It’s official – big budget blockbusters are back. 2023 has been dominated by the cultural phenomenon of ‘Barbenheimer’ (the same-day release of the Barbie and Oppenheimer films, for those who don’t know), but don’t forget other recent heavy-hitters from the Mission Impossible, Top Gun, and Avatar universes. Yes, the big screen is back in a big way.
Sure, epic action sequences and all-pink sets are a big part of the appeal, but one of the other reasons these films have drawn audiences big enough to smash box office records is the original soundtracks. Whether we realise it or not, the songs and musical score that accompany a film leave a lasting impression on us long after we leave the cinema; whether it’s humming a catchy song, or reflecting on just how poignant a moment in the film was thanks to perfectly placed piano.
Movie soundtracks heighten emotion, make us groove along, and keep us on the edge of our seat. There’s nothing quite like some jarring strings in a moment of tension making your hair stand on end.
The West Australian Symphony Orchestra know this better than anyone, and are bringing this sensory experience to Perth audiences through their WASO at the Movies series. Taking place several times throughout the year at Riverside Theatre, iconic films play on a giant 40-foot screen, while the 80-piece orchestra perform the score in full, live on stage.
If you’re keen to see (and hear!) exactly what it’s like when a full symphony orchestra perform the soundtrack to a film LIVE, you’ve got one more chance this year when the orchestra complete their seven-year journey through the Harry Potter in Concert series with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 on December 1 and 2. This concert is a trip down memory lane for one WASO musician, violinist Samantha Wickramasinghe, who worked with the London Symphony Orchestra in 2010 and 2011, to record the original soundtrack for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Parts 1 and 2 at Abbey Road Studios in London.
“It was a brilliant experience to work with the legendary Alexandre Desplat who both composed the score and conducted the orchestra. It was a real novelty to get to see segments of the film in studio prior to public release. Abbey Road was a regular place of work for me for nearly 20 years, for multiple film and TV projects, but it never became old to walk those famous corridors and admire the pictures on the walls of all the great legends of music who had worked there in years gone by."
If Harry Potter isn’t your cup of tea, WASO are bringing some exciting movies to the stage in 2024, including Star Wars: The Force Awakens, James Bond’s Spectre and family-favourite Frozen – all box office blockbusters in their own right.
WASO perform Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 in Concert on Friday 1st & Saturday 2nd December 2023 at Riverside Theatre. Tickets via WASO or Ticketek.
All photos with thanks to Rebecca Mansell.