The venue was the Sandton Convention centre in Johannesburg, South Africa and the occasional was the adaption of the hit show "Queen At The Opera" to a unique version featuring a full 55 piece orchestra, complete with full rhythm section and backing vocals. The result was a superb show that entertained from start to finish and was unfortunately over too soon.

Joseph Clark and Luciana Zuppa shared vocals on most songs and did an excellent job performing even the most vocally challenging songs. Joseph Clark in particular has an obvious love of Queen and as he strutted up and down the stage, half-mic stand in hand, one could have been forgiven for thinking it was really Freddie up there! Brian May's job was performed by Barry Thomson who is obviously an extremely talented guitarist and pulled off even the most difficult solos with aplomb. The orchestra was amazing and provided over-the-top, big sound which matched Queen's style perfectly. I have never seen a conductor of a philharmonic orchestra shake his ass quite as much as Graham Scott did that night!

Finally special mention must be made of Juanita Kruger who dueted with Joseph Clark on "Barcelona". The two combined perfectly to perform an astoundingly good rendition of the song and they were justly rewarded by a standing ovation, the first of three that night!

When the show was over the crowd refused to let the performers leave and much to everyones delight they returned for, an obviously unplanned, encore of "Don't Stop Me Now" which finally ended a night of superb entertainment.

For the record the setlist was as follows:

Death on Two Legs
Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon
Killer Queen
Under Pressure
Bicycle Race
Who Want to Live Forever
Another One Bites The Dust
Don't Stop Me Now
The Millionaire Waltz
Don't Try So Hard

--Interval-

Innuendo
We Will Rock You
Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy
Play The Game
Seaside Rendezvous
Love Of My Life
Radio Gaga
You Take My Breath Away
Bohemian Rhapsody
God Save The Queen
Barcelona
We Are The Champions
Flash

Paul Brett
paulmark@freemail.absa.co.za