Post by davidhr on Oct 6, 2009 16:35:58 GMT -5
A treasure trove of videos of Lara this past week, as her tour is now in full swing.
That tour continued in Belgium with two shows in Liege and one in Charleroi. The concerts were similar in form and content to that at Forest National, which presumably should have been expected given the computer setup and timing that is required. Based on the chronicles contributed by various people here are the pros and cons of what has been seen so far:
The positives: Lara's vocal performance is top notch. In particular, her rendition of Adagio has gotten great reviews; the feeling is that Lara has included this as the show-ending song to prove to her audience - and her critics - that she can still sing it as well as she used to, which is true! She even dons a costume similar to that which she wore for the official video of Adagio back in ~2000. The visuals and holograms are amazing, and do no detract directly from the performance. She introduces the various songs from TLFM with homage's to the individual singers, who appear as holograms, and sometimes sing with her - all very moving, especially the one for Dalida. Her entrance through the audience at the show's beginning has been praised as immediately getting the audience involved.
The negatives: The primary difficulty with the show appears to be that Lara cannot properly hear the sound through her earphones, and this continuing issue causes her to concentrate on that, rather than interact with the audience. The problem has happened at every one of the four concerts so far…one wonders why it hasn't been corrected. Occasionally Lara has let the problem upset her, but the fans reported that she soldiered on like a true pro. In addition, she occasionally forgot some of the words to the songs, and on the 29th, actually lip-synched 'Il venait d'avoir 18 ans'.
Nevertheless, the dominant response has been strongly positive, both from her fans and the press. The audiences for the shows in Liege were a bit non-responsive, while that in Charleroi was reported to be even better than in Brussels. Nevertheless, the Liege concerts were so popular that, as in the case of Brussels, another concert has been added there in March.
There were small differences in the different locales - Lara switched to a somewhat cooler outfit after Brussels - but the choice of titles was unvarying. Videos of some of the songs from all of the concerts so far are available on the web. Next up - the big concerts in Paris; let's hope that cameras will be allowed in the Zenith as they were for the ones in Belgium.
Lara also appeared for a mini-concert on 'Radio France' in which she sang six of the songs from the concert. Videos are available of these as well, on Youtube. Lara was exhausted by the end of it, as she herself admitted; when one hasn't toured for several years, it logically takes awhile to gather one's energy (even without the sound problems). [Nicoleroy on the official site indicated that in a personal conversation Lara mentioned she was so tired that she had turned down the dates offered for her to be on "Panique dans l'oreillette" for at least the next month.]
Lara answered questions from the audience, and the two most important - and obviously related points were:
1) Her appearance in 'Victor Victoria' has been postponed for a year; and
2) The new album, 'Le Secret', will be released during the course of the tour.
As noted previously, it was the timing of the theatre production next fall that argued against the new album being released next year unless she planned to promote it and TLFM at the same time. If 'Le secret' were released during the first part of 2010, she could use her February/March concerts to advertise it, but that would imply big changes in the concert format. Hard to believe that her current extravaganza would only be used for the next few months, so it is more likely that there would be a separate tour to promote the new album - perhaps next fall, given that the time is now available.
And Lara appeared live on the show 'Chansons d'amour pour plus de vie' hosted by Michel Drucker on France 3 yesterday. She performed 'Amoureuse' and sang 'Tu es mon autre' with Mauranne. She looked and sang wonderfully. Both videos are available on NABBOX (and will likely soon be on Youtube). [As a side note, on leaving this show, Lara had some trouble with a fan who grabbed her neck to pull her close to him for a photo, and then with paparazzi who bombarded her with flash photos (which she hates). She was glad to make it to the car and get away.]
Lara is in several publications this week, including 'Le Parisian', 'Direct soir', and the Belgian 'Paris Match' (with the Obamas on the cover). An article on her in Gala magazine, can be seen (on p. 34-35) at:
www.discountpresse.com/consultation_feuilleteur.php?id=89488
In it she notes that her big fear on the tour is to make mistakes on the timing, since everything in the show is so scripted. This fits in with the comments made about it so far - technology is a doubled-edged sword.
