From Wagner to the Big Screen: How Epic Storytelling Connects Classical Music and Modern Cinema

By Lark Music

The BSO conducted by Mark Wigglesworth and Jess Gillam perform Wagner: Forbidden Love Overture, Dani Howard: Saxophone Concerto (ft. Jess Gillam: saxophone) and Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique at Bristol Beacon on Thursday 6 Nov. 2025 Photo Mark Allan

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At Lark Music, we believe music should be accessible to everyone, wherever they are. That’s why we’re proud to be the first sponsor of Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra’s (BSO) Digital Concert Series, a unique programme of live-streamed concerts that brings exceptional orchestral performances to audiences far beyond the concert hall.

The series was viewed more than 19,500 times last year and for the 2026/27 season, broadcasters including Tom Service and Sarah Walker will once again guide audiences from around the world through the programme, with Lark Music supporting all 18 live broadcasts.

The first live-streamed concert, Adventurous Journeys, takes place on the 30th September 2026. This brings together Beethoven’s First Symphony and a curated orchestral journey through Wagner’s Ring Cycle. It includes some of the most recognisable moments such as Ride of the Valkyries, Forest Murmurs and Siegfried’s Rhine Journey.

This quickly caught our attention, because at first glance, classical music and modern blockbuster cinema feel like very different worlds. One lives in concert halls and long-standing tradition. The other is built on action, visuals and global streaming audiences. Look a bit closer though, and there is a connection. It starts with Richard Wagner.

Artistic scale, drama and ambition

Wagner’s Ring Cycle is one of the most ambitious things ever written for the stage. Across four operas and more than 15 hours of music, it tells a story of power, fate, love and destruction. But what really makes it stand out is how it tells that story. Wagner was not just composing music. He was building a world.

A big part of that is his use of leitmotifs. These are recurring musical ideas linked to characters, objects or emotions. You hear them, often without thinking about it, and they guide you through the story. It is something we now take for granted, especially in film.

You can hear it in Star Wars. You can hear it throughout modern cinema soundtracks. The Ring Cycle‘s themes help explain why it continues to inspire modern storytellers, not just through its music but through its storytelling as well. Zack Snyder’s Army of Thieves is one example. The film’s four legendary vaults take their names from the operas that make up the cycle, culminating in the Götterdämmerung safe. Wagner’s monumental music even features as the vaults are opened, creating a clear link between nineteenth-century opera and modern cinematic storytelling. It’s a reminder that great stories can resonate across generations, long after they were first told.

The Ring Cycle helps explain why Wagner continues to inspire modern storytellers, not just through his music but through the way he used it to tell a story.

The Adventurous Journeys concert, whether you attend in person or watch the livestream, is a chance to experience those influences firsthand through one of the most ambitious works ever written for the stage.

Photograph by Mark Allan

Chief Conductor Mark Wigglesworth conducts a concert programme featuring Wagner, Ravel (Nicholas McCarthy: pianist) and Walton in the Lighthouse Poole on Wednesday 20 Nov. 2024.

Photograph by Mark Allan

Lark Music and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra: A different kind of ensemble

Great performances depend on collaboration. There are no vaults to break into and no zombies to outrun, but there is still a team bringing this together. While blockbuster films rely on large creative teams behind the scenes, orchestral performances bring together musicians, production specialists and digital technology to create a shared experience for audiences everywhere.

As one of the UK’s most respected orchestras, the BSO shares our belief that music should be accessible, inclusive and available to everyone. Through our partnership with the BSO, we’re helping more people engage with music through our sponsorship of the Digital Concert Series, supporting inclusive orchestral projects such as Symphony from Scratch, and celebrating grassroots talent through the BSO’s Music-Making Competition.

Because whether it is opera or film, strong storytelling sticks. And it always starts with sound.

To find out more about Lark Music and Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra’s partnership, and how working together supports accessible music making by visiting www.larkmusic.com/bso

To book your live stream and enjoy this concert – click here www.bsolive.com/events/adventurous-journeys/

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