Arts and culture in Ōtautahi Christchurch
Erin Harrington reviews CSO & Rova Present: The Music of Hans Zimmer, conducted by Benjamin Northey, at the Douglas Lilburn Auditorium, the Christchurch Town Hall, Friday 14 August 2026. Hans Zimmer is perhaps the most distinctive, inventive and celebrated film composer of the last few decades. His work combines intellectual rigour, emotional depth and creative… Continue reading Review: The Music of Hans Zimmer – orchestral power meets cinematic immediacy (with dad jokes thrown in for free)
Pieta Hextall reviews Lawrence Arabia and CSO, conducted by Sarah-Grace Williams, orchestrated by Alex van den Broek, at the Douglas Lilburn Auditorium, Christchurch Town Hall, Saturday 8 August 2026. As a devotee of both classical orchestras and indie music, Saturday’s performance by the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra (CSO) alongside Lawrence Arabia offered a perfect fusion of… Continue reading Review: Lawrence Arabia and CSO – a perfect fusion of indie and orchestral worlds
Nick Harte reviews de Castro-Robinson, Mahler, Berlioz, presented by the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Benjamin Northey, at the Douglas Lilburn Auditorium in the Christchurch Town Hall, Saturday 1 August 2026. Eve de Castro-Robinson’s Hour of Lead (2024) takes its namesake from the Emily Dickinson poem which reads: After great pain, a formal feeling comes… Continue reading Review: de Castro-Robinson, Mahler, Berlioz – a triptych of works circling heartbreak, grief and the macabre
Erin Harrington reviews Kiri and Lou in Concert, presented by the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Vincent Hardaker, at the James Hay Theatre at the Christchurch Town Hall, Thursday 9 July, 2026. If you spend time around young children, chances are you already have stopmotion animated children’s show Kiri and Lou in your life. If… Continue reading Review: Kiri and Lou in Concert – It’s cool to be kind
Nick Harte reviews Ravel, Morello, Mozart, presented by the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra as part of the Lamb & Hayward Curator's Series, featuring Maurince Ravel's Le tombeau de Couperin, Nicola Morello's Bass Trombone Concerto No. 1 and W A Mozart's Symphony No. 29, conducted by Leonard Weiss, featuring Pablo Ruiz Henao on Bass Trombone, at the… Continue reading Review: Ravel, Morello, Mozart – an infectiously upbeat performance
Erin Harrington reviews The Monster in the Maze, music by Jonathan Dove, libretto by Alasdair Middleton, directed by Anapela Polata'ivao ONZM, conducted by Brad Cohen, presented by NZ Opera, at the Isaac Theatre Royal, Friday 5 September 2025. It’s an impressive feat to make the wide, deep stage at the Issac Theatre Royal feel claustrophobic.… Continue reading Review: The Monster in the Maze – a stylish contemporary opera that pairs community with pros
Steph Walker reviews Gioachino Rossini's Le comte Ory, presented by NZ Opera with the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, directed by Simon Philips and conducted by Brad Cohen, at the Isaac Theatre Royal, Thursday 27 June, 2024. Rossini’s Le comte Ory. As an arts lover but opera casual I wasn’t super familiar with it, but Rossini’s famous… Continue reading Review: Le Comte Ory – a joyful, very funny localisation that scores big
Erin Harrington reviews E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial in Concert, performed by the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Benjamin Northey, at the Douglas Lilburn Auditorium, the Christchurch Town Hall, 24 February 2024. Few films define the 1980s more than Steven Spielberg’s E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982), which centres on the relationship between 10-year-old Elliot (Henry Thomas) and a… Continue reading Review: E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial in Concert – a transformative ride
Chris Archer reviews Noteworthy: Celebrating 150 Years of University of Canterbury, presented by the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra in conjunction with UC, conducted by Mark Menzies, MCed by Oscar Days and Alexandra Watson, Saturday 26 August 2023 at the Christchurch Town Hall. This concert, described by one of the UC student MCs as a ‘concert featuring… Continue reading Review: Noteworthy – 150 Years of UC – a celebratory smorgasbord of music
Erin Harrington reviews the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra's concert Matariki Around the World, led by creative director Juanita Hepi and conductor Nathaniel Griffiths, at the James Hay Auditorium, Wednesday 5 July 2023. There is something very moving about the way that Matariki is being enthusiastically embraced on a national scale as something unique to this place,… Continue reading Review: Matariki Around the World – musicial storytelling about the things that connect us
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