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WARNING: Potential geek-out alert!
Authentic Azkaban prison uniforms!
Looking to satisfy your deepest, guilt-free obsession with all things Harry Potter? Do you lay awake fantasizing about a stroll on the grounds of Hogwarts, a ride on a Hippogriff? Well ponder no longer, and hurry to the latest exhibition at the Museum of Science and Industry in Hyde Park.
Harry Potter the Exhibition, to be precise.
I was invited to attend the media preview yesterday and was absolutely floored by this amazing collection. It is an outdoor, temporary exhibit that features over 200 costumes and props from the movies.
Needless to say, I was in HP heaven.
The tent is air and humidity controlled, so as to protect those undeniable gems. The exhibit is set up like an interactive maze. Part haunted house/part mental adventure, I was utterly enthralled the entire time. I walk in and was immediately greeted by a man in robes, who asked me-most appropriately with a British accent-if I wanted to get the “full” experience. Please and thank you. I was then directed to a stool to be sorted by Sorting Hat. All the appropriate bells and whistles were employed: festive limerick, wild gesticulation of the arms. And then I was told I belonged in Gryffindor. (Yes, yes, yes!)
Next I was led to a dark room when approximately 12 TV’s displayed a brief synopsis of all the movies. A loud whistle was sounded at the end, and I was led by a full-scale Hogwarts Express train, where another man in robes urged me forward, claiming I was going to be late to the exhibit. Kitsch, and amazing!
The exhibit itself is divided up by themes and rooms. The first theme is portraits and, true to the books, some pictures are animated. For the fans, the much-loved Fat Lady painting is there.. in all her screaming glory.
The following areas include props and costumes pertaining to the different classes Harry takes, potion books, shoes, more TV’s depicting pertinent scenes. Continuing along, the room darkens and you will find yourself delightfully lost in the Forbidden Forest. A life-size (or what I would imagine to be life sized) Centaur, Hippogriff, and Acromantula spider are all gathered in what my mind recalls, as a room wrought with eerie sound effects and probably a fog machine.
Harry Potter overload. To anyone but me.
Take a look at some of the pictures I snagged at the event.
My selection of events to attend so far has been really classy. Attending a Cat circus, a lecture on the glow-in-the-dark bunny (no worries, I will fill you in later!) and a Spaghetti Wrestling Tournament…just to name a few. So I can imagine your shock to hear that last week, I attended the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at the Symphony Center downtown.
I have been dying to go to the Symphony and a ballet, so when I saw an add in Time Out that the CSO offers discount tickets to students at just $10 a pop, I had to jump on that boat! Tim and I looked over the event schedule (I was hoping for something Beethoven as he is my favourite composer, but it looks like I will have to wait until June 2 for that!) and decided that it would be really interesting to hear Stravinsky’s Pulcinella, a ballet that would be performed in its original version!
Student tickets are general admission, which means you will be sitting in the main hall (no nose bleeds here!). The seats. are. fantastic. Actually, there is not a bad seat in the house as far as I could tell.
Pierre Boulez took the stage to conduct the first piece, the 22-minute Sinfonietta by Janácek. The piece features 25 brass players and the score itself comprises two flutes, a piccolo, two oboes, a cor anglais, two clarinets, an E-flat clarinet, a bass clarinet, two bassoons, four horns, nine trumpets in C, three trumpets in F, two bass trumpets, four trombones, two tenor tubas a bass tuba, a timpani, cymbals, bells, a harp, strings and a partridge in a pair tree!
Whew!
An amazingly eery violin and clarinet display crowns the beginning, as you can hear here on this video (which is not the Chicago Symphony):
As the piece picks up it becomes more urgent and dark, incorporating every instrument and giving them time to shine. It really was quite powerful and I felt like I was in a Harry Potter movie.
A triumphant brass and timpani display makes its appearance toward the end, building the piece up like a tidal wave just to have the trumpets end on one powerful note, much like a national anthem. It was brilliant.
But the bread and butter of the night was, hands down, Frank Peter Zimmermann, the violinist who stole my heart and was awarded a roaring standing ovation after his performance in Szymanowski’s Violin Concerto No. 1.
Zimmermann swaggered onto the stage with his pet violin, cheekily biting his lower lip and lifting his eyebrows to the audience, daring us to look away. It was like he already knew he was going to steal the show but like a good flirt he teased us until we eventually yielded to him.
During the moments when he was not playing, Zimmermann was the picture of cool, calm and fatherly: Instead of fidgeting or looking awkward, he lovingly watched his orchestra counterparts, swaying along with their every note. His passion for the music was unrivaled and I found myself bobbing my head along with him.
His opening note came off sweet and sad and he swayed like a sapling in the buildup of a storm. This carried on for nearly four minutes until the piece picked up and he violently sawed at his violin making it scream. His violin was not the only thing on fire. Zimmermann himself seemed epileptic as he jerked from side to side as if the music coming out of him was being exorcised.
Just as quickly as the piece picked up, it calmed back down and the Jekyll of Zimmermann was again restored. He did not turn into Hyde until later in the piece, but like in the novella, the Hyde became stronger and Zimmermann was again a man possessed.
As a matter of fact he became so passionate and excited while playing, I half-expected him to Chuck Berry his way across the floor!
I only wish we were allowed to video tape but since I could not, here is a clip of Zimmermann playing at the BBC Proms:
