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EXCLUSIVE: Academy Award-nominated documentary Viva Verdi! has joined the Jolt streaming platform, making the film directed by Yvonne Russo available to an audience across the U.S.
Emmy-winning composer Nicholas Pike’s aria from the film, “Sweet Dreams of Joy,” earned an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song, becoming one of the very rare operatic compositions to break through in that category. Soprano Ana María Martínez performs the aria in the film (watch the video below). It’s nominated alongside songs from Diane Warren: Relentless, KPop Demon Hunters, Sinners, and Train Dreams.
Viva Verdi!, produced by Christina La Monte, Russo, and the late Ron Simons, opens the doors to Casa Verdi in Milan, Italy, a retirement home founded in 1896 by composer Giuseppe Verdi for the benefit of singers and musicians in their golden years. A synopsis notes, “The feature documentary follows residents aged 77 to 107 as they continue to perform, teach, and mentor 16 international young music students who live among them.”
“We are thrilled about our partnership with Jolt, a trusted home for filmmakers,” said director/producer/writer Russo and producer/writer La Monte. “Jolt provides a great opportunity for audiences everywhere to enjoy our heartfelt film that bridges generations through music – our love letter to Verdi that has inspired, delighted, and entertained at every festival to date.”
The worldwide Jolt platform has become home to multiple award-winning documentaries, including The Bibi Files, directed by Alexis Bloom and produced by Alex Gibney; Hollywoodgate, directed by Ibrahim Nash’at and produced by Shane Boris, Talal Derki, and Odessa Rae; Gaucho Gaucho, directed by Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw; Can’t Look Away, directed by Matthew O’Neill and Perri Peltz, and While We Watched, directed by Vinay Shukla.
“The addition of Viva Verdi! to Jolt’s growing roster underscores the platform’s commitment to amplifying films that are looking to grow, and expand their audience beyond the festival circuit,” notes a release. “Through its first-of-its-kind Interest Delivery Network, Jolt leverages advanced data and machine learning to connect extraordinary films with the audiences who will treasure them most.”
In a statement, Tara Hein-Phillips, CEO and co-founder of Jolt, commented, “Jolt exists for films exactly like Viva Verdi!, beautiful, life-affirming stories that deserve to find their audience. This is a film about legacy, about passing wisdom between generations, and about the enduring power of art. We are thrilled to have the opportunity to share it.”
Casa Verdi, located on the Piazza Michelangelo Buonarroti in Milan, has welcomed more than 1,500 retirees over the decades. In a recent interview with Deadline, Russo shared her reaction when she initially entered the impressive edifice.
“When I walked in for the first time, I could hear almost like sonic colors that were floating through the hallways,” she said. “I just knew, wow, this place is pretty magical… Giuseppe Verdi willed his fortune to create this home, and there’s no other place like it in the world.”
La Monte, who also produced the 2025 documentary Ai Weiwei’s Turandot, spoke to the atmosphere inside the Verdi retirement home. “First of all, you see these little Verdi altars in every room,” she noted. “All of [the guests] say, ‘My dreams have come true here. I don’t have to think about work. I can work with other artists.’ It’s a dream come true for all of them.”
Pike, a UK native, studied at the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston. His credits include Fiddlin’ (2018), Love Object (2003), The Shining TV miniseries (1997), and the 2013 documentary In Tahrir Square: 18 Days of Egypt’s Unfinished Revolution, for which he won an Emmy.
In a December interview, Pike told Deadline about composing the music for Viva Verdi!
“Christine … gave me this 12-minute clip [of the film] … It was just so full of life,” the composer recalled. “It was so inspiring that I literally walked over to the piano behind me and wrote that piece. It doesn’t happen like that all the time. Many projects you’re on, you’re like, ‘OK, I’ve got to find something to inspire me to write here.’ That was not the case here. It was just full-on right from the beginning.”
Watch the video for “Sweet Dreams of Love” here:
English (US) ·