'Total scam': Orchestra concert of 'bad cruise ship karaoke' sees crowd leave in droves

Monday, 15 May 2023

The Consumer Guarantees Act requires goods and services to be fit for purpose, durable and free from defects.

Concertgoers have been left furious after forking out $150 for tickets to an orchestral performance of Hollywood soundtracks, described as “bad cruise ship karaoke”.

The Music of Hans Zimmer & Others concert was advertised by promoters Star Entertainment Gmbh as “a breathtaking concert event with a symphonic orchestra, choir, star soloists, and selected film sequences - as well as illumination and laser projection”.

However, the show held at Wellington’s Opera House venue on Sunday afternoon proved to be anything but.

Chris Bliem attended the entire concert and said “in any reasonable expectation of an orchestra, it failed in every way”.

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Star Entertainment Gmbh promised the best music from Hans Zimmer composed film scores including James Bond, The Lion King, Gladiator, The Dark Knight, Inception, Interstellar and other widely-renowned films.

Before it had even started “the vibes were totally off”, with a 40-minute delay before attendees were let into the Opera House, he said.

No explanation was given regarding the delay, Bliem said.

After opening with a short piece of music, a presenter came on to stage and attempted to coerce an already aggravated audience into singing a karaoke version of Video Killed The Radio Star – to which no one obliged, he said.

“I couldn’t even realise how cringe it was because I was so gobsmacked, they tried repeatedly to get the crowd to sing along and not a single person was having it,” Bliem said.

Concertgoers quickly found the advertised light show was nowhere to be seen and much of the performance was prerecorded.

“We were promised lasers [and] footage accompanied from the movie”.

The Music of Hans Zimmer & Others and The Magical Music of Harry Potter concerts at the Wellington Opera House on Sunday have drawn widespread criticism from attendees.

The crowd received none, he said.

Bliem said there was roughly 20 musicians taking part in the orchestra, which was simply not enough to do a film soundtrack any justice.

He said the performance was interrupted by an intermission that lasted 40 minutes and nearly half of his section was empty once the concert restarted.

Bliem said he was seeking a refund for his $150 ticket.

Hans Zimmer is widely renowned for composing the soundtracks and scores of successful Hollywood movies such as Inception. (File photo)

Sophie Fyfe was taken to the concert as part of her Mother’s Day present, but she left after 30 minutes.

Fyfe said most of the orchestra weren’t playing their instruments.

The performance was often broken up by the presenter’s attempts at drawing the crowd into “bad cruise ship karaoke”, she said.

After walking out of the theatre, Fyfe called Ticketmaster asking for a refund.

“It’s a total scam … there’s a lot of people who need to be held responsible for this,” she said.

Consumer NZ communications and campaigns manager Jessica Walker said the concert appeared to be in breach of consumer protection laws and ticket holders were likely entitled to a refund.

“Based on what we’ve heard about the concert, we think both the Consumer Guarantees Act and Fair Trading Act have been breached.

The Consumer Guarantees Act requires service providers to use reasonable care and skill when performing services, including a concert.

“In this case, we don’t think this standard has been met,” she said.

“We think the Fair Trading Act has been breached because the concert didn’t deliver what was advertised. Given this, consumers are entitled to seek a refund.

“If the ticket seller refuses to provide a refund, consumers can make a claim at the Disputes Tribunal.”

Ticketmaster was unable to be reached for comment.

Star Entertainment Gmbh has been approached for comment.

The promoters are set to host The Lord of the Rings & The Hobbit – The Concert at the Opera House on Monday night.

Star Entertainment Gmbh’s concerts have drawn criticism from The Lord of the Rings’ soundtrack composer Howard Shore, who released a statement on his website condemning the concerts as substandard.

“There is a current lawsuit in process to have the concerts stopped. The music that is being played is assembled from unauthorised bootleg arrangements and not at the standard of quality insisted upon by Howard Shore,” Shore’s website read.

Wellington NZ has been approached for comment as the operator of The Opera House venue.

Are you going to “The Lord of the Rings & The Hobbit – The Concert” on Monday night? Let us know how it went at newsroom@stuff.co.nz