Okay, I had the most AMAZING time last Sunday, and since this would not be a kind of review, I shall put it here as my sort of 'gushing' post...LOL!

Went to Dewan Filharmonik Petronas with my sis to catch the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra (MPO) featuring vocals from Stephen Rahman-Hughes after I heard about it from a radio advert. I bought the tix about one week ago, and it was almost a full house, but managed to get quite nice seats still =) We sat in the 'Box' area...so it was quite comfy and we could get a nice view of the whole orchestra. Ticket price wasn't too bad either...RM85 for a 2-hour-plus show. *grins*

The view from my seat...I snuck a photo while they were doing their warm-up thingys before the show. Photography was not allowed DURING the show, so I took this before. Heh! Notice the big, gorgeous 'decor' at the back? It's actually a huge pipe organ...cool eh?

Anyways, on to the show...it was SUPERB! It started off with selections from the musical 'My Fair Lady' (done by the orchestra) which was just beautiful, as we went through the paces of romance, and thrills, and then romance with a happy ending. Loving the rich, lush sounds of the strings, and can't help but admire the guy who plays the timpani at the back. The rich, bass sounds really complements the strings and set the tone of the music (be it a building of something dramatic, or the big finish at the end) VERY well!

Then when the song for 'I Dreamed A Dream' came on, in walks Stephen Rahman-Hughes looking VERY suave with a velvet ensemble and dramatic collars! I've always loved his voice after hearing him sing in PGLM, and to hear him live again was breathtaking. Plus, who wouldn't like to see the eye candy that is the hazel-eyed, luscious locks, Welsh/Malaysian Stephen (complete with a manly stubble)? *swoons* The only gripe I had with him was his weird shoes...if only I had snuck another photo. LOL! Imagine a guy with a great suit and look, with shoes that are not just garishly red, but filled with sequins as well! o.O" Such a distraction, but I refused to let that deter my from watching and listening to the great songs in the programme *grins*

And so, we were treated to quite a few amazing songs in the programme...amongst them, songs from Evita ('Don't Cry For Me Argentina'), Phantom Of The Opera ('Music Of The Night'), Bombay Dreams ('Journey Home') and Guys and Dolls ('Luck Be A Lady'). Stephen was definitely in his element that day...his voice was amazing, hitting those big notes with ease; managing to be charming, suave, or romantic whenever the songs require it. A cute highlight was him playing a handsome, suave guy in 'Luck Be A Lady' with just an addition of a fedora hat! *sigh of content*

I had a bit of trouble hearing him though at some points of the songs though, probably because the orchestra was a bit overwhelming. But he definitely did his best to project his voice, and even managed a few moves in what little space that was given to him on stage (you can see how little he had from the photo above!). His interaction with the audience was also great, introducing the songs with great panache, and even poked fun at the conductor (the ever great John Georgiadis)!

Alas, the concert had to come to an end after his final number of 'Don't Cry For Me Argentina'...but we did give him and the orchestra a rousing applause, and he came back for an encore! YAYY! He sang 'Can You Feel The Love Tonight' from the Lion King musical, and it was amazing as usual....I had a feeling though that the song arrangements were similar to the songs that Teatro (a group that Stephen is in. Their look is similar to Il Divo, but they sing more musical numbers whereas Il Divo sings classical pop) sang, and true enough after the concert I listened to Teatro's album, and it's exactly the same! How awesome! I got to witness and listen to those songs live (of which Stephen sounded exactly like in the album...AWESOME!!), backed by a great orchestra! After that, we gave another long applause and to our great delight, he came back YET AGAIN! YAYY!

He announced that at first he wanted to do 'Memory' from Cats (OMG! One of my favourite songs!!!) but sadly, his contacts from London didn't send the scores through....dang it! No worries, he did the sexy suave guy thing in 'Luck Be A Lady' again, so all's good! *grins*

After I left the hall, I noticed that there were people hanging outside and queuing up for autographs by Stephen. Too bad the queue was too long...otherwise, I would have lined up too. =( But I did hang around to see if I can catch a glimpse of him when he's signing, and sure enough, he did!

ARRRGHHH! I got to within like, 3 feet from him, but my phone didn't get enough light to get a good photo! >.<" I couldn't phantom why though! The lights behind him were bright enough for me to see his handsome face! And other people's cameras were getting the photos fine! This is one time I SOOO regretted not bringing my camera along (I forgot...*SIGHHHHHH*)

He was definitely super cute! Even my sis (who's not really THAT interested in hunky guys) thought he was handsome! *grins*

One more last shot before I left for home =)

And THIS is what he looks like...swoon-worthy or what?? *wink*