Word: wagnerism
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...actual content of the opera is secondary at best. Perhaps the most impressive aspect of King Kong is that it is able to take this emphasis on theatrical experience over storyline--the essence of opera--and make it relevant to audiences today. (The type that wouldn't enjoy Wagner's original score, at least...
...Because they are so focused on creating a full experience, all operas must represent some sort of aesthetic principle--the playfulness and humor of the early Mozart, the heaviness of Wagner. More than with a play or musical, all the elements of a well-done--opera music, costumes, lights, scenery--should resonate with a single effect. The aesthetic of King Kong is one of decontextualization and deconstruction, of presenting the familiar as unfamiliar...
...composer of numerous film soundtracks including the upcoming Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. My friend was accusing Williams of being a shameless sell-out, a hack who borrows from a hundred other works, including his own soundtracks on occasion. The Star Wars soundtracks steal voluminously from Holst and Wagner, as well as Stravinsky; the soundtrack for JAWS is an amalgam of numerous traditional sea themes from dozens of sources. But while I attempted to make a comparison of Williams' use of so many different sources to that of Milton's insertion of classical references in Paradise Lost, it occurred...
...case of Star Wars, Holst's "The Planets" had been used in film, television, and even radio as soundtracks to space-related media; Williams knew that, and composed accordingly. As George Lucas was filming the original Star Wars, he used the work of Wagner and Holst as a makeshift soundtrack. When the time came for the creation of an original track, he asked Williams to create something similar...
Each of the Star Wars soundtracks has its own character. Star Wars: A New Hope draws most strongly from Wagner, with a big, bursting, inspiring soundtrack that keeps the energy and lift all the way through to the climactic elimination of the Death Star in the "Battle of Yavin." The soundtrack of The Empire Strikes Back is a beautiful work, with powerful, poignant themes and the extremely memorable end title, as Luke and Leia watch Lando and Chewbacca fly into space to find Han and the music swells in the background. The Return of the Jedi is almost entirely action...