'Gladiator' and 'Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban' to screen with live orchestra at Dubai Opera

The Armenian State Symphony will accompany the September screenings

Harry Potter and the Philsopher's Stone screened at Dubai Opera in December 2017. Courtesy Twelve Photographic Services

Dubai Opera is set to further its growing relationship with the world of movies with live orchestra-accompanied performances of two classics – Ridley Scott's historical epic Gladiator and the fantastical J K Rowling adaptation Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

The films will be shown on the Opera's big screen, with the scores – by John Williams in the case of Potter and Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerard, formerly of ethereal goth classicists Dead Can Dance, on Gladiator – performed live by the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra, who will be conducted by Justin Freer, formerly of the New York Philharmonic and San Diego Symphony Orchestras.

This isn't the first time Dubai Opera has dabbled in cinema, or in the world of Harry Potter. Both Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone have previously screened at the venue, while last month the opera took to hosting regional premieres, with advance screenings of X-Men: Dark Phoenix and Rocketman, the latter also accompanied by an orchestral performance prior to the film.

Gladiator will screen on September 18 and 19 at 8pm, followed by Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban on September 20 and 21.

The screenings add to a packed schedule over the late summer and autumn at Dubai Opera, with visits from hit musical The Phantom of the Opera, The New English Shakespeare Company performing Much Ado About Nothing and London-based Beatles fetishists The Bootleg Beatles, who have incongruously shared a stage with the likes of David Bowie and Iggy Pop, and even performed a 60-date tour of the Soviet Union prior to its collapse, among the highlights.

Tickets for both films start from Dhs175 and are available at dubaiopera.com. If you purchase before July 14, you can avail their early bird offer, with 20 per cent off VIP and Platinum tickets.