A night at the orchestra

Last night I attended a concert at the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra (MPO) featuring songs written by Rodgers and Hammerstein (R&H). Rodgers and Hammerstein's names are synonymous with American musicals such as Oklahoma, Carousel, South Pacific, The King & I, and The Sound of Music. Being an 80's kid, I grew up watching The Sound of Music and The King & I. I wasn't too familiar with the others except for a few songs such as "If I Loved You" from Carousel and "Bali Hai" from South Pacific. However, at the end of the show, I learnt two new songs. "Oh What a Beautiful Morning" and "People Will Say We're In Love" from Oklahoma are my current two new favourite songs.

I was rather surprised that R&H songs appeared to be popular over here as it was a full house last night. The stars of the night were Jacqui Scott and Andrew Halliday who provided vocals for the selected R&H pieces. Both are West End/Broadway performers who have taken leading roles in many well-known musicals such as Chess, CATS, Evita and Phantom of the Opera. It was a great performance last night and the crowd was really entertained.