A night immersed in "The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber"

"Softly, deftly, music shall caress you

Hear it, feel it, secretly possess you....."

(Music of the Night from The Phantom of the Opera)

From the moment I heard and saw Andrew Lloyd Webber’s highly acclaimed, long running and popular musical The Phantom of the Opera well over 20 years ago, I fell madly and obsessively in love with the musical. This spurred me to then hunt down pretty much all the musicals created, composed and written or co-written by Andrew Lloyd Webber, who I sincerely believe is one of the most brilliant composers of the modern time.

With other musicals like Jesus Christ Superstar, Cats, Evita, Sunset Boulevard, Aspect of Love and many others, it was not hard then that after listening to them, I fell in love with, and collected several musical soundtracks from Andrew Lloyd Webber.

It is therefore that I warmly mention: – To the most dearest and generous couple (you know who you are *hugs*) who have gifted me with one of the best birthday presents I've received – it is with heartfelt appreciation and sincerest gratitude and thanks, that my husband and I will be enjoying ourselves tonight, watching, listening and immersed in the magical and musical genius of the musical works of Andrew Lloyd Webber, from his Australian tour of the show The Music Of Andrew Lloyd Webber.

We started off our night out at one of Star City Casino's fine dining restaurants called Bistro 80 Restaurant and Bar. Considering the restaurant was completely booked, we were lucky enough to reserve a table and enjoy their highly recommended and well priced 3 course Pre-Theatre Menu. I had for Entreé the Confit Duck while my hubby had the Smoked Salmon. For our Mains, I had the Angus Scotch Fillet while hubby had the Roast Pork Belly, and we shared a side of their seasonal vegetable which was a generous serving of rosemary & garlic roasted potatoes. For Dessert, we both had the divine 'melt in your mouth' Milk Chocolate Mousse. Compliments to the Head Chef - Paul Gaspa, everything my husband and I ate was absolutely delicious! The ambience and atmosphere was semi-formal, but we felt quite relaxed. Service was absolutely fast, efficient, and the waiter was attentive and extremely friendly. We highly recommend this restaurant, and we will not hesitate in dining here again in the near future and try out their full Lunch and/or Dinner menu.

After our very delightful and satisfying dinner, we headed for the Star City Casino's, Lyric Theatre. While waiting to be seated, I looked over the Merchandise area and decided to purchase a Program and a key ring.

Then it was time to be seated. After several minutes, the lights went out and then the intro began. As I listened to the orchestra start to play an instrumental array of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musicals and several screen projectors showed his many works of musical genius, my heart just soared with the music as the talented casts began singing The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber. The entire show was split into to Two Acts and for 2 hours, I was immersed and in Andrew Lloyd Webber musical heaven, simply enjoying, relishing, humming and sometimes singing along to his music and songs. Every song sung brought happiness to my heart and none other than when the cast sang my favourite song, The Music of the Night from my favourite musical The Phantom of the Opera.

As the show ended and the curtains fell, after listening and watching The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber tonight, it will be, among many, a memorable evening, that I will treasure for life and one I will never forget!

So to capped off one of the best night my husband and I had in a while, thank you once again to the lovely couple who gifted me so generously with the tickets! *hugs*