WINNIPEG, MB – The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra (WSO) plays the soundtrack alongside Charles Chaplin’s masterpiece in City Lights Live, Feb 16-18 at the Centennial Concert Hall.

Step into 1931 with the hilarious pantomime of a man who valiantly tries to restore the sight of a beautiful blind woman, accompanied by a live WSO performance of the film’s score.

The score was originally mapped out by Chaplin, before hiring musicians to bring it to life. Chaplin was obsessed with every detail of the film’s creation from the soundtrack, to the casting – and it showed. Appearing after the dawn of talking films, City Lights hit the silver screen like poetry in motion picture and it is widely hailed as Chaplin’s masterpiece.

Chaplin was accompanied by his friend Albert Einstein to the opening of City Lights in 1931. In his autobiography, Chaplin said the film brought out Einstein’s sentimental side. “During the final scene, I noticed Einstein wiping his eyes.”

Conductor Julian Pellicano is no stranger to matching live music to film. Having conducted the WSO in film presentations like Metropolis and Home Alone, audiences can experience the cinematic glory of City Lights as it once was.

Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra

Photo provided with press release