Quartet Records, in collaboration with Sony EMI Music Publishing Italia and GDM, presents a greatly expanded release of an Armando Trovajoli gem from a Marcello Mastroianni comedy. Directed by Mario Monicelli in 1965, Casanova’70 tells the story of UN diplomat Andrea Rossi-Colombotti, whose globetrotting adventures leave him sexually frustrated. Women throw themselves at the handsome man, but he unfortunately has performance issues: he can only get aroused if there is some sort of chase involved. The film showcases almost a dozen colorful episodes in this modern Casanova’s life as one woman decides to get him for good.
Armando Trovajoli’s score features a central Casanova theme, which changes orchestration based on the nature of his adventures – though most cues retain a funky atmosphere and, like our hero’s performance, they are often cut short in a comedic fashion in the film. Luckily the album features the complete takes plus other highlights such as the esoteric, Asian-flavored cues for our Casanova’s psychoanalyst, as well as the cool percussion motive that sets up every “hunt” in the film.
Previous LP and CD releases only featured about 30 minutes of highlights that included tracks that combined different cues. This 73-minutes-long CD begins with a largely chronological presentation, and includes in the bonus section several edits created specifically for the LP. Produced by Claudio Fuiano with the support of the Trovajoli estate, and mastered by Chris Malone, the release includes a lavishly illustrated 12-page book with liner notes by Gergely Hubai discussing the film and the score.
