Alloy Orchestra performing 'Phantom of the Opera' at Cinefamily

By Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times Film Critic

April 24, 2013 12 AM PT

If you think piano or organ is the only choice for the musical accompaniment of silent films, you have a lot to learn — and the Alloy Orchestra is the group to teach you.

This standout ensemble, featuring masters of myriad musical styles and pioneers of alternative silent film music, is a regular at the Telluride Film Festival and the Motion Picture Academy.

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Now you can hear the orchestra perform in two separate Monday shows in the intimate confines of the Cinefamily Theater at 611 Fairfax Ave.

First up at 7:30 p.m. is one of the great classics of the silent horror world, the 1925 Lon Chaney-starring “The Phantom of the Opera.” It’s a story that’s been told many times, but this film’s shocking scene of the Phantom’s unmasking has never been matched for terror.

Screening at 10 p.m. is 1920’s much less-known “From Morn to Midnight,” said to be especially rich in German Expressionist imagery. Whatever’s on the screen, the Alloy Orchestra makes it even more alive.

For more information, info@cinefamily.org or (323) 655-2510.