The Phantom of the Opera is here!

 I felt very privileged a couple of weeks ago to be invited to take photos at a dress rehearsal of the South West Opera Company's  production of Phantom of the Opera, at the Bunbury Entertainment Centre.

The production was amazing and very professionally performed and produced. I have seen The Phantom twice before performed by a professional cast, and I believe that the South West Opera Company's production by predominantly amateur performers, was equal to any I had seen before. I cannot praise it enough. I was in the audience the closing night, but I loved the experience of taking these photos and seeing a little of behind the scenes and having a sneak peak preview of the show. 

I've not done a lot of this type of photography before, so it was a great opportunity.  For those interested in knowing technical details - I didn't use a tripod and I couldn't use a flash, so I used an ISO of 1600 (to increase the camera's sensitivity to light), and an aperture - F stop - of around F5 (to increase the size of the lens opening and hence let in more light). All images taken in RAW and processed in Lightroom where you can smooth out "noise".  It was difficult to get sharp images when the dancers were moving, but easier with the solo singing parts. In all it was a fabulous experience for me.

My sincere thanks go to the South West Opera Company for the opportunity. 
Director - Andy King, Musical Director - Marguerite Monagle,  Design and Costumes - Deb Prentice, Assistant Director/Choreography - Mary-Ellen Sutherland.

Act 1 - 1901 - the auction in the Paris Opera House. 

Act 1 - We are taken back to 1861 -  When The Paris Opera was it its height -  rehearsal for a production of Hannibal.  You can see my Spanish Flamenco teacher, Nicole Kostezky, on point in the centre of the second photo.

 Christine (Nerida Mangano) and Raoul (Ashley Hastie) 

 One of the ballet scenes - Zara Beattle and Josh Donovan

Another of our Sol-y-Sombra Spanish Flamenco principle dancers Susanna Maratea as Madame Giry

The wonderful team of Firmin (Nathan Gardiner) and Andre (Rob Hill) - the new managers of the Paris Opera

 Carlotto (Jeanean Halket) with Andre and Firmin while Madame Giry and Meg (Breanna Cooke) look on

 Andre, Raoul, Firmin, Carlotta and Piangi (Mitch James) read a "note" from The Phantom.

The Phantom (Rob Littlewood) and Christine (Nerida Mangano)

Act 2 - The grand Masquerade Ball

The Phantom suddenly appears at the Masquerade and delivers the score of a new opera that he has written

Christine and the orchestra, conducted by Marguerite Monagle.

 In the final scene, Meg (Breanna Cooke) finds The Phantom's mask.

 Thank you so much for stopping by. I hope you have enjoyed these few photos from Phantom of the Opera. Do you enjoy live stage productions? 
I value your comments and look forward to hearing from you. I will try to visit your blogs in return. Have a wonderful week.  

You might also like - 
 Spanish Flamenco dancing with Sol y Sombra
Ole - Celebration of 25 years of Spanish dance 
South West Multicultural Festival 
Celebrating Diwali Festival of Light 

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Life in Reflection

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From paddock to city

The last week or so has been very busy, and this is supposed to be retirement! (smiles) What they say about retirement is correct - you will wonder how you ever had time to work... how true....
From country paddock to city there has been a lot happening to visit and be involved in.

On Friday 11 March we travelled inland (east) into the wheatbelt to the Wagin Woolorama country show. My question is - "how high can you dog jump"? This was the highest jump on Friday - 1.93 metres. The finals were on Saturday, I must look-up and see what the highest jump was.  They keep moving up the boards so the dogs have to jump higher and higher. Some took the easy option and ran around to jump up the side of the ute. They are not silly!

