For a quarter of a century now, the Brno Philharmonic has been organising the Špilberk Festival at the end of August in the courtyard of the castle of the same name. Four open-air musical evenings offer the audience a selection of concerts featuring classical, film and computer music, as well as often jazz and other genres. This makes it a diverse mix of performers and repertoires with an often pleasant, summery, laid-back ambience. This year's big and rapdily sold-out attraction was the Wednesday evening of 21 August, full of melodies from the James Bond films, performed by the Czech National Symphony Orchestra, headed by world-renowned conductor, composer and arranger Steven Mercurio. During the concert, the audience also got to enjoy singers Sara Milfajtová, Vendula Příhodová and David Kraus.
Conductor Steven Mercurio provided a pleasant and witty accompaniment to the evening, mostly centred around the chronological dramaturgy running through the history of the films. In his own words, he saw and also described the programme based on the eras of James Bond stars such as Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig.
The entire evening was accompanied by a light and graphic show, enhancing and evoking the atmosphere elicited by the individual songs. The lighting effects were excellent and tastefully done, while it’s true that in the future, it could be good to see the purely instrumental parts accompanied by video projections of the scenes from which the music was played (such as the sea scene entitled The Journey to Atlantis or Solange, the romantic beach scene). Although no projections were needed here, as the vocal performances drew attention to themselves for most of the time, they would certainly have added a nice touch to the music.
The concert began with Mercurio's natty quote "The Name´s Bond... James Bond", after which the main Bond theme was soon heard as the opening melody of the evening. Throughout, an excellent performance was given by the percussion and brass sections of the orchestra, which tend to get the most space in these film tunes. The ensemble was tight and dynamically balanced, which was also helped by the sound system. That was more or less balanced compared to last year's festival, and the performances themselves had great audio backing. If, however, it might have seemed to some that selected vocal parts were lost amidst the great mass of the orchestra, it should be added that this didn’t happen with Sara Milfajtová, and so it was probably more down to the weaknesses of the other singers rather than the sound. Soloist Sára Milfajtová showed impressive composure and an outstanding performance (including when doing backing vocals). Her intonational precision, skill, intensity and impressive control of her voice, as well as her sheer range and interesting tonal palette, combined with a convincing and heartfelt delivery, made songs such as Licence to Kill (1989) and Skyfall (2012) the clear highlights of the evening.
These showstoppers also included the iconic Golden Eye from 1995, which many know as performed by Tina Turner. The solo part of the festival concert was performed by Vendula Příhodová, whose dark, velvety voice more than suited the song, but in parts with a very low range it was clear that she had reached her limit. Nevertheless, as a soloist she tackled the role with honour, for which she also earned a great round of applause. David Kraus seemed to be the weaker link of the trio. He struggled with frequent intonation inaccuracies and a delivery that seemed as if he’d prepared his numbers at the last minute. This feeling was reinforced by the fact that Kraus sang some songs with the lyrics on a stand (such as The Living Daylights), while his two colleagues did not need anything like that all evening. However, we shouldn’t forget the difficulty of the songs performed by Kraus - Live and Let Die (1973), for example, calls for frequent tempo and style changes (rock vs. reggae), as well as an extensive vocal range. One big surprise was the moment in Casino Royale - You Know My Name (2006) when the conductor gave up his baton and instead wowed the audience as an energetic rock guitarist. As guitarist, he not only managed to conduct and arrange the whole orchestra, but also shredded a thrilling guitar solo at the end of the song.
The concert ended as it began: with Mercurio and the audience proclaiming "The Name´s Bond... James Bond", and as the main theme followed, the Czech National Symphony Orchestra and soloists bid farewell in style. The relaxed atmosphere and the great performances by the musicians and singers left a strong impression on the audience, who rightly rewarded them with a standing ovation.
Programme
John Barry: Dr. No (1962) – Jams Bond Theme, Goldfinger (1964), Fom Russia With Love, You Only Live Twice
Burt Bacharach: Casino Royale (1967) – The Look of Love
John Barry: Diamonds Are Forever (1971)
Paul and Linda McCartney & George Martin: Live and let Die (1973)
John Barry: The Man With the Golden Gun (1974)
Marvin Hamlisch: The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) - The Journey to Atlantis, Nobody Does It Better
John Barry: The Living Daylights (1987)
Michael Kamen: Licence to Kill (1989)
Eric Serra: Golden Eye (1995)
Chris Cornell & David Arnold: Casino Royale (2006) - You Know My Name
Thomas Newman - Skyfall (2012)
David Arnold: Casino Royale (2006) - Solange, The Name’s Bond... James Bond
Sara Milfajtova, Vendula Prihodova, David Kraus - vocals
Czech National Symphony Orchestra
Steven Mercurio - conductor
Wednesday, 21 August 2024 at 8 p.m., Špilberk Castle courtyard
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