By Peter Maddern
The Adelaide Festival of Arts is noted for its one landmark musical event – last year Morricone, previously Mahler and the 1000 voice choir and so on – and this year it is an orchestration of the Stanley Kubrick classic – ‘2001 – A Space Odyssey.’
To be frank, one could not say there was all that much challenge involved in the music – iconic pieces from two Strausses (Johann and Richard) played over and over – and not that much of it for a three hour production, though other choral works probably presented all involved with more meat. But the show as a whole was much more substantial.
Being in a room with 2000 others with what seemed the full Adelaide Symphony and Adelaide Chamber Singers crammed onto the stage below the screen just seemed to add an appropriate claustrophobic effect that Kubrick’s spatial space settings tried to deny. The kaleidoscope as Dave plunges beyond Jupiter was not only spellbinding in such circumstances but a good indication that you don’t zillions spent on special effects to move an audience.
So, trying to rate this show provides a conundrum. As a musical concert, it was a bit ho-hum – 3Ks but as an event; those who were there or who get along tonight will find they will be remembering it long after the Festival circus has left town – somehow it was very compelling – on this score a 5K rating applies.
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