GUMBOOTS AND PEARLS

OPERA is all about a union of music, drama and spectacle which is exactly what the crowd at Melba Gully's Gumboots and Pearls got on Saturday (Oct 13). In a natural amphitheatre, enclosed by tree ferns and myrtle beech, almost 400 people were seemingly oblivious to the classic Otways mist and drizzle as Glenaire actor and MC Neil Melville kept the crowd entertained in between appearances by resident acapella group Hatsapella, orchestral duo Fruits of the Forrest, Mario the Almost Magnificent magician, Lavers Hill performance poet Annabel Tellis, and the talented Melbourne-based opera company Pot-Pourri. The tenor and baritone wore tails and the sopranos were in elegant gowns finished off with rather more practical footwear - Blundstones and gumboots.

Pot-Pourri's Tania de Jong and Dominique Oyston had the crowd spellbound with their rendition of The Flower Duet from Delibes' Lakme, known to many as the British Airways theme-song. They went on to impress with favourites from Les Miserables and Phantom of the Opera and gave it their all while sheltering under umbrellas as they moved among the dedicated crowd who called for encores in spite of the rain. Visitors from Melbourne, Geelong and the Surf Coast, along with locals, were enchanted by the rolling mists which added to the intimacy of the world-class setting. Gumboots and Pearls was the invention of boutique tourism operators, all members of the Otways Scenic Circle Association, who won a Department of Sustainability and Environment grant to promote tourism in the hinterland. Organiser Helen Chambers said their idea to host opera on the ridge paid off. "People really appreciated the beauty of Melba Gully and the professionalism of the performers, how they moved through the audience, making jokes and having a great time in spite of the rain," she said. "People have asked to be put on a mailing list, should it become an annual event."