There’s something unreasonably moving about hearing the opening notes of ‘Hedwig’s Theme’ played by a full orchestra. The air changes. It’s not just nostalgia – though there’s plenty of that – but a kind of communal spell. On November 8 and 9 at Prince Mahidol Hall, the Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra will conjure that very magic with Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban in Concert, the third instalment of the live film concert series that pairs Hollywood fantasy with old-school musical precision.
This is not the first time Alcopop and Five Four Live have dabbled in sorcery. Their past ventures into the wizarding world saw robes, round glasses and the occasional stuffed owl sprinkled across concert halls. But Azkaban feels different. Tonally darker, more mature, less fixated on chocolate frogs. Sirius Black escapes. Dementors float ominously over the Hogwarts Express. A time-turner whirls. It’s the moment the Potterverse grows up.
Conductor Timothy Henty returns to lead the orchestra through John Williams’ shape-shifting score – arguably one of the franchise’s most playful and eerie. Expect fluttering woodwinds during Buckbeak’s flight and those jagged, breathless strings that accompany Harry’s late-night wanderings through the castle. All of it unfolds beneath a towering 40-foot screen, where Alfonso Cuarón’s fog-drenched cinematography plays out in high definition.
But what makes these events special – over the sheer technical coordination required to sync bow to broomstick – is the audience itself. People dress up. They mouth the lines. Some bring children; others bring their inner child. There’s a collective hush when the choir hums that ghostly ‘Double Trouble’.
So yes, you’ve seen the film. Probably more than once. But you haven’t ‘felt’ it like this. Not with a hundred musicians casting the spell live, not in a space where the magic isn't just on screen – it's in the air.
Tickets start at B1,200-4,000 via Eventpop right here.
Here’s the seating plan
