhull Garden, and Montacute House.

<i>Chapitres tournés en tous sens</i> Piano composition by Erik Satie

Chapitres tournés en tous sens(Chapters Turned Every Which Way) is a 1913 piano composition by Erik Satie. One of his humoristic keyboard suites of the 1910s, it was published by the firm E. Demets that year. Ricardo Viñes gave the premiere at the Salle Erard in Paris on January 14, 1914. In performance it lasts about 5 minutes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pauline Lafont (philanthropist)</span> French philanthropist

Pauline Lafont was a French philanthropist.

References

  1. ↑ 1 Outstanding Individual Achievement – informational programming – 1993 Audrey Hepburn (host), Gardens of the World, PBS, Flower Gardens episode
  2. ↑ 2 Gardens of the World: The Art & Practice of Gardening (MacMillan, 1st Edition March 1991) Foreword by Audrey Hepburn. Written by John Brookes, Madison Cox, Penelope Hobhouse, Teiji Itoh, Ann Lovejoy, Elvin McDonald, Allen Paterson, Katherine Whiteside. Photography by Mick Hales and Erica Lennard, Elvin McDonald, Allen Paterson, Art Schronce. Garden plans by Perry Guillot. Conceived by Janis Blackschleger. ISBN   0025831275
  3. ↑ 3 House & Garden magazine, U.S. edition. 4 Volume 163, Number 1. Cover photo by Lord Snowdon, Audrey Hepburn at Hidcote Manor, Gloucestershire, England. Cover story by Katherine Whiteside.
  4. ↑ 4 Tropical Gardens and Japanese Gardens
  5. ↑ 5 The name of "La Roseraie de L’Haÿ-les-Roses" was changed to its current name, "Roseraie du Val-de-Marne" in 1994.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.