Final Fantasy: Distant Worlds

Date and Venue 24 April @ 8pm | Orpheum Theatre

Conductor Arnie Roth Composer Nobuo Uematso UBC Opera Ensemble

Reviewer Ed Farolan

The Specials Series of VSO has interesting and well-timed concerts. This particular one, compositions based on video games, is the fourth special of this type, according to Alan Gove, VSO's Marketing Director.

What was interesting about this show were audience members dressed up as sci-fi personnages. There was an interviewer who was dressed up as Erik, the hero of Final Fantasy, interviewing some audience members before the show. Just a week before this show, there was a Vancouver Fan Convention where fans dressed up as sci-fi characters participated. So this concert was timely, well-planned, as an Epilogue to the Convention.

The multi-media presentation was well-organized: the UBC Opera Ensemble sang, the VSO played, and there were clips of the Final Fantasy video games from different episodes flashed on a screen in the backdrop as Arnie Roth cnducted the VSO and the UBC ensemble.

Multimedia seems to be the fad these days. Just a week before this, I saw Vancouver Bach Choir's multimedia presentation of "Phantom of the Opera" also in the Orpheum. The Wurlitzer organ was still there and was used in the second half of the Fantasy show, drawing wows and whistles from the sci-fi cult audience.

Kudos to the VSO for many of their interesting Specials Series. Another Special, "Dancing with the Stars: Ballroom with Twist" is coming to the Orpheum on May 8th, and that's something to look forward to.

© 2013 Ed Farolan