By Marilyn Lester***As the Monty Pythons would say, “Now for something completely different.” The 2026-27 season of the New York Pops opened at the Carnegie Hall, Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage with an echo in the air of: “The name is Bond, James Bond.” 
And thus did charismatic Pops Music Director and Conductor Steven Reineke arrive with the orchestra for 007: James Bond Forever, the music of almost all of the 27 James Bond films. It also turns out the idea for this unique and golden program was guest artist, Lena Hall’s, who powered her way through the many vocals, firmly holding the stage with captivating charm, artistic prowess, choreographic energy and a begetter’s enthusiasm
As for Bond, code name 007, the ultra-suave agent for the British Secret Intelligence Service, created in 1953 by British novelist Ian Fleming, “he” was the star of 27 films, ranging from 1962’s Dr. No to 2021’s No Time to Die, portrayed by Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig. And each film had a
memorable theme song—some Oscar-winning ( “Skyfall,” “Spectre,” “No Time to Die”) and some Oscar-nominated (“Live and Let Die,” “Nobody Does It Better,” “For Your Eyes Only”)—sung by an impressive collection of divas from Shirley Bassey to Tina Turner to Gladys Knight to Adele; and divos and others such as Tom Jones, Paul McCartney and Duran Duran.
The opener was a powerful, instantly-recognizable instrumental, “James Bond Theme,” written by Monty Norman for Dr. No. A keen ear could deduce the musical attack to come: upping the impact of the percussion and brass into starring roles, while casting the mighty strings as support, leaning on original arrangements for each tune. The theme was followed by the Pops rendition of the first of the many John Barry-penned Bond tunes: the 007 theme written 
for From Russia with Love, demonstrating the importance of a leit motif, which imprinted a recognizable Bond identity in the canon. Both Reineke and Hall provided back stories to the tunes, each an equal partner at the mic with fascinating info about the history of the works and their place in movie history. An interesting observation was the cue to listen for the evolution of musical styles over almost six decades of Bond cinema—from the epic orchestral work of early John Barry through the pop stylings of Radiohead, Billie Eilish and Adele.
Tony Award winner Lena Hall (Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Kinky Boots), immediately revealed the amazing ability to deeply inhabit every song with an actor’s talent for assuming the role. She also often tapped into the vocal tone and style of the original singer without any sense of impersonation. Hall continued th
e From Russia with Love music with the vocal written by Lionel Bart and originally voiced by Matt Monro. Another divo performer, Tom Jones, originally sang “Thunderball,” famous for its powerful, sustained last high note, which Hall mightily achieved—and did not pass out from, as legend has it that Jones nearly did in the studio. Paul McCartney composed and sang “Live and Let Die,” and Marvin Hamlisch, with Carol Bayer Sager, were the writers of “The Spy Who Loved Me.” In this evolution, the former had a rock feeling and the latter, originating with singer Carly Simon, a balladic folksy slant. But closing out Act One, it was back to basic Barry with one of the most well-known and dramatic Bond tunes, “Diamonds Are Forever,” sung with the stunning impact of the originator, the dramatic power diva, Shirley Bassey, whom Hall deemed the greatest of all the Bond girl singers.
When Hall returned to the stage for Act Two, following the Pops rendition of the mellow “All Time High” 
from Octopussy, Barry now in symphonically folksy mode, she wowed with yet another costume change. It was Hall’s mission to create a Bondian fashion show, and that she did, adding texture to her performances, much to the delight of the audience. Stylistic differences in composing were more apparent in this part of the program, from the R&B-influenced vocals of Gladys Knight for “License to Kill” (Walden, Cohen, Afanasieff) to Tina Turner for “GoldenEye” (Bono, The Edge). Closing out the show was the Academy Award Best Song of 2012, “Skyfall,” written by Adele and Paul Epworth and sung by Adele. Hall’s rendition brought the audience to its feet.
But of course there was more: in the Pops tradition, there was a bonus encore. “Wait,” asked Hall coyly, “Did we forget one?” With the Pops at the top of their game, Hall blasted out a Shirley Bassey-worthy delivery of “Goldfinger” (Barry, Bricusse, Newley), once again bringing down the house. 007: James Bond Forever was a grand and auspicious start, portending yet another forward-looking Pops season.
Photos by Genevieve Rafter Keddy
