PRINCESS BRIDE IN CONCERT and PACO PEÑA Announced for Adelaide Guitar Festival 2024

Adelaide Festival Centre has announced that The Princess Bride in Concert and legendary flamenco guitarist, Paco Peña's Requiem for the Earth will be two highlights at this year's Adelaide Guitar Festival with tickets on sale from Monday 8 April.

The Princess Bride in Concert comes to Festival Theatre, accompanied by a full orchestra with Slava Grigoryan on the guitar presented by Adelaide Festival Centre's Adelaide Guitar Festival on Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 September 2024. 

Performed live to film, the adapted score for orchestra written by guitar legend, Mark Knopfler will have the audience experience the cult classic film like never before. 

Wowing audiences around the world and coming to Adelaide for the very first time, The Princess Bride in Concert is set to delight both old and new fans of Rob Reiner's timeless classic hit film which has thrilled audiences for more than 35 years.

The Princess Bride film follows a farmhand named Westley who must rescue his true love, Princess Buttercup from the evil Prince Humperdinck, making new friends and a few enemies along the way.  With an all-star cast including Robin Wright, Cary Elwes, Billy Crystal, Mandy Patinkin, Christopher Guest and Andre the Giant. 

The Princess Bride features the perfect blend of adventure, romance, action, and comedy, coupled with the power of a full orchestra, Slava Grigoryan on guitar under the roof of the majestic Festival Theatre with the entire musical score live-to-picture making for an unforgettable concert experience.   

The Honourable Andrea Michaels MP, Minister for Arts: “The Princess Bride is an iconic and beloved film and it is fantastic to have The Princess Bride In Concert here in Adelaide featuring incredible local musicians as part of the Adelaide Guitar Festival.”

Adelaide audiences of all ages will fall in love with The Princess Bride for the first time or experience their favourite quotable film again in a whole new way.  Get set to impress friends and strangers as you quote Inigo Montoya's iconic revenge speech (IYKYK) visit the Cliffs of Insanity, have fun storming the castle and enjoy the romance of “Mawwige”. 

All princesses, pirates, sword fighters, giants, princes, grandpas, Miracle Max's, six-fingered men, and shrieking eels are welcome to walk the Festival Theatre red carpet for this special concert event.

It would be inconceivable to miss The Princess Bride in Concert.

Adelaide Guitar Festival Artistic Director Slava Grigoryan: “I have loved The Princess Bride since I was a child and of course Mark Knopfler has always been a big hero of mine. To be able to join an orchestra in recreating the soundtrack live is an absolute pleasure.”      

One of the most revered names in flamenco guitar, Paco Peña returns to Adelaide for one spectacular night at Her Majesty's Theatre to perform a monumental musical odyssey with Requiem for the Earth, celebrating our planet while warning of its peril. The legendary Paco Peña will deliver a mesmerising performance, magically weaving joy with sorrow while reflecting on humanity's impact on nature. The performance intricately merges a traditional Requiem with the vibrant energy of flamenco.

The large-scale musical work will feature world-class musicians from Spain and Adelaide's own Rising Voices and Young Adelaide Voices choirs prepared by Christie Anderson, Jonathan Bligh and conducted by Carl Crossin in what promises to be an unmatched auditory experience culminating in a joyous finale steeped in hope.

Paco Peña, who divides his time between London and his native Córdoba, has expanded flamenco's horizons to audiences as guitarist, composer, teacher and creator of musical theatre. It is from the ground beneath us that flamenco draws its energy and its character with the music having been described by scholar and poet, Ricardo Molina as being rooted in Andalucia, like a tree that draws its sustenance from the history of the region's soil.

Adelaide Guitar Festival Artistic Director Slava Grigoryan: “I am thrilled to welcome Paco Peña back to Adelaide Festival Centre after he last performed here 13 years ago to bring this important work to the 2024 Adelaide Guitar Festival. Flamenco guitar performance is a pivotal part of the festival, and you won't find a better master of the instrument than Paco Peña.”

Requiem for the Earth was first performed in 2004 and again in 2021 with its message timelier now than ever. Performances in 2021 garnered exceptional reviews with BBC Arts Review describing it as:

‘It was mesmerising – spectacular and sensational performance.' ‘Different worlds, different languages and different music styles, working seamlessly as one… The standing ovation proved it doesn't get much better than this.' BBC Arts Review

Adelaide Festival Centre Artistic Director & CEO Douglas Gautier: “Adelaide Guitar Festival presents offerings for all ages and fans of the guitar in its many forms. The legendary Paco Peña performing at Her Majesty's Theatre will no doubt be a highlight of this year's festival.

“The Princess Bride movie has delighted audiences around the world for over three decades and is certain to be enjoyed by audiences of all ages, thrilling both devotees of the original film and cultivating a new generation of fans.”

The Princess Bride in Concert and Paco Peña– Requiem for the Earth make up only part of an exciting, yet to be announced, full program for the 2024 Adelaide Guitar Festival, don't fret the whole program will be revealed soon.

Paco Peña – Requiem for the Earth

Her Majesty's Theatre

Thursday 12 September  

The Princess Bride in Concert

Festival Theatre

Saturday 28 September and Sunday 29 September

Tickets on sale Monday 8 April at 12pm at the button below.

Adelaide Guitar Festival 12 – 29 September 2024

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