Last night I got to see the movie Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban screened at Abravanel Hall with the Utah Symphony playing the wonderful score by John Williams. I love the Films in Concert series but seeing this particular movie, which chronicles Harry's third year at Hogwarts, was especially fun. Many people in the crowd were in costume representing the four houses of Hogwarts and they cheered enthusiastically when every character was introduced or when anything dramatic happened. Having the score played live adds so much to the experience! Of course the instantly recognizable main theme is amazing but I also really enjoyed the music played when Harry takes the Knight bus to the Leaky Cauldron, when he rides Buckbeak the hippograff, when he plays Quidditch (the timpani and the chimes!), when he and Hermione are attacked by the Whomping Willow, when he summons a Patronus to save Sirius Black from the Dementers, and when he and Hermione rescue Sirius from the tower with Buckbeak. There is a lot of percussion in this score and it is much darker in tone than the music in the first two films. I loved watching the members of the orchestra playing their instruments while I watched the movie. It was also cool to have the Utah Opera Chorus perform "Double Trouble" which is sung by a student choir in the Great Hall at Hogwarts at the beginning of the term. I loved every minute of this movie and, if you are a fan of Harry Potter, I recommend getting a ticket to see it when it is screened again tonight (go here).
No comments:
Post a Comment