Being an avid fan of Louise Dearman, when I found out that she was performing with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall, I knew I had to book tickets. Not only did I want to see one of my favourite performers again, I also wanted to experience a show at this magnificent venue, as I never had before, and it did not disappoint. The orchestra started off with a strong performance of the Overture from The Magnificent Seven, a film I hadn’t seen so I didn’t know of the score, however that didn’t take away from the performance. As an amateur at this area of music, I can’t give you an in depth and technical review of the musicians' performances but, in my view, the conductor, Nick Davies, led the performers with ease and they all performed brilliantly.
Halfway through the first act, Louise came on and performed her first song, I Will Always Love You from The Bodyguard. She started a cappella and then continued, supported by the orchestra. As I expected, she completely blew me away and I don’t understand how someone 6 and a half months pregnant can sing like that (and, honestly, even not pregnant!). She closed the first act with another number, My Heart Will Go On from Titanic, which was equally as brilliant.
Throughout the second half the presenter, Tommy Pearson, read out audience tweets from the interval after asking for us to tweet with the hashtag #rpofilm in the first act. He was entertaining and matched the hilarity of many of the audience thoughts, although my favourite quip of his was in the first act, “Louise Dearman is 6 and a half months pregnant, but don’t worry, we’ve gone through health and safety checks before she performs Let It Go”.
The two major highlights of the show, for me, were Hedwig’s Theme (from Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone) and Louise singing Let It Go. I am a giant Harry Potter fan and the orchestra portrayed the theme beautifully. I have heard Louise sing Let It Go before, on the recording she released, but absolutely nothing compares to how breathtaking it was to hear her sing it live. In my opinion, it was far better than the recording! Other performances I feel are worth mentioning are Schindler’s List, Duncan Ridell (one of the violinists), had an amazing solo, and Andrew Vinter (the pianist) played beautifully during the Legends of the Fall theme.
Overall, this show was magnificent and I’m so glad I got to experience it; even if live orchestras are not, usually, personally my thing. If you are a fan, however, I highly recommended you look at attending next year’s shows; you will not be disappointed.
Halfway through the first act, Louise came on and performed her first song, I Will Always Love You from The Bodyguard. She started a cappella and then continued, supported by the orchestra. As I expected, she completely blew me away and I don’t understand how someone 6 and a half months pregnant can sing like that (and, honestly, even not pregnant!). She closed the first act with another number, My Heart Will Go On from Titanic, which was equally as brilliant.
Throughout the second half the presenter, Tommy Pearson, read out audience tweets from the interval after asking for us to tweet with the hashtag #rpofilm in the first act. He was entertaining and matched the hilarity of many of the audience thoughts, although my favourite quip of his was in the first act, “Louise Dearman is 6 and a half months pregnant, but don’t worry, we’ve gone through health and safety checks before she performs Let It Go”.
The two major highlights of the show, for me, were Hedwig’s Theme (from Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone) and Louise singing Let It Go. I am a giant Harry Potter fan and the orchestra portrayed the theme beautifully. I have heard Louise sing Let It Go before, on the recording she released, but absolutely nothing compares to how breathtaking it was to hear her sing it live. In my opinion, it was far better than the recording! Other performances I feel are worth mentioning are Schindler’s List, Duncan Ridell (one of the violinists), had an amazing solo, and Andrew Vinter (the pianist) played beautifully during the Legends of the Fall theme.
Overall, this show was magnificent and I’m so glad I got to experience it; even if live orchestras are not, usually, personally my thing. If you are a fan, however, I highly recommended you look at attending next year’s shows; you will not be disappointed.