Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets in Concert – Echo Arena, Liverpool

Reviewer: John Roberts

Having already won millions of fans through the books and the record-smashing film franchise the Harry Potter series and world’s just keep getting bigger and bigger, so it is no surprise that following the recent trend of live orchestral concerts of blockbuster movies that the wizarding world of Harry Potter shouldn’t follow suit.

Last year across the UK, The Philosopher’s Stone delighted audiences across many of the biggest arenas, this Christmas and into next year it’s time for The Chamber of Secrets to get the live concert treatment.

The premise is simple – in fact think of it as a giant Imax cinema, in an arena, however, instead of the music being part of the film, it’s played out live by a philharmonic orchestra in front of you – this really does add an amazing layer to the dynamic of watching a movie, John William’s lavish score sounds stunning when you can see and hear every timpani and string played.

However, it must be noted that at the showing at Liverpool’s Echo arena it’s rather Ironic that the arena lives up to its namesake, the sound quality of the actual film was tinny and the dialogue echoing throughout the arena. This makes watching the film rather difficult especially during the quieter moments of the film. The complete opposite can be said for the orchestra which sounds sublime throughout and if truth be told should be the real reason to see the concert version anyway.

It’s always a pleasure to revisit the film franchise and see Richard Harris’ last film again… he made the perfect Dumbledore and seeing the film with such a strong musical element makes it even better.

Reviewed on Friday 1^st December 2017