WaterTower Music to Release New 'Bugs Bunny at the Symphony' CD, Recorded Live at the Sydney Opera House

LOS ANGELES, July 7 /PRNewswire/ -- On July 13, WaterTower Music will release the new live concert recording of Bugs Bunny at the Symphony, the eagerly-anticipated sequel to Bugs Bunny on Broadway, the record-setting orchestra-and-film concert that reinvented a new genre of symphony orchestra concert when it debuted in 1990.

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Conducted and created by Emmy Award™ winner George Daugherty, Bugs Bunny at the Symphony had the first of two world premiere engagements in May 2010 at the Sydney Opera House, with the Sydney Symphony, and this new CD captures the excitement of that sold-out debut.  Bugs Bunny at the Symphony has the second tier of its world premiere on July 16 and 17 at the Hollywood Bowl, with the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

In 1990, Bugs Bunny On Broadway, conducted and created by Daugherty, took the symphony orchestra world by storm, and pioneered the brand new concept of "live orchestra and big screen" concerts.  Since its legendary Broadway premiere at The Gershwin Theatre, the original concert has circumnavigated the globe several times over, playing to millions of people worldwide in iconic venues ranging from the Hollywood Bowl to London's Royal Festival Hall, Moscow's Kremlin Palace and the Sydney Opera House, and with the world's greatest orchestras, from the Los Angeles Philharmonic to the Sydney Symphony, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, The Cleveland Orchestra, and The Philadelphia Orchestra, just to name but a few of many.  

The new version of the concert celebrates this 20-year legacy of Looney Tunes and orchestral music "in concert."  Bugs Bunny at the Symphony retains the most indelible moments from the original production, including Chuck Jones' inspired What's Opera, Doc? and The Rabbit of Seville, while adding in other Warner Bros. classics like Friz Freleng's Rhapsody Rabbit, and the virtuoso orchestral roller coaster ride of the Road Runner epic Zoom and Bored. Also new are special guest appearances of Tom and Jerry In The Hollywood Bowl, and other "guest stars" from the larger Warner Bros. animation family ... including The Flintstones and Scooby-Doo.

As with the original concert, the stars of this CD not only include Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd, Porky Pig, Daffy Duck, and the rest of the Looney Tunes gang, plus their voices as performed by the celebrated Mel Blanc and Arthur Q. Bryan, but even more importantly, the extraordinary musical genius of composers Carl Stalling and Milt Franklyn. As the composers and orchestrators behind the Looney Tunes, Stalling and Franklyn expertly composed scores that borrowed from classical music icons, as well as the popular songs of the day. They created some of the best-loved – and most adventurous -- American symphonic compositions of the last century, while at the same time introducing classical music to new generations through their sharp but loving reenactments of Rossini's "The Barber of Seville" (as "The Rabbit of Seville") and, amazingly, Wagner's entire Ring Cycle (condensed from four nights down to seven minutes in "What's Opera, Doc?").

"When it comes to 20th century American composers, Stalling and Franklyn are part of a very small and rarified upper echelon," said Daugherty.  "Their Looney Tunes film scores are not only unforgettable and irresistible to audiences of all ages, but were composed with such skill and expertise that they are also irresistible to the most discerning symphony orchestra musicians in the world.  There are very, very few composers in our musical world who cross all those boundaries so brilliantly."

Daugherty points out that this CD is the first major new recording of Stalling's and Franklyn's work to be released in almost two decades, coming as a successor to the original Bugs Bunny on Broadway album, as well as the critically-acclaimed Stalling Project and Stalling Project II.  The CD contains nine full-length cartoon scores, excerpts and songs from 10 others, plus two full-length symphonic overtures which inspired the cartoons.

The recording of this new CD with the Sydney Symphony is also very meaningful to Daugherty.   "Bugs Bunny on Broadway made its international premiere at the Sydney Opera House in 1996, and we have been back to the Opera House with the Sydney Symphony for many sell-outs since," said Daugherty.  "So it is thrilling to have recorded the new concert live with this masterful international orchestra, and in that iconic Opera House.  These cartoons were created to be experienced by a live audience ... in theatres ... so the inclusion of the audience response on the new CD is actually the final element of the original soundtrack."

