at 4am on July 28th, Beijing time, the opening ceremony of the 212 London Olympic Games will be unveiled. According to danny boyle, the artistic director, the design of the event was inspired by Shakespeare's drama The Tempest, a great British national treasure. The theme of the whole performance is to present the story of a land that has experienced the development and change of the industrial revolution, and look forward to the future road. Although Boyle will not be able to determine the link of his "magic island" until the last minute before the performance, the main composition of the opening ceremony is basically determined. Through the information disclosed by the British media, we will provide more convenience for everyone to watch the opening ceremony through our interpretation.
Act I "Green and Pleasure": 7, proms takes the stage
At 4: am Beijing time on Saturday (9: pm British local time on Friday) (instead of 8: 12 pm, which coincides with 2.12), the opening ceremony will start in the dark as Boyle expected. Daniel craig, the actor who plays "James Bond" in the 7 series film, will fall from the sky by a helicopter rope, and then a 27-ton giant bell will ring to announce the official start of the opening ceremony. And the idea of this giant clock comes from Shakespeare's famous classic sentence, "Don't be afraid, this island is buzzing." Next, Kenneth Blana, an English stage actor, will read the classic scenes in the play. At this time, a background of continuous hills, flowing springs, grass and farmhouses will bring people back to the period when Britain used to focus on agriculture. The scenery will be made up of real animals, including 12 horses, 3 cows, 7 sheep and 3 sheepdogs. At that time, there will even be horse-drawn plows, hard-working milking women, picnicking families, Edwardian village cricket teams and people dancing to celebrate May Day (a traditional European folk festival). At one end of the stage will be the entertainment in Glastonbury Mountain, with an oak tree at the top and a "crowd" gathering at the foot of the mountain. At the other end is a huge space where people can sing and celebrate proms (the annual British classical music festival, one of the world-famous music festivals). Boyle even had the idea of "artificial rain", but according to the current weather forecast, his idea is completely unnecessary. Background concerts at this stage include Land of Hope And Glory, Going Underground by The Jam and Chariots of Fire by Vangelis.
The Land of Hope and Glory is a famous patriotic song in Britain. It was composed by the famous British composer edward elgar in 192. At that time, he was shocked by the magnificent scenery of Mount Vermont, England, and created this masterpiece handed down from ancient times. The lyrics such as "Dear Land of Hope, your sun never sets" praised the beauty of Britain, so it has always been regarded as a symbol of British patriotism. Not only that, because of the beautiful lyrics and melody, this song later became the usual music to be played at American university graduation ceremonies (this is the background music of the scene when Forrest Gump graduated from the university in the movie "Forrest Gump"), so director Boyle chose this famous song not only to praise the national pride of the motherland, but also to arouse the audience outside Britain, which is a very good choice.
The Jam band "going underground"
"going underground" is also a classic work of the famous old British rock group "The Jam". This song was published in 198, and it immediately rushed to the top of the ranking. In addition to the classic melody, the lyrics of this song reflect the current political situation in Britain at that time, which is the greater reason why Going Underground has become weighty. The lyrics imply British policy issues on the army, nuclear weapons and public services, and indirectly express some democratic demands, so it is regarded as a work with great democratic color and has been passed down to this day. Not only that, this song also has many adapted versions, which are used in European and American film and television works or celebrations. For example, in the 22 World Cup, this song was renamed "Towards England" as a cheering song for the British team.
composer Vangelis wrote the soundtrack for the movie Chariot of Fire
At the same time, Chariot of Fire, which lasted for nearly 21 minutes, was also selected as the background music of the first part. This work came from the British movie Chariot of Fire with the same name, which was written by Greek composer Vangelis and won the Oscar for best original soundtrack in 1982. In this film praising the spirit of sports competition, this inspiring theme song has become an inspiring and important force for the film. Boyle chose this work at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, which is really fitting.
Act II "The Mill of the Dark Devil": The Rolling Stones' XXX classic song
"The Mill of the Dark Satan" comes from the work "Jerusalem" by the British poet william blake, which was later used as a metaphor for the British industrial revolution. Therefore, in the second act, the whole venue will be transformed from the simple countryside of Britain to the scene of the industrial revolution. Performers will be transformed into textile workers, miners, steel workers and engineers, leading the audience back to Britain, which was known as the "world factory" during the Industrial Revolution. The background music of this part includes Food, Glorious Food by Leon Bart, the father of modern British musicals, SatisFaction by Rolling Stones and Pretty Vacant by XXX.
