BY SYLVIE WOODS
Disney in Concert: Mary Poppins (world premiere)
Sydney Symphony Orchestra
14 September, Sydney Opera House
Following the success of such well-loved films as Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings and Star Wars in concert, the live soundtracking of Mary Poppins is the Sydney Symphony Orchestra’s latest postcard-perfect, child-friendly movie event.
Orchestrally soundtracking popular film titles in plush concert venues has proven itself a ticket-seller in these hard times for classical music, prompting orchestral and film companies to join forces globally. In London, Royal Albert Hall has sold tickets to soundtracked titles from Jurassic Park to The English Patient to Home Alone this year. The New York Philharmonic soundtracked Miloš Forman’s multi award-winning Amadeus five nights in a row. In Australia, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and Queensland Symphony Orchestra each screen and soundtrack the Harry Potter films.
And here, with the SSO, Finnish-American conductor Erik Ochsner hops enthusiastically onto the podium in a straw hat, bow tie, and with exuberant colours, before leading the orchestra into the musical’s glittering overture.
The atmosphere is comfortable, warm – cheerful. The premiere of Mary Poppins sees Maltesers barrelling down the hard floors, out-of-tune humming from concertgoers during the show, the unself-conscious crackling and crunching of snacks through laughter and cheering. The venue is truly transformed from its usual state of total decorum.
The special meaning the musical has to Australia became largely known following Disney’s Saving Mr. Banks film starring Emma Thompson. P. L. Travers (neé Helen Lyndon Goff) was raised in Queensland, but set sail for England aged 25. Two stomping grounds of P. L. Travers, Maryborough in Queensland and Bowral in New South Wales, have competed ferociously to ‘claim’ the writer, hosting festivals and events in her name.
With such widespread love of each of Travers’ characters, it is no surprise that the event is packed out with Poppins buffs. Head-bopping, foot-tapping, and knee-bouncing accompanies the entire film.
These hybrid orchestral-cinematic evenings are more than a thrilling opportunity to behave roguishly in an opulent concert venue: they are the Shangri-La of those who are indifferent classical music but wish to experience the opulence of a venue such as the Sydney Opera House.
In a 2016 interview by Stephen A. Russell in SBS, MSO associate conductor Benjamin Northey calls cinematic-orchestral performances a “bridge to more traditional composers”. While it is entirely possible that a Raiders of the Lost Ark die-hard might convert to Beethoven or Dvořák after seeing the film score performed by MSO, this is yet to be seen on a grand scale.
Us die-hard classical musos can only hope.
Images courtesy SSO. Credit: The Walt Disney Company.
