5 stars
Friday night, Sydney Darling Harbour was alive with a good humoured crowd. The Opera Bar was packed, On the Steps “Synthony” held a good sized audience on the steps of the Opera House enjoying their outdoor concert. Australian Ballet performed The Sleeping Beauty in the Joan Sutherland Theatre whilst the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall attracted a mostly young crowd to the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. This was no classical “serious” concert but, instead, a celebration of Marvel’s Infinity Saga from Disney Studios.
The marketing team added to the event with roving characters available for photos plus Marvel themed food such as stars and stripes donuts and boxes of popcorn in the foyer. Although the invitation encouraged cosplay, most of the audience only stretched as far as a t-shirt of their favourite hero. It made little difference to the event anyway as all attention was on the stage.
Inside the Concert Hall, a big screen was set above the more than 80 piece orchestra. We were treated to an expertly curated and arranged orchestral medley of music from the 23 Marvel Infinity Saga movies. The movie screen played highlights from the movies, packing the stories down in a nutshell.
At the beginning of the concert, conductor Benjamin Northey immediately put the audience at ease with a few jokes and permission to “be yourselves”, encouraging booing the baddies and cheering for the heroes. It was interesting to see there was no booing at all. Instead, the cheers for Marvel favourites such as Captain America, Ironman and Thor raised the roof.
Other Infinity characters included the Hulk, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Doctor Strange, Loki, Spider-Man (another who attracted great cheering), Black Panther, Ant-Man and the Wasp; Vision and the Scarlet Witch.
The music arrangement featured scores from movie composers Alan Silvestri, Christophe Beck, Danny Elfman, Henry Jackman, Lorne Balfe, Ludwig Göransson, Mark Mothersbaugh, Michael Giacchino, Patrick Doyle, Pinar Toprak, Ramin Djawadi and Tyler Bates.
We are well familiar with loud music accompanying the most intense action scenes of these movies but there is no cinema sound system that can compare with a live orchestra. It’s such a great experience for those who are not regular concert attendees to see how the musical parts are put together and what individual instruments sound like. At times, the action overtook the music in a seamless approach. Other times, we were reminded of the absolute thrill of the live orchestra that holds no comparison.
Fans gave a standing ovation to close the concert with several curtain calls for Northey and the orchestra. The very appreciative audience left orchestra players grinning from ear to ear.
It’s a difficult time of year to fill the house with so many competing events. Let’s hope Sydney Symphony Orchestra make a repeat of this Infinity Saga concert at a different time of year. This type of concert is the most perfect introduction to live orchestra concerts for young adults who are the audience of the future.
Final concert for the Infinity Saga with the orchestra is Sunday 7 December 2025.
Mark in your calendar these upcoming concerts that may suit younger family members:
- “Disco Never Dies” 22 January 2026 at the Hordern Pavilion
- “Art of the Score: Music of John Williams II” 7 February 2026 at ICC Sydney Theatre
- “How to Train Your Dragon 2” the full film at Sydney Opera House Concert Hall in June 2026 and
- “Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back” full film at the Opera House in October 2026.
More details at Sydney Symphony website: https://www.sydneysymphony.com/#
Marvel Infinity Saga movie synopses: https://www.themoviedb.org/list/138460-the-infinity-saga
