It’s been a while – but those Happy Hobbits are back, with new episodes for you to enjoy! …
Continue ReadingIt’s been a while – but those Happy Hobbits are back, with new episodes for you to enjoy!
First up: to prepare for a hike with Bard and a friend the following day, Kili bakes some adorable Hobbit sized pies! Find out why the berries are “fairy berries”, and see some beautiful sights amidst the redwoods… or is it Mirkwood?
Stay up to date by subscribing to Happy Hobbit on YouTube and by following them on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok!
As fans in the US no doubt already know, this summer Fathom Events are screening the Extended Editions of The Lord of the Rings movies! June 8, 9, 10, and then again June 22, 23, 24, Peter Jackson’s trilogy will be screened in AMC, Cinemark and Regal theatres across America.
If, like us, you never miss a chance to see these epic films on the big screen, then we have good news for you: we have 60 pairs of tickets to giveaway! That’s 20 pairs for each of the three movies, to be given away at random to lucky winners in the United States.
To be in with a chance to win, all you need to do is fill in the form below, letting us know which film (and date) you’d like, and your local participating theatre where you’d like to attend. Complete the form by 8pm EST May 15th, and we’ll be in touch if you’re a lucky winner!
The giveaway is now closed; thanks to all who entered! Winners chosen at random will be contacted soon.
It is with great sadness that we share the loss of Bernard Hill, who brilliantly embodied King Théoden of Rohan in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. He passed away today, May 5, 2024, at the age of 79. Hill’s portrayal of Théoden is etched in the memory of us all, expertly capturing the noble and transformative journey of the Rohan king, from despair to heroic resurgence.
His performance delivered lines that have resonated deeply within all of fandom. Potentially most memorably on the Battle of the Pelennor Fields…”Ride now, ride for ruin, and the world’s ending!” Bernard Hill holds a rather unique record in that he has starred in not one, but two films that grossed over $1 Billion and won 11 Academy Awards each.
While Hill also famously appeared as Captain Edward John Smith in Titanic, his legacy is particularly revered in our community for his role as Théoden, which brought to life a beloved literary character with profound respect and fidelity to the source material. Bernard Hill’s artistic contributions have left an indelible mark, ensuring his memory will live on through his significant impact on film and particularly within the Tolkien legendarium.
The staff at the OneRing.net extend our deepest condolences to Bernard Hill’s family, friends, and colleagues around the world. The cast of the LOTR films are known to be a close-knit family, so here are a few photos of those happy times.
We’re delighted to share an exclusive interview from fellow Tolkien fanatic Eirik Bull – a journalist from Norway. He recently sat down with our friend, Weta Workshop’s own Daniel Falconer.
In Eirik’s interview with Daniel they cover a lot of topics, looking at Daniel’s history in working in Tolkien’s amazing world, as seen in Sir Peter Jackson’s brilliant adaptations over 20 years ago. Eirik and our friends at Weta asked us to share this interview – and you can look forward to another interview coming soon, with Sir Richard Taylor. We all hope you enjoy this amazing look at Daniel Falconer’s journey in Middle-earth.
On March 18 this year we began Middle-earth March Madness 2024: Magical Moments. TORn staffers had been working behind the scenes to choose and then vote on a plethora of happenings from The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy, which could be considered magical events. We whittled that number down to 64, and created seeding based on the staffer votes, and back in March we opened the contest to YOUR votes.
Now, after six rounds and thousands of votes cast, we have a winner. Of all the moments when magical powers are used in Middle-earth, one has been chosen as the ‘most magical’. If you watched TORn Tuesday last night, you saw the winner revealed there. But if you’ve stayed ‘spoiler free’, we can now reveal the Middle-earth March Madness Champion for 2024 is…
Continue reading “Middle-earth March Madness 2024 – Revealing this year’s Champion”Our good friends at Volante Opera have been in touch with very exciting news! You may remember, in 2022 and 2023 we brought you news of their work with composer Paul Corfield Godfrey, to bring to life his operas of stories from The Silmarillion.
Godfrey had for many years been working on operatic excerpts from The Lord of the Rings – and during lockdown, he and the Volante Opera folks had even begun recording excerpts, ‘just in case’; but the Tolkien Estate had not granted permission for those works to be released.
