STAR WARS Is Coming To London With A Full Orchestra

See Star Wars: A New Hope with full live orchestral accompaniment for the first time ever in the UK this November, as it comes to the Royal Albert Hall.

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 centrepiece 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.

Tickets £35-£85

Box office: 020 7589 8212 / www.royalalberthall.com

Tour dates (promoted by Senbla):

28 November - Liverpool Echo Arena

29 November - Bournemouth International Centre

1 December - Manchester Arena

5 December - 3Arena, Dublin

7 December - Motorpoint Arena Cardiff

8 December - First Direct Arena, Leeds;

9 December - SEC Centre, Glasgow

(Please note, the LSO are only confirmed for the Royal Albert Hall dates)

The Royal Albert Hall is the world's most famous stage. Over the past 147 years, it has hosted everyone from Winston Churchill, Albert Einstein and Edward Elgar to The Beatles, Ella Fitzgerald and Adele. Last year, its breathtaking auditorium presented 386 events by the world's greatest performers - taking in rock, pop and classical music, dance, films, Cirque du Soleil and even tennis - with the magical setting and inspired artists creating amazing memories for audiences.

Opened in 1871 to fulfil Prince Albert's vision of a central hall to promote the arts and sciences, the Hall is a registered charity that remains true to his founding ambitions within a modern context. It hosts more than 1,000 events a year in its secondary space, the Elgar Room, and beyond, broadening the Hall's appeal to incorporate younger and more diverse audiences.

Its Education & Outreach programme reaches more than 185,000 participants each year, working with schools, young people and the community, as well as other charities such as Music for Youth, as part of its extensive public benefit remit. It creates memories, changes lives and provides inspiration through music for all, regardless of age or background.

Disney Concerts is the concert production and licensing division of Disney Music Group, the music arm of The Walt Disney Company. Disney Concerts produces concerts and tours, and licenses Disney music and visual content to symphony orchestras and presenters on a worldwide basis. Disney Concerts' concert packages include a variety of formats, such as "live to picture" film concerts and themed instrumental and vocal compilation concerts, and range from instrumental-only symphonic performances to multimedia productions featuring live vocalists and choir. Current titles include the Star Wars Film Concert Series (Episodes IV-VII), Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, Fantasia, Pixar in Concert, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Alice In Wonderland, Frozen, Ratatouille, The Pirates of the Caribbean series (Episodes I-IV), and Silly Symphonies, which last year collectively accounted for over 400 performances in many of the world's top concert venues, including Lincoln Center, Royal Albert Hall, Sydney Opera House, Tokyo Forum and the Hollywood Bowl. Numerous new concert packages and touring productions from Disney's portfolio of studios, including Disney's feature animation and live action studios, Pixar, Lucasfilm and Marvel, are currently in development.

STAR WARS and related properties are trademarks and/or copyrights, in the United States and other countries, of Lucasfilm Ltd. and/or its affiliates. © & TM Lucasfilm Ltd.

The LSO was established in 1904 and has a unique ethos. As a musical collective, it is built on artistic ownership and partnership. With an inimitable Signature Sound, the LSO's mission is to bring the greatest music to the greatest number of people. The LSO has been the only Resident Orchestra at the Barbican Centre in the City of London since it opened in 1982, giving 70 symphonic concerts there every year. Through LSO Discovery, it is a pioneer of music education, offering musical experiences to 60,000 people every year. With the formation of its own record label LSO Live in 1999 the LSO pioneered a revolution in recording live orchestral music. The LSO strives to embrace new digital technologies - having successfully moved into digital film, Blu-Ray Audio, downloads, streaming and virtual reality - and it continues to innovate with platforms such as LSO Play, a web-based video player that allows people to observe the Orchestra from different angles. The LSO is also a highly successful creative enterprise, with 80% of all funding self-generated. www.lso.co.uk

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