PaulH
- edited
This weekend I had the privilege of attending The Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses, a complete four-movement concert event featuring music from the renowned video game franchise. The concert tour made a stop Toronto, my hometown, as part of a North America tour which includes four Canadian dates.
Fans may remember Nintendo announcing a worldwide Zelda symphony tour during the company's E3 2011 press conference, as part of the 25th anniversary celebrations for The Legend of Zelda franchise, which we've covered extensively here on the Tech Blog.
The symphony made its first appearance last year, with four sold out shows in Tokyo (2), London and Los Angeles, as a prelude to the full 2012 concert tour. Not surprisingly, the Toronto show completely sold out the Sony Centre theatre, which has a capacity exceeding 3,000 seats.
A Zelda fan dresses up for the evening
It was a grand spectacle, as passionate fans erupted in applause after each of the four movements that recounted the classic storyline of The Legend of Zelda. The movements each lasted about ten minutes and included a range of music from each game, starting with the opening cinematics all the way to final battles with Ganon. Each movement was paired with visuals from the game and occasionally switched to live camera pans of the symphony orchestra.
This was the setlist for the night:
- "Zelda Overture"
- "Hyrule Dungeons"
- "Kakariko Village"
- "Movement 1: Ocarina of Time"
- "Movement 2: The Wind Waker"
- "Movement 3: Twilight Princess"
- "Movement 4: A Link to the Past"
- "Ballad of the Wind Fish" (Link's Awakening)
- "Gerudo Valley"
- "Suite from Majora's Mask"
It's interesting to note that the last three pieces were "encores", giving the night a dramatic and suspenseful ending.
The Legend of Zelda 25th Anniversary Symphony Concerts are produced by Jason Michael Paul Productions, the company behind Dear Friends Final Fantasy, and PLAY! A Video Game Symphony.
The Symphony of the Goddesses orchestra
Irish-born Eímear Noone conducted the full orchestra for the evening, and had one of the highlights of the show when she produced an authentic Wind Waker wand prior to starting Movement 2. Music director Chad Seiter was also quite amusing as he recounted some of his favourite Zelda moments and gleefully endured raucous one-liners thrown from the audience.
It was a natural fit to combine Zelda with a full orchestra, considering that the franchise long used music as one of its defining characteristics. Ocarina of Time is perhaps the best example, with the ocarina instrument central to progress in the game.
Symphony of the Goddesses was definitely a memorable event and the jubilant crowd is testament to how important The Legend of Zelda franchise is for the gaming industry.
The next Canadian stop for Symphony of the Goddesses will be Calgary, Alberta, on November 6th.
Future Shop has three of the best games in The Legend of Zelda franchise available, Skyward Sword (Wii), Twilight Princess (Wii), and Ocarina of Time 3D (Nintendo 3DS), so if you haven't checked them out here are the links:
The quest lays the foundation for the events in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, which is frequently cited as one of the greatest video games of all time. The game includes a massive, multilayered world that takes players from dark dungeons to a diverse overworld to cloud cities in the sky, requiring a combination of puzzle-solving and swordplay to unlock all of its secrets.
When an evil darkness enshrouds the land of Hyrule, a young farm boy named Link must awaken the hero and the animal within.
Link sets off on a legendary journey through time to stop Ganondorf, the Gerudo King of Thieves who is seeking the Triforce, a holy relic that gives its holder ultimate power. Whether you're a first-time player or a regular visitor to Hyrule, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D is an adventure for everyone.