In keeping with the project's 20-year history of traversing the globe, Bugs Bunny at the Symphony is currently being unveiled in a series of major performances that are spanning the planet, including the one month Australian tour just completed.  The Bowl performances, which will include a spectacular fireworks display, will also mark Warner Bros.' official celebration of the concert's 20th anniversary.  The U.S. East Coast premiere will take place in Washington D.C. with the National Symphony Orchestra at Wolf Trap Filene Center on Friday and Saturday, August 6 and 7, followed by an American/Canadian tour in 2010-11. The production debuts in Asia in April, 2011.  The concert is exclusively represented worldwide by IMG Artists.

Bugs Bunny at The Symphony is a production of Warner Bros. Consumer Products, and is created and produced by Daugherty and Emmy Award™ winner David Ka Lik Wong, and their award-winning IFX Productions.  The CD production was produced by Daugherty, Wong, and Steven A. Linder, and recorded and engineered by Grammy™ Award winner Tony David Cray at the Sydney Opera House.

Official Website and Tour Schedule: www.bugsbunnyatthesymphony.net  

Official WaterTower Music Site: http://watertowermusic.com/

About George Daugherty

Daugherty is a frequent guest conductor of The Cleveland Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, and The Philadelphia Orchestra, and has conducted almost every major American symphony orchestra as well as a long list of international ensembles. He has become well-respected for his unique and innovative symphony orchestra concerts and productions.  Additionally, he has received five Emmy™ nominations as a producer, director and music director, and he won a Primetime Emmy™ for his ABC Network production of "Peter and The Wolf". That production, along with Daugherty's other television projects (including "Rhythm & Jam" and the Emmy-winning PBS series "Sagwa, The Chinese Siamese Cat") have received a total of 11 Emmy™ nominations and numerous other major awards.

About the Sydney Symphony

The Sydney Symphony is one of the world's leading major symphony orchestras, and makes its home in the Concert Hall of the iconic Sydney Opera House.  As Australia's flagship orchestra, the Sydney Symphony has performed with a stellar list of leading international conductors and concert soloists over the past decades, has been the recipient of countless awards and honors, including Grammy™ Awards, and has played to live audiences numbering into the millions, both at home and on acclaimed tours abroad.  With 110 musicians, the orchestra performs for over 350,000 people per year in Sydney alone, in 150 annual concerts. Throughout its history, the orchestra has been led by an impressive succession of chief conductors and artistic directors, including Eugene Goosens, Sir Charles Mackerras, Edo de Waart, Gianluigi Gelmetti, and currently, Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor Vladimir Ashkenazy. Through its ongoing relationship with ABC Classic FM and ABC TV, and its growing list of recordings on ABC Classics and other labels, millions of additional music lovers experience the Sydney Symphony's performances throughout the year.

About WaterTower Music

WATERTOWER MUSIC, the in-house music label for Warner Bros. Pictures Inc., has been releasing recorded music since 2002.  Distributed by Fontana Distribution, the independent arm of Universal Music Group Distribution, WTM has released over 70 titles, including the film soundtracks to the multi-platinum "Hairspray," "Sex and the City," "Valentine's Day" "The Hangover," "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," and "Sherlock Holmes." Its 2010 release schedule will include "Going the Distance," "Due Date," "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," and of course, "Bugs Bunny at the Symphony."

About Warner Bros. Consumer Products

Warner Bros. Consumer Products, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, is one of the leading licensing and retail merchandising organizations in the world.

About IMG Artists

IMG Artists is the global leader in the arts management business which combines the highest standards of management with an incomparable roster of performing artists, ranging from superstars Renee Fleming, Itzhak Perlman and Joshua Bell, to The Bolshoi Ballet, to the top symphony orchestras in the world, including The Cleveland Orchestra, The London Philharmonic, and The Royal Philharmonic. With offices in New York, Los Angeles, London, Paris, Hanover, Lucca and Singapore, IMG Artists delivers an international suite of capabilities including the management and touring of the finest musicians, dance companies, orchestras, and attractions, as well as consulting and advisory work for sovereign clients, arts institutions, concert halls, and culturally engaged corporations. With an unparalleled degree of artistic and managerial talent, IMG Artists is committed to breaking new ground in the ever-evolving performing arts world.

LOONEY TUNES and all related characters and elements are trademarks of and © Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

THE FLINTSTONES, THE JETSONS, SCOOBY-DOO and all related characters and elements are trademarks of and © Hanna-Barbera.

TOM AND JERRY and all related characters and elements are trademarks of and © Turner Entertainment Co.

SOURCE WaterTower Music