There are thirty ‘chapters’, intended to be performed over six evenings. The text is (of course) abridged, but uses as closely as possible Tolkien’s own words; and fans can even look forward to an appearance by that most elusive of characters in adaptations, Tom Bombadil!
The fifteen CD set should be available in 2025. Meanwhile, you can enjoy Volante’s previous recordings of Godfrey’s Silmarillion settings, available to purchase on their website; and here’s a trailer, with aural ‘glimpses’ of what treats we have in store.
Here’s the official press release from Volante Opera:
For many years the Tolkien Estate has refused to allow any musical treatment of the works of the author which employed his own words. Now they have agreed to make a concession in respect of the music of Paul Corfield Godfrey, whose cycle of “epic scenes from The Silmarillion” was finally completed in 2023 with the issue of a ten-CD series of recordings from Volante Opera and Prima Facie Records.
Ever since the 1960s the composer has been working on sketches, fragments and episodes of what was envisaged as a cycle of musical works based upon The Lord of the Rings. Following on from the success of the recordings of The Silmarillion Paul was persuaded to go back to these beginnings and fully explore, expand and complete the work which has now evolved as “musical chapters from The Lord of the Rings”. This fully operatic setting has now become a companion work on the same scale as The Silmarillion. This adaptation takes place over thirty “chapters” designed to be performed over six evenings – over fifteen hours of music.
This work is currently in the process of recording by Volante Opera and it is anticipated that Prima Facie will release a demo recording of the complete cycle, in the same manner as their Silmarillion recordings, in 2025.
Cast
The professional singers, some thirty in number, come mainly from Welsh National Opera. Returning artists from The Silmarillion include: Simon Crosby Buttle as Frodo, Julian Boyce as Sam, Philip Lloyd-Evans as Gandalf, Stephen Wells as Aragorn, Michael Clifton-Thompson as Gollum, Helen Jarmany as Éowyn, Huw Llywelyn as Bilbo, Emma Mary Llewellyn as Arwen, Laurence Cole as Boromir/Denethor, Martin Lloyd as Treebeard/Herb Master, Helen Greenaway as Lobelia/Ioreth, Rosie Hay as Gwaihir, Sophie Yelland as the Barrow-wight, Louise Ratcliffe as Lindir, with George Newton-Fitzgerald and Jasey Hall taking on a plethora of roles. Angharad Morgan will also be reprising her role as Galadriel from The Silmarillion. Our new cast members and their characters will be introduced as the recording process continues.
Those who have enjoyed the composer’s large-scale setting of The Silmarillion will be pleased to discover that the music inhabits the same musical world as before, with many ideas and themes continued and expanded into The Lord of the Rings. The “musical chapters” also incorporate other works by the composer such as his earlier Tolkien songs (already available on CD) which now assume greater significance in the course of the whole structure.
Although the text is inevitably abridged, it adheres without any but the most minor alterations to the author’s original words, and the original plot development remains unchanged – including such elements as Tom Bombadil, the Barrow-wight and the ‘scouring of the Shire’. And some other passages, such as the coronation and wedding of Aragorn, are given expanded musical treatment.
Further tales from Tolkien in music
Also coming early 2025, a complete recording of Paul Corfield Godfrey’s solo piano works played by renowned British concert pianist Duncan Honeybourne. This will include, amongst other works, the epic piano rondo Akallabêth, a solo piano version of the Wedding March from The Fall of Gondolin, and a new work composed specifically for Duncan and this album – ‘The Passing of Arwen’.
For more information about the work please visit: www.paulcorfieldgodfrey.co.uk
For more information about the recording by Volante Opera Productions please visit: www.volanteopera.wales
Updates about the recording process will be posted to our social media feeds:
DISCORD: https://discord.gg/J6bQFHygr7
FACEBOOK: Volante Opera Productions, The Music of Paul Corfield Godfrey
INSTAGRAM/THREADS: @volanteopera
TWITTER/X: @OperaVolante, @TheCorfield
Recordings and scores of Epic Scenes from The Silmarillion and Akallabêth and other Tolkien Works are available from Volante Opera Productions’ website.
Check out Volante’s website for lots more information, including more details on casting/characters, chapter breakdown, and synopsis. So much to look forward to; we can’t wait to hear these pieces in full. Now we hope they may be brought to the stage one day… Meanwhile here’s Godfrey’s ‘Lament for Boromir’ – enjoy!
