Young Simba boasts a small tuft of hair on top of his head and a short bushy tail. Additionally, he has a light pink nose and four black whiskers on either side of his muzzle, and the insides of his ears are tawny and rimmed with black. He has large, bright eyes with red irises and yellow scleras his upper lids are a deep tawny. As a cub, Simba has "brownish-gold" fur, with a lighter cream color accenting his belly, muzzle, and paws. He had light spots on his head and body as newborn lions usually have. ![]() That emotion is amazing… This music touches us like nothing else can.Newborn Simba was very small with a large head. “From where I sit in the box I can see the audience, I can feel their reactions. Manning too says he never stops finding new things to enjoy in music that he now knows like the back of his hand. And it’s not like it’s frozen in aspic, it’s an ongoing process.” ![]() It’s crazy – and for me it’s a testament to the quality of both the production and the music. Did he ever imagine that 24 years later he would still be working on it? “Never. He admits that, when he was first approached about getting involved with The Lion King, he was planning to give up on musical theatre to pursue composition. We take care to ensure the actors understand what they’re singing, so they can communicate these ideas.” “It all has meaning,” says Ishmael, “and even though the audience may not understand the words they feel them. A range of African languages including Swahili, Xhosa and Zulu, are heard alongside English. This feeling of togetherness is echoed in the words. Ishmael lists Nala’s song ‘Shadowland’ as his personal favourite, as it speaks to his choral background. “When you have vocals and dance and drumming, that still just gets me every time,” he says. The harmonics are amazing – the music resonates through your whole body.”Īs well as the famous opening, he describes ‘The Lioness Hunt’ and Nala chasing Pumbaa as being “magical” moments in the show from a percussion standpoint. These old theatres have been built with so much knowledge. “I’ve stood right at the top of the grand circle, and you can hear people whispering when they’re on stage. Manning adds that the acoustics of the historic Lyceum theatre, which was built in 1765, contribute to the impact of the sound. Everything is so intricately layered.” The Lion King in London still features 17 musicians, as it did at its first performance. We have 19 different flutes, for example. “As with the beading on the costumes, or the hand-printed silks, her attention to detail translated to the music. Ishmael says Taymor was fastidious about every aspect of the production. The show features a rich tapestry of songs and compositions, including from pop legend Elton John, film composers Hans Zimmer and Mark Mancina, record producer Jay Rifkin, and South African composer Lebo M, together with lyricist Tim Rice.įrom the iconic opening rendition of ‘The Circle of Life’, which begins with the solo, spine-tingling acapella voice of Rafiki, through new numbers such as ‘Shadowlands’ and ‘Endless Night’, to the orchestral sweep of the climactic battle, it creates a distinct, all-encompassing sound. The whole gamut is in there, and it just seems to work.” “But it still has this cohesion to it,” he continues. Although rooted in Africa it shows influences from the worlds of classical, pop, rock, gospel and many more different genres.Ĭlement Ishmael has been with the London production from the very beginning, and says he has always been astounded by the breadth of the score. The music of The Lion King is nothing if not eclectic. ![]() The music of The Lion King: "It still gets me every time"
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