Greatest Night , Greatest Artist: John Owen-Jones

Last Friday night I went to the concert 'Music of the Night' with songs from the mega-hit musicals. And I feel so lucky because I just had one of the best moments in my life. A night with my four favorite musicals; Phantom of the Opera, CATS, Les Miserables, and Miss Saigon, sung by great West End stars, what more could I want!

The West End star I mentioned is no one else but John Owen-Jones, the rising star of West End, the youngest actor ever to play the role of Jean Valjean, the longest running London Phantom (three and a half years!). He came along with Janet Mooney, a great musical and opera actress, and also Steve Sidwell, the world famous artist and conductor, to conduct the Bangkok Symphony Orchestra.

The show started with the sound of helicopter as in the Overture song of Miss Saigon. Then, John and Janet showed up with the sweetest song on earth -'Sun and Moon'. They caught my attention from the very start until the last note. However, I must admit that I get used to Lea Salonga's version so much and think no-one can ever portray 'Kim' as good as her.
Janet sang another song from Miss Saigon, I can't remember which - -", but P'Pay told me it was I Still Believe'. Then, John sang the song Bui-Doi. And they ended this part with another musical hit 'The Last Night of the World'.

The second musical performed is Les Miz, the musical that ranks #1 on my wish list. John came up with the song 'Empty Chairs at Empty Tables'. I just realized then that this Jean Valjean can be a fantastic Marius too! Maybe he should try the role. hahaha ^^
Then, Fantine's song 'I Dream a Dream' is performed by Janet. I felt a bit pity that Janet didn't sing Cosette's song, since it's said that she once played the role Cosette before. I wished to hear how great she sings 'I Saw Him Once'/'In My Life'/'A Heart Full of Love'. Anyway, she did a wonderful job in 'I Dreamed a Dream', completely perfect.
And now comes the time of Jean Valjean. ^^ You know, to hear one of the best Jean Valjean singing 'Bring Him Home' live is such a valuable opportunity. This song alone may be worth already to pay the ticket.
The last song for Les Miz can't be anything else but my most favorite one -'Do You Hear The People Sing?'. I sang along voicelessly and almost bursted into tears. Such a brilliant ending to the first half of the show.

After the break, BSO resumed playing with an excerpt from 'The Jellicle Ball' from the musical CATS. Then, Janet showed up to sing the hit-song 'Memory'. And that's all for CATS. I'm not sure why they performed only two songs.
However, they picked another two songs from another two musicals of Andrew Lloyd-Webber instead. First is 'Love Changes Everything' from the musical Aspect of Love. Second is 'Close Every Door' from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
So I listened to songs from four Lloyd-Webber musicals within a night. Wow, what an opportunity!

The last show was reserved for all-time classic; The Phantom of the Opera. 'Think of Me' was the first song to be played. Though the song is difficult, Janet's voice was almost perfect, just she could probably do a bit better for the cadenza, I think.
The second song was my favorite love song; 'All I Ask of You'. At that point I felt no more being in a concert, I felt like I was really seeing the Phantom musical. It was sooooo romantic.
After that, Janet did the solo again with 'Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again'. And the show ended with the highlight 'Music of the Night' by Phantom JOJ ^^. I can't explain how good the song was, just I felt so happy, closing my eyes, listening to the music, and everything's clear within my mind. It was like everyone in the hall got spelled by Phantom JOJ.

However, the show was not really ending because there was still an encore, so John and Janet sang two more songs to entertain the audience. The songs are 'Seeing Is Believing' from the musical 'Aspect of Love' and 'Amigos Para Siempre' which was sung by Sarah Brightman and Jose Carreras at the Olympic Games in Barcelona.

After the show ended, there was a long ovation, and some audience even gave them standing ovations, including me. I was so delighted to give them standing ovation because they really deserved it. And I promised to myself I will go to see JOJ's live in musical one day. This will be a night I remember for long. ^^

Create Date : 29 พฤศจิกายน 2551		7 comments
Last Update : 29 พฤศจิกายน 2551 1:01:48 น.
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