Review: DANNY ELFMAN'S MUSIC FROM THE FILMS OF TIM BURTON, Royal Albert Hall

Hollywood is built on long-standing collaborations. Actors and directors might be the most popular combos (think Alfred Hitchcock and Cary Grant, Christopher Nolan and Cillian Murphy, Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe), but another kind of partnership that’s become emblematic of an entire genre is Tim Burton and Danny Elfman’s.

Eighteen projects and nearly four decades of artistic alliance have produced beloved classics like The Nightmare Before Christmas, Beetlejuice, Sleepy Hollow, and Edward Scissorhands. Ten years after the first musical celebration, Danny Elfman’s Music from the Films of Tim Burton returns to the Royal Albert Hall. John Mauceri conducted the BBC Concert Orchestra alongside the Crouch End Festival Chorus in a concert full of surprises.

Eerie montages and classic scenes that make up the history of cinema accompany a brilliant selection of tunes, highlighting how contrasting melodies manipulate the public into feeling a certain way. Sketches of the conception of Burton’s collection of monstrous characters act as a prologue for the end results while the string section breathes in unison in expectant suspense.

But the images of Burton’s golden tickets, headless horsemen, and skeleton brides don’t last as long as we’d like, and the tail end of each dedicated segment is a static squiggly background. While this change of pace forces the audience to focus solely on the music, it’s a harsh cut. Quintessential moments get interrupted suddenly and the storyboards don’t ultimately quench our thirst either. While the visual experience isn’t top-tier, the production as a whole is astonishing.

The array of delicate arias and creepy waltzes perfectly sum up the variety of melodic moods covered in Elfman’s career. The Hall went wild when the composer himself jumped on in a pinstripe suit and iconic hairdo to sing the role of Jack Skellington in a captivating performance. Treble Malakai Bayoh and violinist Sandy Cameron had their moment to shine too, as did the Orchestra’s theremin.

It’s so rare to see the instrument played live in a mainstream instance these days and Mars Attacks! certainly is one of the best opportunities to show what a theremin can do. The cherry on top of an already amazing cake was a hasty appearance by Burton. Dragged on the scene by Elfman and welcomed with open arms by everyone on and off stage, it made the event even more special. It was a true autumnal treat for fans of Tim Burton's gothic fantasy.

The next instalment of the Royal Albert Hall's Films in Concert series is Amadeus on 24 October.

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