Fitzcarraldo

Brian Sweeney Fitzgerald, better known as Fitzcarraldo, wants to build the largest opera house that ever existed, in Iquitos, in the middle of Amazonia. To inaugurate the theater, he plans to invite Caruso, a tenor he heard perform in a production of Ernani in Manaus. With the help of his wife Molly, he seeks sources of funding. Along the way, he realizes that the only way to earn enough money would be to exploit the rubber trees. However, Fitzcarraldo devises a plan: to navigate the unexplored Pachitea River, which runs parallel to the Ucayali. According to the maps he has consulted, the two rivers nearly touch at a certain point, separated by a single mountain. He has a boat restored and calls it the “Molly Aida”, sets off on his journey and manages to intrigue the locals. Indeed, the locals help him climb over the mountain with his boat, to avoid the rapids and then navigate downstream towards the rubber trees. In the end, though, Fitzcarraldo does not succeed in building his opera house; instead, he converts his boat into a stage, brings in many singers and musicians, and puts on a show that is finer than any the Amazon rainforest had ever seen before.