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From the Star:
May 25, 2005. 06:45 AM
TSO world premiere of Star Wars Concert
Narrated story to accompany music
Actor who plays C-3PO will star
MARTIN KNELMAN
ENTERTAINMENT COLUMNIST
You've seen all six Star Wars movies, most of them more than once. You bought the CDs of the movie soundtracks, and your closets are full of old Star Wars toys.
But what can you do now that George Lucas has pulled the plug and insisted that there will be no more instalments after Episode III — Revenge of the Sith, which opened last week and is currently shattering box office records?
Well, there's one more Star Wars experience coming up. The Star Wars Concert will have its world premiere at Roy Thomson Hall with two concerts on June 28 and 29, starring the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and the British actor who plays C-3PO.
It's the creation of Erich Kunzel, the 70-year-old music director of the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra and regular guest conductor of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.
"This has the sanction of George Lucas and his organization," Kunzel explained in a phone interview yesterday.
It also has the blessing of Kunzel's old friend and colleague, composer John Williams, who created the music for all six films in the cycle and more than 80 other films, including E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Jaws, Superman and Schindler's List.
Kunzel will fly to Toronto in late June and conduct the Toronto Symphony Orchestra along with 40 singers from the Opera Mississauga Chorus. Later, he will also lead orchestras in other cities — including Cincinnati, Cleveland, Chicago, Detroit and Seattle.
Kunzel has a long association with Star Wars. He has frequently included music from the space saga, sometimes interspersed with themes from other John Williams movies, both in the concert hall and on CDs.
Last year in Mexico City, he conducted a program that included music from the first five films in the series. But the new work is a much more coherent and ambitious undertaking.
"Now that the film saga is complete," Kunzel said, "I have the opportunity to present the music in chronological order and to present the story from beginning to end through a narrator.
"It's not an opera, and it's not a symphony. I would call it a concert saga."
That saga includes 78 minutes of music culled from all six movies, plus a spoken narrative summary (written by Kunzel) interspersed with the music, which adds about 20 non-musical minutes to the presentation.
British actor Anthony Daniels, who plays C-3PO, will be the narrator for the Toronto premiere. The TSO concluded negotiations yesterday with him.
The story will be told in chronological order, starting with The Phantom Menace and the chorus "Duel of the Faiths." Each of the main characters — Luke Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Darth Vader, Princess Leia, Yoda, Chewbacca and the others — has a theme song.
As Kunzel noted, Williams, a master of the symphonic film score, employed a Wagnerian technique, using leitmotifs to signal the appearance of certain characters and themes.
According to Anthony Tommasini, music critic for the New York Times, the Williams score deserves much of the credit for what audiences like about Episode III.
How did Toronto land the world premiere of this major pop-cult event?
"It was pure kismet," says Mike Forrester, vice-president of marketing for the TSO.
"We were just lucky that the dates worked in terms of the availability of the orchestra and the hall and Eric's schedule."
Tickets go on sale June 1, with prices ranging from $25 to $90.
GB
May 25, 2005. 06:45 AM
TSO world premiere of Star Wars Concert
Narrated story to accompany music
Actor who plays C-3PO will star
MARTIN KNELMAN
ENTERTAINMENT COLUMNIST
You've seen all six Star Wars movies, most of them more than once. You bought the CDs of the movie soundtracks, and your closets are full of old Star Wars toys.
But what can you do now that George Lucas has pulled the plug and insisted that there will be no more instalments after Episode III — Revenge of the Sith, which opened last week and is currently shattering box office records?
Well, there's one more Star Wars experience coming up. The Star Wars Concert will have its world premiere at Roy Thomson Hall with two concerts on June 28 and 29, starring the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and the British actor who plays C-3PO.
It's the creation of Erich Kunzel, the 70-year-old music director of the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra and regular guest conductor of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.
"This has the sanction of George Lucas and his organization," Kunzel explained in a phone interview yesterday.
It also has the blessing of Kunzel's old friend and colleague, composer John Williams, who created the music for all six films in the cycle and more than 80 other films, including E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Jaws, Superman and Schindler's List.
Kunzel will fly to Toronto in late June and conduct the Toronto Symphony Orchestra along with 40 singers from the Opera Mississauga Chorus. Later, he will also lead orchestras in other cities — including Cincinnati, Cleveland, Chicago, Detroit and Seattle.
Kunzel has a long association with Star Wars. He has frequently included music from the space saga, sometimes interspersed with themes from other John Williams movies, both in the concert hall and on CDs.
Last year in Mexico City, he conducted a program that included music from the first five films in the series. But the new work is a much more coherent and ambitious undertaking.
"Now that the film saga is complete," Kunzel said, "I have the opportunity to present the music in chronological order and to present the story from beginning to end through a narrator.
"It's not an opera, and it's not a symphony. I would call it a concert saga."
That saga includes 78 minutes of music culled from all six movies, plus a spoken narrative summary (written by Kunzel) interspersed with the music, which adds about 20 non-musical minutes to the presentation.
British actor Anthony Daniels, who plays C-3PO, will be the narrator for the Toronto premiere. The TSO concluded negotiations yesterday with him.
The story will be told in chronological order, starting with The Phantom Menace and the chorus "Duel of the Faiths." Each of the main characters — Luke Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Darth Vader, Princess Leia, Yoda, Chewbacca and the others — has a theme song.
As Kunzel noted, Williams, a master of the symphonic film score, employed a Wagnerian technique, using leitmotifs to signal the appearance of certain characters and themes.
According to Anthony Tommasini, music critic for the New York Times, the Williams score deserves much of the credit for what audiences like about Episode III.
How did Toronto land the world premiere of this major pop-cult event?
"It was pure kismet," says Mike Forrester, vice-president of marketing for the TSO.
"We were just lucky that the dates worked in terms of the availability of the orchestra and the hall and Eric's schedule."
Tickets go on sale June 1, with prices ranging from $25 to $90.
GB
