I Just Read About That…

[ATTENDED: December 28, 2017] The Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses

Last September, we all went to see Symphonic Zelda–the Symphony of the Goddesses.  Out of the blue a few months back, C. said he’d really like to see it again.  I assumed it would be a long time before it came around.  But I checked the site (it’s very rare that C. wants to go and do something) and they were playing right after Christmas.  This time at the gorgeous Verizon Hall.

The website announced that the show would be different.

Brought to Life as never before, witness as 30 years of video game history unfolds, complete with a stirring cinematic video presentation, synced with the games’ sensational, thematic and action-packed soundtracks played live by a full orchestra and choir.  In addition to Breath of the Wild music, the new program also features an all new movement from Skyward Sword, and the return of a classic that just might make some wishes come true!

So, it wasn’t going to be the same show (I was surprised by how much I recognized and have become a big fan of the music of the games).

I asked if he wanted to be closer to the action or farther back to be able to see it all.  He said, closer, and I was able to score us discount seats for Row G!  Dead center.  We were right in front of the first violin.

Interestingly, from this vantage point you can’t see the back performers at all.  The percussion and the singers were pretty much entirely obscured.  But it was very cool being so close to the main folks.  My favorite moment was watching the first violin hook her right foot around the leg of her chair just as she was about to play her big solo.

Like last time, the show was about 2 and half hours.  The First Act was about an hour and twenty minutes.  And like last time, the music was accompanied by a video screen broadcasting clips from the various games.  It was amazing to see the progress from the early 8 bit games to Breath of the Wild. But it was more fun that it wasn’t done in order–they just bounced around from game to game.

For us the first act was marred slightly by the boy sitting in front of us who HATED the show.  He was so miserable.  What 8 or 9 year-old boy is miserable at a symphonic Zelda?  Even if you didn’t like the music, why wouldn’t you just watch the videos on the screen?  It was crazy how unhappy this kid was and how much his mom was trying to get him to be quiet without disturbing the rest of us.  I’m not sure why they didn’t leave earlier but they were not there for Act 2 (thankfully).  And t hat meant even better sight lines!

The intermission was a good time to walk around and see the people dressed in costume.

Between some songs were short (subtitled) videos from the creators of Zelda–game and music–which was nice to see.  And nice to hear everyone excited to see these legends of the game.  The addition of the Breath of the Wild songs was very cool. It was fun seeing people perform these songs that I’ve only ever seen on my TV.

The conductor, Kevin Zakresky, was as animated as the vidoes.  He was very funny–encouraging applause for everyone after each piece and even using the Wind Waker Wand for two pieces.

The whole show sounded amazing.  Verizon Hall has incredible acoustics.  But we were also close enough to know that the percussion was coming from the left side of the stage, which was very cool. The only bad thing of the whole show was that throughout the show there were these weird loud clacking sounds–like a bunch of louvre doors flapping open and closed.  I thought it was part of the song the first time it happened, but I think it was something to do with the ventilation system.  I am frankly shocked that such a thing happens there as there are some pretty expensive shows in this venue.

There was a vocal choir and it was great hearing the voices rise and soar dramatically.  There was one song that was almost entirely choir and it was awesome.

I loved when they interspersed the video game clips with video of the band playing.  It was especially cool for us, since we couldn’t see half of the players.

When the show was over, the conductor singled out every instrument for recognition (by miming their fingers) and when he got to the double bass, the guy on the end lifted his high in the air (no mean feat).

C. deemed this concert better than the first.  He hoped (predicted) that the show would end with Link pulling out the Master Sword (a scene from Breath of the Wild) and they did.  So he was pretty psyched.

And I found it thoroughly enjoyable.  I especially loved getting to take up close pictures during intermission.

The performance featured conductor Kevin Zakresky:

~ACT I~

• Overture (2017)

  ~INTERLUDES~

  • Dragon Roost Island
  • Majora’s Mask Medley
  • Breath of the Wild Medley
  • A Link Between Worlds

  ~THE SYMPHONY~

  • Prelude ~ The Creation of Hyrule
  • Movement I ~ Skyward Sword
  • Movement II ~ Ocarina of Time

~ACT II~

• • Intermezzo ~ Temple of Time
  • Movement III ~ The Wind Waker
  • Movement IV ~ Twilight Princess
  • Movement V ~ Time of the Falling Rain
  • Finale

The previous performance:

~ACT I~

• Overture

  ~INTERLUDES~

  • Gerudo Valley
  • Boss Battle Medley
  • Suite from Majora’s Mask
  • A Link Between Worlds

  ~THE SYMPHONY~

  • Prelude ~ The Creation of Hyrule
  • Movement I ~ Ocarina of Time
  • Movement II ~ The Wind Waker

~ACT II~

• Intermezzo ~ Great Fairy’s Fountain

  • Movement III ~ Twilight Princess
  • Movement IV ~ Time of the Falling Rain
  • Finale