The musical Oliver episode "Food, Glorious Food"
"Food, Glorious Food" is the musical Oliver adapted by Lionel Bart, the father of modern British musicals, for Oliver Dickens' classic novel "Oliver Twist", in which the music melody mainly tells people's urgent pursuit of food under the social background at that time.
The Rolling Stones' satisfication
The full name of satisfication is (I can't get no), which is a famous track of the Rolling Stones, a great British rock band. It is regarded as one of the 5 greatest rock songs in the world and the first single of the Rolling Stones to open the American market. Lyrics describe a kind of emotional satisfaction, which may be just the material satisfaction brought by the British industrial revolution. At the same time, there are many cover versions of this famous song, the most famous of which is Britney Spears' cover in her second album.
"Pretty Vacant" by Sex Pistols
Although "Sex Pistols" refused to attend the opening ceremony, which ruined the historical moment, it did not prevent the directors from putting their classic songs on the stage. For sex pistols, "Pretty Vacant" is also equivalent to "Satisfaction" for the Rolling Stones. This work was completed in 1977, which is the most important masterpiece of sex pistols in punk bands and a landmark song in the history of British punk.
Act III "Towards the Future": A tribute to Beatle Paul? Mccartney sang
and then people will continue to follow the footsteps of history and come to postwar Britain. Other famous landmark models of London, including Big Ben, will be put on the stage. A performance team of 12, people will pass by in front of the audience. Among them are performers dressed as nurses and assistant staff pushing sickbeds, which symbolize the status of the British national medical service system and welfare state; There are also performers, musicians and actors who symbolize the spirit of innovation; At the same time, the performance team also includes drummers, skateboarders, acrobats and British historical celebrities dressed as volunteers. The performance will also show the multicultural side of Britain and the recent political fluctuations. The whole performance aims to show the audience the changes and development of Britain after the war.
It is particularly worth mentioning that in this feast of showing British culture to the world, it is difficult to bypass the Beatles in any case, but how to show it in this part not only reflects the theme, but also becomes a big problem. According to the design of the general director Boyle, he dressed the dancers who walked in the performance team at the same time. This idea came from the Beatles' famous album "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club", which was released in 1967. The genre included rock, pop and even Indian music. It was the Beatles' most abundant and cosmopolitan album and was also rated as the greatest in the world. The cover of this album is also unique. In the crowded crowd, the Beatles are collaged with their favorite world celebrities. Like all their albums, it has become one of the most recognizable and imitative covers, designed by member Paul McCartney himself. Boyle's choice of this album as the highlight of his tribute to the Beatles is undoubtedly very flattering.
Frankie Goes To Hollywood group "Relax"
"Relax" is the first single released by Frankie Goes To Hollywood, a famous British pop dance group, in 1983. Although the sales were bleak at first, it was a big hit in 1984, and even won the brit awards "Best Single" award in 1985. Since then, Relax has won the 7th best-selling single in British history with nearly two million sales. It is worth mentioning that Relax is also one of the most controversial songs in the 198s, because the controversial explicit lyrics in the song were once banned by BBC Radio.
amy winehouse's "Valerie"
Also paying tribute to the late British diva Amy? Winehouse, who died in July 211, was only 27 years old. She only released two albums, but she became famous in the history of music because of her extraordinary talent, and won many Grammy awards as an Englishman, which is the glory of British music. The song Valerie selected this time is one of her most representative and popular works.
paul mccartney's "Hey Jude"
The "Healing System" is one of the best songs in the history of world pop music. It was written by paul mccartney, which is the most important representative work of the Beatles and paul mccartney. The original intention of the song was that McCartney wrote it to Julian, the son of member John Lennon, to comfort the pain that John Lennon's marriage broke down and brought to young Julian. Lyrics such as "Hey, Judy (Julian's nickname), don't carry the whole world on your shoulders, you should know that fools pretend to be strong" have become the spiritual comfort of fans all over the world.