Jesus Christ Superstar

By Gemma Cleanslate

Arriving at the Royal Opera and Gardens is always a thrill. The building itself and the region are lovely and inviting  The wrong door is always my choice of entry, so I get a grand tour of the hallways and interesting objects before reaching the theatre proper.

Sunday I made my way over to see a performance of Jesus Christ Superstar, a rock opera , with music by Andrew LLoyd Webber. The Compania de Arte Parabola presented the opera. Ina Carpaccio greeted everyone as we entered the theater and .We were given a hud the listed the cast , the background of the opera and the scenes. The star and director of the show was Kar Gabilondo , who did double duty playing Jesus .

 The rest of the cast took on various roles throughout, Esme (EsmeraldaS2008 Zabaleta) , Signa Avril, Mar Shilova, dahir Sapphire (dahirSapphire2 Resident). The music of Andrew Lloyd Webber resounded throughout the theatre during the  10 scenes from the Ovature to the Crucifixion to the Ascension the gospel story is told in rock dance and song.

Esme as Judas.showed his remorse after his betrayal and hanged himself before the final acts took place. The scenery , as usual with the CAP was fitting to each part of the show.The audience showed their enjoyment of the performance through .

There will be further performances at other theaters so keep an eye out for ads. It was a pleasant Sunday afternoon and it was good to revisit a old special play.

Gemma Cleanslate 

 

Mysteria at the Oval Theater

By Gemma Cleanslate

I spent Monday at the Oval Theater watching their new show, “Mysteria.” The invitation said, “Let your imagination soar as your reality merges with a world of wonder and whimsy in an enchanting production that is sure to leave you spellbound” and it did. It is a perfect description of the performance.  The show is an eclectic collection of scenes ,  each with dance and song.

Othon Weiland-Nootan (Othon Weiland) greeted everyone as we arrived and settled ourselves in the comfortable seats around little tables, set in groups of four in the theater. It has seating on several levels so it is very perfect for viewing the stage from all angles. The scenery is a show in itself. Each scene has a setting that fits the performance going on and each is fabulous.

The choreography is an art that must take so much time to prepare with so many styles of dance.  The music is a fitting choice for it or vice versa . It all works beautifully.  The costumes are beyond description. The entire performance is over an hour but flows so evenly with costume changes going on behind the scenes with pleasant break music for the short changes. The entire cast is to be applauded for all their work with many appearing in more than one scene in various roles .

I am happy to tell you that the show will be performed two more times. July 21st and 23rd at 1PM SLT so you will not miss it. Enjoy! 

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Devils%20Cave/145/80/21

Gemma Cleanslate

The Firebird

By Gemma Cleanslate

Sunday I was able to attend the premiere of The Firebird at the Royal Opera and Gardens. The performance by the Fantasy Dreams Dance Group set to the music of Igor Stravinsky was truly magical as advertised.  Andy Loon (Szerewp Loon), Ness and Ina Carpaccio did the choreography with Direction and Scenography by Ina Carpaccio. So much work goes into these performances as I have seen before. I saw Andy’s work in The little Prince some months ago. 

All the performers spend so much time in rehearsal. The Firebird herself (Ina Carpaccio)  was lovely in her dances. The story takes place before a evil looking castle in the background and is from an old Slavic fairy tale. There have been many interpretations of it in dance. The prince captures a feather from the Firebird and carries it with him. A bevy of princesses dance onto the stage and the prince is entranced by one lovely princess and dances with her until she disappears into the castle grounds. 

Menacing monsters appear from the woods to harass the prince and the Firebird returns and places a spell on the monsters while the Prince escapes. The lead monster ( Andy Loon) spars with the Firebird in a dance. The Lullaby dance of the Firebird vanquishes all the monsters and they fall to the ground. The prince returns with an enormous egg which upon breaking appears to release all from a spell. The evil looking castle disappears and is replaced by a lovely gleaming castle and all the princesses return including the one princess that the Prince was enraptured by and they join in a dance again with the Firebird hovering above . Well , that was my interpretation of it and I enjoyed it thoroughly. 

The Firebird will be repeated in December. Other performances at the Royal Opera will be September 27 - 1:30 pm slt - My Fair Lady, October 4 - 2 pm slt  - Sarah Brightman Tribute, October 11 - 2 pm slt - Circus by Fantasy Dreams, October 18 - 1 pm slt - Benno Sands & Cheerleaders TBA . http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Oceanea/65/105/30
You are invited to join the group to stay informed of other performances to come. 

Gemma Cleanslate