BY ANGELO VALDIVIA
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back in Concert
Adelaide Symphony Orchestra
Adelaide Entertainment Centre, 4 May
May the 4th (be with you) is a special day for Star Wars fans across the globe, but the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra had an ace up its sleeve: playing a live accompaniment to Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back. More than 4,000 audience members attended the Adelaide Entertainment Centre to indulge in some big screen action of the 1980 blockbuster – and, really, there are few better ways to top off the day.
For those unfamiliar with the concept, the movie-in-concert idea involves an orchestra playing the entire music soundtrack live with a projection of the film. It’s a fantastic entry point for those curious about classical music, with the comfortability of something more familiar. For a classical performer like me, it also highlights some of the less prominent musical themes without listening to them in isolation (for example, in a recording).
Conductor Nicholas Buc looked completely at home leading the orchestra in front of a screen, which isn’t a surprise considering he’s constantly travelling and performing these shows. “We would like to dedicate this concert to Peter Mayhew, who passed away on Tuesday morning”, Nicholas said to the audience in his introduction, referring to the saddening news of the famed Chewbacca actor. The audience received this well, and within moments 4,000 Wookiee roars swelled in unison as a tribute.
The concert itself kicked off with the recognisable 20th Century Fox fanfare, leading straight into the main theme of Star Wars. Hearing an orchestra play this almost-religious fanfare (to dorks like me, anyway) alongside the opening crawl was an incredible feeling I hadn’t experienced before (full disclosure: this was my first full movie-in-concert experience).
However, a cornerstone aspect of filmmaking that quickly came to mind is the post-production mixing of music versus dialogue/sound effects. As a trumpet player who’s performed many of John Williams’ works over the years, I found it difficult to hear some of those key brass lines due to the balance of the amplified sound. And this wasn’t necessarily the fault of the musicians; unfortunately, the overall sound mix seemed a little unbalanced across the show. A specific example was the Imperial March (Darth Vader’s Theme), which is famous for its brass melody, but was overtaken somewhat by the snare drum in the mix.
This seemed to affect the overall dynamics of the ensemble, especially with some of the quieter dialogue. Of course, this point is a bit nit-picky when you consider it’s a concert and not a cinema screening, but it may be something to keep in mind for audiophiles attending for the first time. Thankfully, there were subtitles.
This isn’t a typical screening one might expect at a cinema. Audience reactions are encouraged pre-show; the crowd cheered at the first appearance of Chewbacca and applauded after some of the more exciting pieces performed by the orchestra. It was heart-warming sitting among so many people, knowing there were people there who were having their first Star Wars/orchestral experience (specifically children). Also, a shout-out to the young couple sitting beside me who were quietly, but audibly, figuring this whole Star Wars thing out (“Is that Yoda?”, “I don’t know, I think so?”).
I would highly recommend this kind of concert to those looking to dabble in classical concerts but need more context, without going full-Mahler or Rachmaninov first up. However, hearing a live orchestra amplified in a large arena is a significantly different sensation to sitting in a purpose-built concert hall, listening for nuance.
Thanks to Nicholas Buc for his fantastic direction, and procurement of a glowing, red lightsaber-baton. Also the ‘in memoriam’ slide of Mayhew was a wonderful, bittersweet moment after fantastic performance by the ASO.
Images courtesy ASO.
