I went to the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony’s performance of “Superheroes!” I didn’t know what the exact lineup would be but I expected it to contain many familiar pieces.<\/p>\n
The selection of pieces was a bit more eclectic than I expected, but it included some less familiar pieces that I’m glad I got a chance to hear.<\/p>\n
Of the familiar pieces the highlights were The Dark Knight<\/strong>, The Avengers<\/strong>, and Captain America<\/strong>. Of the unfamiliar pieces the highlights were Supergirl<\/strong> and Pete Anthony’s “Conduktor’s Theme.” It was also nice to hear the music from X-Men: The Last Stand<\/strong>, Iron Man 2<\/strong>, Thor<\/strong>, and Fantastic Four: Silver Surfer<\/strong>.<\/p>\n They also played “The Imperial March” (The Empire Strikes Back<\/strong>), my all-time favourite piece of movie music (it was included as the best supervillain music). It was certainly fine, but I felt it needed a bit more oomph.<\/p>\n One composer who was notably missing from the program was Danny Elfman (Batman<\/strong>, Spider-Man<\/strong>).<\/p>\n The definition of superhero was expanded a bit to include Wagner’s “Ride of the Valkyries” and the first movement from Edouard Lalo’s “Symphonie Espagnole.”<\/p>\n There were lots of kids in the audience, and they used a bit of silliness to introduce them to opera. They played Verdi’s “Sempre liberia” and “La donna e mobile” and Rossini’s “Largo al factotum.” You might not know the titles but the tunes might be familiar.<\/p>\n I wasn’t much interested in the silliness, but the music was terrific and I was very happy I attended. The audience was sparse but appreciative.<\/p>\n They played John Williams’ theme from Superman<\/strong> as an encore, as I expected. That was a great way to end the concert — you were guaranteed to hum that theme on the way home.<\/p>\n Guest artists included soprano Rachel Krehm, tenor Adrian Kramer, and 16-year-old Ana Lavinia Vlad on violin.<\/p>\n The orchestra was conducted by John Morris Russell. He was a bit silly at times but he’s definitely a great conductor. He’s the conductor of the Cincinnati Pops, among other things.<\/p>\n The orchestra has several people in it I recognize from seeing them many times. Of course, there is some turnover but the program highlighted two players who have been with the orchestra for 40 years.<\/p>\n