It might be called the Woolorama, but it about more than just sheep. There is something for everyone.
Over 350 commercial exhibitors; over 1000 sheep, cattle, horses and poultry in competition; working sheep dogs; hourly fashion parades; art, photography and crafts in competition; education options; side shows; free entertainment; lifestyle displays; woolhandling and shearing competitions; markets; current and future rural industry products and services; travel products; smoke free environment; indoor and outdoor displays; 20,000 visitors; massive local community effort; family friendly;

Phew! This is a great country show, worth a look at if you are around in March. But it can be very hot, so make sure you bring a hat, sunscreen, and water. 
Please click here for more info on the Woolorama - Wagin Woolorama

Also the Wagin's Historical Village was open for visitors to take a fascinating step back in time. More on that in a later post.  We hadn't visited the village before, and we thoroughly enjoyed reminiscing as we strolled around the houses and shops.  Located in Kitchener Street Wagin, the village is open 7 days a week from 10am to 4pm, and is worth a look if you are passing through Wagin. Please click here for further information - Wagin Historical Village

The previous weekend I went with my eldest son and his two boys to the Busselton Aerofest Air Show organised by the Busselton Aero Club.

There were planes on display from a 1931 Tiger Moth to rescue helicopters and water bombers, to the latest jet fighters, aeronautics and aerobatics handling displays, and a fabulous display of vintage cars.  Please click here for more info about the show - Aerofest 2016

I also attended an International Women's Day morning tea put on by the South West Women's Health and Information Centre, met some lovely ladies, listened to some inspiring women and joined in the singing with Parkinsong (a singing group for those inflicted with Parkinson's Disease). 
If you missed my previous blog post about my take on International Women's Day you can visit at my blog here - Celebrating International Women's Day 
and visit the South West Women's Health and Information Centre here - SWWHIC 

And here is a native hibiscus seen on the side of the road when we returned from Wagin. 

We also went down to the Eaton Foreshore Festival run by Eaton Primary School, and helped cook a fund-raising sausage sizzle with Sol y Sombra at Gibbs Pool at Harvey Dam for the South West Opera Company's Music Spectacular evening. It was a lovely autumn evening, a beautiful setting, good company, perfect weather and a wonderful night of music and entertainment under the stars.  Below you can see the venue and Susie from Sol y Sombra showing her skill with the cape during a performance of one of the songs from Carmen.  
Please go to their Facebook page for more information about the Company - SWOC on Facebook

Last week we had an overnight trip to Perth and went to see Sculpture by the Sea 2016 at Cottesloe Beach. This was the twelfth time this annual exhibition has been held, and this year 77 sculptors  from 18 countries exhibited their pieces. It seems to get bigger every year.  To see more images and find out about Sculpture by the Sea please click here - Sculpture by the Sea

A friend of ours commented - Some very creative ones. Some that made us smile. Some that made us think. Some that made us wonder just what was going through the artists' minds.

The iconic Cottesloe Surf Club and Indiana Tea House. 

 Some of the sculptures were definitely "hands off", but others invited interaction. Like the one you see below - top centre - a pinewood collaborative construction by Rocardo Gomes and Ben Allen with Lise Kassow. What a wonderful place to sit and contemplae while looking at the sea or across rolling paddocks. 

Here is another interactive sculpture for Zilvinas Kempinas made from steel snow poles and bird repellent tape this sculpture interacts with the light and wind.

This book cave by Juliet Lea was attracting a lot of attention as people came in close to read the book titles, whilst one little girl went in and just sat in the cave. 

Perth itself is a mixture of new and old architecture, but more on that in another post.

Thank you so much for stopping by. I hope you have enjoyed this little tour of what has been happening in my corner of the world. I value your comments and look forward to hearing from you. I will try to visit your blogs in return. Have a wonderful week.

I am linking up to the link-ups below. Please click on the links to see fabulous contributions from around the world - virtual touring at its best!

Mosaic Monday
Travel Photo Mondays
Lifestyle Fifty Monday Linkup 
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Through My Lens 
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Wednesday Around the World at Communal Global
Worth Casing Wednesday
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Travel Photo Thursday
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