A classical music concert with a difference, Concerto a Tempo D’Umore by The Orqestra De Cambra De L’Amporda serve up some classical favourites with a dose of humour.
Slapstick humour is interspersed with some notable orchestral playing and whilst it starts slowly, it finally rises to a worthwhile crescendo at the end with the injection of some movie soundtracks and audience participation, some of whom are invited onto the stage to mime out playing as the musicians actually do the hard work, hidden from view. The audience member, plucked from the audience, did a worthwhile job of conducting the orchestra, in the absence of the conductor, highlighting the intricacies of such a task.
At the start, twelve talented musicians of diverse ages, playing violins, violas, cellos and a double bass, directed by a conductor, play out some well-known classics including a mash up of Ava Maria by Schubert (1825) and Ave Maria by Bach/Gounod with the orchestra preferring the former and the conductor vying for the latter. The staging doesn’t work as the projection of titles are not completely legible on the backdrop, but it’s an interesting observation on the similarities of two familiar pieces of music.
The most engaging part of the performance is the rendition of well-known movie soundtracks from Casablanca and The Wizard of Oz to Stars Wars and Jaws. Whilst the projection of the films’ promotional posters is once again not always legible, we get the gist. However the pieces are really brought to life by the miming and acting out from some of the musicians, with the parodies of Kato in The Pink Panther and Jurassic Park dinosaurs receiving the loudest laughs.
A family-friendly show, Concerto a Tempo D’Umore blows the cobwebs off classical music. Even if you’re not a fan, their ability to build humour around some familiar classical scores will leave you with a smile on your face.