Sondre Lerche Releases Ambitious 'And In My Dreams: Patience Extravaganza' Performance Film

Last week, Sondre Lerche livestreamed what is surely one of the most artistically ambitious performances of 2020. Filmed at the Drammens Theater in Norway, Lerche and director Eivind Holmboe, along with his band of 5 musicians, a six-person choir, 14 dancers, and a technical crew of 30, collaborated on the 70 minute performance And In My Dreams: Patience Extravaganza that was filmed and recorded completely live with no editing whatsoever. The show merges fantasy, surrealism, and music, recalling a mix of Sleep No More, David Byrne's American Utopia, and Alejandro G. Iñárritu's 2014 film Birdman.

"Visually, I'm always inspired by Hitchcock, the way he used color, lighting and costume very symbolically," stated Lerche. "That's a theme in my music and music videos, and it carries into this. I really trusted Eivind's attention to visual detail and lighting. We wished for the show to take place in a heightened state, and for the audience to be transported with us. We did what we could to get as far away from traditional concert film as possible -- like having only one camera follow me at a time for most of the shoot, and to largely show the performance in medium to wide shots. We wanted the audience to feel that something was at stake, and so it was important that the performance was 100% live, without any post-production. As a performer, that's the experience that really makes me tick, I just love it and thrive on that vibe."

The film flows like a series of dreams, mirroring the year that's ending, while also showing us a vision of the year that might have been. Lerche's vision for the show was to echo both the performances he was able to do this year (first live stream from his home on March 18, a performance with the Norwegian Radio Orchestra KORK in April, Mausoleum solo shows in May, Patience Live with a full choir, Solo Patience live in Lofoten), and the fantasy of all the performances and experiences that might have been.

"I wanted it all to happen in the form of a fever dream of performances that might have been, as well as echoing some of the great experiences that I was lucky enough to have, despite everything, in 2020. In many ways this is physical embodiment of the 'performance-piece of work' that I sing about in the song 'Patience.' I started trying to write songs when I was 8, in the hope of having a reason to someday be on stage where I could invent and reinvent myself."

Since 2009, Lerche has released annual cover songs for the holidays, which typically focus on his favorite pop hits of the year. Today, Lerche released covers of both Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande's "Rain On You" and Bob Dylan's "I Contain Multitudes," produced by Matias Tellez, who has produced Lerche's holiday covers since 2013. Read/listen via Stereogum.

Watch the trailer here:

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