A loved activity of mine is experiencing one of my favourite films with a live orchestra in a concert hall.

Even though I’ve seen these films many times, either in the theatre or at home, and listened to their soundtracks countless times too, I am still willing to pay extra money to revisit them with a live orchestra.

I am not alone. These events regularly sell out. Most people around me in the concert hall are also fans of the film in some way, either dressed up, applauding at every classic scene, echoing every line of dialogue they love, or humming along.

We are no longer spectators to a screen; we are an audience to a performance.

Gene Kelly in Singin’ in the Rain. Photo supplied

The orchestra as spectacle

This year I took my partner to see Singin’ in the Rain (1952) live in concert at the Sydney Opera House. She hadn’t seen the film before and (thankfully!) loved it, but she confessed she hardly looked at the orchestra performing the score during the film. This fascinated me. Why didn’t we just see the film at home, then?

Experiencing film in a concert...