How High Is An Elephant’s Eye?

As I write this I am listening to the music of Rodgers and Hammerstein and appreciating the timeless talent of the greatest creative partnership American musical theatre has ever seen.

It is exceptionally pleasant to re-visit all those classics of yesteryear: “I’m going to wash that man right of my hair”, “People will say we’re in love”, “I enjoy being a girl”, all those recognisable tunes from Carousel, Oklahoma! The King and I and The Sound of Music … the list goes on and on.

I find myself humming “The corn is as high as an elephant’s eye, an’ it looks like its climbin’ clear up to the sky!” It is impossible not to smile while singing something as optimistic as “Oh what a beautiful morning.”

Prom 49 – a celebration of Rodgers and Hammerstein with the John Wilson Orchestra and Kim Criswell heading the singing bill –  also marked fifty years since the death of Oscar Hammerstein.

The subsequent BBC television broadcast promised (and delivered) nearly two hours of toe-tapping tunes from the best of Broadway. For a group of us London Vision Clinic patients the BBC Proms 2010 programme provided the opportunity to listen again to the concert we had enjoyed live at the Royal Albert Hall the previous week.

Thank you London Vision Clinic for this unforgettable experience.