The offerings my be high brow,

but they're never stuffy

The audience settles back as the spotlights shining over the stage dim. The opera, Carmen, is ready to start.

As the actors appear, they are greeted not by applause or "Bravo!" but a chorus of cacophony: tree frogs who sing "Clink! Clink!"

The tree frogs "Clink! Clink!" throughout the entire performance, but no one minds. After all, this is Carmen in the Caribbean, presented outside under the stars, and the chorus of amphibians soon blends right in.

After tonight, it will be difficult for some audience members to imagine Carmen ever being presented any other way, without the frog accompaniment.

Open-air opera and musical theater is the highlight of every Holders Season, held each March/April. Founded only in 1993, the Holders Season has established itself as the Caribbean's premier cultural event because of its high artistic standards.

Among those who have appeared in the past are opera tenor Luciano Pavarotti and English soprano Lesley Garrett.

Performances are presented in the large garden at Holders House, St. James. This 300-year old stately house, a combination of British and Barbadian influences, offers a perfect auditorium thanks to the series of terraces that provide an excellent line-of-sight view.

On some of the more relaxed musical theater nights everyone brings their own picnic dinner.  The offerings may be high-brow, but Holders Season is hardly a stuffy event.

Instead, it's a relaxed outing where the dress code can best be described as smart casual: slacks and dresses, collared shirts, no jeans or shorts.  

Each Holders Season schedule is detailed at www.holders.net. 

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