We’ve just received word that Star Wars: A New Hope is set to play London’s prestigious Royal Albert Hall later this year, complete with live orchestra.
The most requested title in Films in Concert history arrives for five performances, with John Williams’ iconic score performed live on stage by the acclaimed London Symphony Orchestra, who played on the original soundtrack in 1977.
The shows will form the centerpiece of the Hall’s dedicated Star Wars season, a special celebration including Q&As, concerts and family events. Star Wars: A New Hope will also tour the UK following its UK premiere.
Grant Watmuff, Licensing & Strategic Partnerships Manager at Disney Music Group, said: “We’re delighted that Star Wars fans will have the opportunity to experience the music of the movie performed live to picture in the UK for the first time. From the opening fanfare to the final note, John Williams’ score for Star Wars: A New Hope is a genre-defining masterclass of cinematic composition.”
Lucy Noble, Artistic Director at the Royal Albert Hall, said: “During our nine years of pioneering the Films in Concert concept, there’s one movie that’s been requested more than any other, and that’s Star Wars: A New Hope. We’re ecstatic to announce its UK debut at the Hall this November, with the London Symphony Orchestra confirmed for this once-in-a-lifetime show. There’s simply no film – or score – that’s more iconic.”
Kathryn McDowell, Managing Director of the London Symphony Orchestra, said: “The London Symphony Orchestra has a deep and long-lasting relationship with John Williams and particularly his music for the Star Wars films, having recorded the soundtracks for the first six episodes. The music of Star Wars is in the LSO blood and we are delighted to be involved in what will surely be a memorable series of performances.”
An exhilarating, pioneering mash-up of sci-fi, serial, WWII flyer flick and Western, full of indelible characters and groundbreaking special effects, Star Wars: A New Hope rewrote the rulebook, and remains one of the most beloved movies of all time, topping innumerable polls of favourite films.
Set 30 years after Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, Star Wars: A New Hope, the fourth episode of the saga, returns to the desert planet of Tatooine. A young Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) begins to discover his destiny when, searching for a lost droid, he is saved by reclusive Jedi, Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness).
A civil war rages in the galaxy, and Rebel forces struggle against the evil Galactic Empire as Luke and Obi-Wan enlist the aid of hotshot pilot, Han Solo (Harrison Ford). Joined by the quirky droid duo R2-D2 and C-3PO, the unlikely team sets out to rescue Rebel leader Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) and make use of the stolen plans to destroy the Empire’s ultimate weapon. In a legendary confrontation, the rogue group mounts an attack against the Death Star for a climactic battle with the evil Sith Lord, Darth Vader.
The film has so far spawned eight sequels and prequels, including Star Wars: The Last Jedi, which received its European premiere at the Royal Albert Hall last month. The film was the biggest hit of 2017 in both the UK and Ireland.
John Williams’ iconic, transcendent score for the 1977 original is one of the most renowned in film history, winning him an Oscar and being selected by the American Film Institute as the greatest ever written.
Tickets are on sale at 10am on Friday from www.royalalberthall.com
The Star Wars: Film Concert Series is produced under license by Disney Concerts in association with 20th Century Fox and Warner/Chappell Music. The London Symphony Orchestra appears by kind permission of the Barbican.
