Shw'mae

Siarad Cymraeg? Visit the Welsh site.

Dewch i mewn

Seven hits from the Movie Mix Tape

We've had the Seven Deadly Sins, Seven days of the week and The Magnificent Seven but we're saving the best till last - our Movie Mixtape top seven.

Conductor, David Mahoney, tells us about his favourite movie musicals and the hit-songs featuring in Movie Mixtape: Songs from the Silver Screen on 17 November starring Lucie Jones, Noel Sullivan, Connie Fisher, Ian ‘H’ Watkins and The Novello Orchestra.

Movies have given us some of the most iconic music ever written, with songs everyone knows and loves (and can probably sing every word to…in the shower.

I could have programmed ten different shows when I was choosing the set list for Movie Mixtape, but I’ve come up with a concert that has an amazing variety of incredible songs for what will be a fun-filled, breath-taking and memorable evening of movie music magic.

Here’s a countdown of my favourites, which feature prominently in the show...

1. The Greatest Showman: This is Me

This movie sensation has recently reinvigorated the movie musical genre. Everyone knows the songs, and the power anthem This is Me (sung in the film by Broadway powerhouse Keala Settle) has anchored many full-audience sing-along screenings.

And what better way to end our show with this song as the finale with our guest artists + a special guest chorus and the soaring sounds of The Novello Orchestra.

2. The Lion King: Can You Feel the Love Tonight?

How many other movies are recognisable from their very first note?

At the time of its release in 1994, The Lion King was the highest-grossing animated movie of all time. The film won two Academy Awards for Elton John and Tim Rice’s Can You Feel the Love Tonight and Hans Zimmer’s score.

With the recent release of the live-action remake of the film starring, among other luminaries, Beyoncé, it’s back at the forefront of great movie musicals (has it ever not been?).

3. Moulin Rouge: Come What May

Baz Luhrmann’s jukebox musical around a climactic tango interpretation of the song Roxanne, starring Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor may divide opinion, but I think it’s brilliant, with a really interesting soundtrack.

4. Frozen: Let it Go

In 2014, this was every child’s favourite movie and one of the most re-watchable Disney movies and with a host of great characters (Olaf is my favourite) and an amazing soundtrack (Do You Want to Build a Snowman?) there’s no surprise that it was such a huge hit.

This is one of a selection of classic Disney titles featured in our concert, with others including The Jungle Book and Hercules.

5. Mamma Mia: A medley of songs

Okay... it’s a bit of a guilty pleasure, but who doesn’t love a bit of Abba? There's not much else to say about this one other than it's going to get everyone singing and dancing.

6. Once: Falling Slowly

An uplifting yet yearning story of two lost souls – a Dublin street busker and a Czech musician – who unexpectedly fall in love.

Following their relationship across five short days, big changes happen to both of them in little ways.

Celebrated for its original score including the Academy Award-winning song Falling Slowly, Once is a spell-binding and uplifting story of hopes and dreams, set against a backdrop of Irish folk pop.

7. A Star is Born: Shallow

A movie about fame, creativity and romance. Its original songs, written by director Bradley Cooper, star Lady Gaga, her frequent collaborator Mark Ronson, and country musician Jason Isbell, are all hits in their own right.

And it also boasts the Oscar-winning song, Shallow, one of the most captivatingly beautiful moments in the film.