(Clearwisdom.net) Three curtain calls barely satisfied the very enthusiastic audience that packed the house at Sydney's Parade Theatre in Kensington during Sunday evening's performance. Shen Yun Performing Arts 2009 World Tour's final night in Sydney received resounding applause and lavish praise from appreciative theatergoers. Several audience members asked that Shen Yun artists return to Sydney as soon as possible.

Highly regarded in both Europe and Australia, opera singer and classical song tutor Ms. Arax Mansourian, who is of Armenian descent, had been eagerly looking forward to seeing the show with her husband, artist Mr. Jacob Kiujia, and they both highly praised it. "It was amazing! Every number or dance was like a picture, like a fantasy. It was beautiful. It is unusual for this country to get to see a show like this."

Opera singer and classical song tutor Ms. Arax Mansourian and her husband, artist Mr. Jacob Kiujia

She said, "I was looking forward to seeing this show because I was always interested in Chinese arts and culture and always wanted to see something like this--it was amazing!"

Ms. Mansourian appreciated the high caliber of Shen Yun's singers, "Oh, yes, I like them very much. The soprano singer [Cina-ning Hsu] has a beautiful voice. As a teacher of opera singers, I can say she has a very good technique--a fantastic, beautiful voice." Referring to tenor, Mr. Guimin Guan, she said, "The tenor was [amazing], too. Fantastic, beautiful technique and beautiful color, excellent. Beautiful voice!

"The soprano was very beautiful as was the tenor. It is very interesting--Chinese melodies are harmonies and these Chinese melodies are very similar to their culture, their nature, very soft, very green, very beautiful. And the music is somehow similar."

Ms. Mansourian recommended the show to aspiring vocalists. "I have a lot of students where I am teaching at the institute--classical singing--and I would love to send them to this show, because their souls would be in a different place. It's so beautiful, so colorful.

"The show is fantastic, because it's not only music, it's music, pictures, nature, color, ... it's a beautiful picture."

The lyrics of the songs were displayed on the backdrop in both Chinese and English and this was much appreciated by the audience, including Ms. Mansourian. "I could read them, I read the story. Yes, they are beautiful lyrics. Of course I was trying to read and understand and imagine how could music follow this text, and it was beautiful and fantastic."

Ms. Mansourian's husband, Mr. Kiujian, an oil painter, as well as a classical and graphic artist, joined the conversation. "It's amazing, really! I was emotionally ..." he said, searching for words to express his feelings.

His wife added, "I want to tell you something. I saw my husband crying after the second number ... and you said I was very emotional."

He replied a little shyly, "I was crying for a bit, I was holding back my tears. [During] all of them, you know. It lifted me up so high. It lifted my spirit up to heaven, out of this world, and touched my heart, my mind and gave me peace. I really enjoyed it because it was a really honest picture, so I enjoyed it very much."

Mr. Kiujian was visibly moved by the show, saying, the "lyrics, everything, dance, color. The color is especially beautiful, everything is fantastic. And I am happy for one thing, that is, you kept all this culture all these years, it's amazing, it's just amazing. All of them [the scenes]. Each one is unique. That was fantastic. It's magical, actually. I can only congratulate you for all this wonderful work, and hope that you kept your heritage. Fantastic! To keep your culture like that, it's unique, I think everybody would like to see and listen [to] this type of music. Always."

At a packed Parade Theatre in Kensington on Sunday, April 26, critically-acclaimed tenor Guimin Guan and contralto Jiansheng Yang both sang encores in response to the enthusiasm of the audience.

People resoundingly applauded throughout three curtain calls to honor Shen Yun's superb performance. Among them was Ms. Tsakiris, a former dance teacher, who said, "The dances are very touching. They were beautiful. Moving!"

Ms. Tsakiris came to the show with a group of 10 people. Because she was a dancer and has taught dancing, she knew she had to see the show. She was amazed: "The costumes are beautiful, and the movements are so flowing. The dancers have innocence. They were beautiful. It's just perfect, very good, inspiring. The pieces are awe-inspiring. They were all strong. They've got a strong core. It looks so easy, ... but I know how hard it is. So, I really appreciated it. Thanks very much!"

Born in Papua New Guinea, Sister Betty, a nun, said, "I'm very proud of our Chinese traditions and the dance. Because I was born in Papua New Guinea, I've never seen these things before. Now I'm very proud of my Chinese origins--beautiful performances, and the scenery was beautiful!"

Sister Betty added, "They have so many rich cultures. They bring the images of heaven. ... I'm religious, and I'm very happy to see this thing. I know it's not just what you know about. This world is only passing. Heaven is our real home."

Sister Betty was moved by the heavenly scenes in the contemporary performance "Heaven Awaits Us Despite Persecution." "It's sad in one part, too. It's sad about the persecution. I hope they have more peace, and that the government is not so hard on them. That they [will] have peace and freedom, and bring the people not only earthly goods. ... Our future home is in heaven."

Source: http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/15951/
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http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/15970/