All is still not peaceful in Lara's relations with the press. An article in Pure People claims that Lara wants the press to either speak kindly of her or keep quiet, and, quoting 'Le Parisien, they argue that she had exaggerated the sales of 'TLFM' (but they probably failed to include the sales in countries other than France). Nevertheless, they do admit that her concerts so far have been pretty well attended, and the ones in Paris are close to being sold out. Lara is quoted as saying that now that the tour is underway, the press will have a chance to evaluate her performance, rather than just attack her personally (and 'Le Parisian' said she is spectacular on stage). Actually, Pure People is really just out for publicity, so they will use Lara in whatever way they can: another article, this one positive, notes that Lara has agreed to act as a model, along with other celebrities, for the charity "La voix de l'enfant', next October 13th. Both articles have interesting pictures of her to lead their stories, at:
www.purepeople.com/article/lara-fabian-c-est-parlez-de-moi-en-bien-ou-taisez-vous_a41351/1
www.purepeople.com/article/lara-fabian-et-frederique-bel-vont-jouer-les-mannequins-et-risquent-fort-d-etre-a-croquer_a41077/1
Lara is apparently not too tired to stop her charity appearances; in addition to the above event, Lara has also agreed to perform on the Telethon 2009 to take place on December 4th and 5th, which will be broadcast on both France 2 and 3. She had already agreed to be on the Belgian Telethon, called Cap48, which takes places on October 11th, to be shown on RTBF.
People have noticed the professional looking appearance of the Russian site at www.lara-fabian.ru/ and have wondered whether it is in any sense 'official'. It is associated with 'Marina', and is due to open on January 1, 2010. Despite protestations by fans that it can't be official, that there is one official site already, it is registered as a corporate enterprise, and the address further suggests it might be more than just another fan site. We'll have to keep an eye on it…Lara's interest in pursuing the Russian market has been a continual theme these past few months, so having a Russian site would make sense.
In Belgium, TLFM has risen 4 places, and is now 19th in sales, while in France it has dropped another 8 places to 81st. Just in time, the big concerts at the Paris Zenith take place tomorrow and Thursday evenings. Let's hope they go without a technological hitch, and that Lara can fully enjoy herself.
David
That tour continued in Belgium with two shows in Liege and one in Charleroi. The concerts were similar in form and content to that at Forest National, which presumably should have been expected given the computer setup and timing that is required. Based on the chronicles contributed by various people here are the pros and cons of what has been seen so far:
The positives: Lara's vocal performance is top notch. In particular, her rendition of Adagio has gotten great reviews; the feeling is that Lara has included this as the show-ending song to prove to her audience - and her critics - that she can still sing it as well as she used to, which is true! She even dons a costume similar to that which she wore for the official video of Adagio back in ~2000. The visuals and holograms are amazing, and do no detract directly from the performance. She introduces the various songs from TLFM with homage's to the individual singers, who appear as holograms, and sometimes sing with her - all very moving, especially the one for Dalida. Her entrance through the audience at the show's beginning has been praised as immediately getting the audience involved.
The negatives: The primary difficulty with the show appears to be that Lara cannot properly hear the sound through her earphones, and this continuing issue causes her to concentrate on that, rather than interact with the audience. The problem has happened at every one of the four concerts so far…one wonders why it hasn't been corrected. Occasionally Lara has let the problem upset her, but the fans reported that she soldiered on like a true pro. In addition, she occasionally forgot some of the words to the songs, and on the 29th, actually lip-synched 'Il venait d'avoir 18 ans'.
Nevertheless, the dominant response has been strongly positive, both from her fans and the press. The audiences for the shows in Liege were a bit non-responsive, while that in Charleroi was reported to be even better than in Brussels. Nevertheless, the Liege concerts were so popular that, as in the case of Brussels, another concert has been added there in March.
There were small differences in the different locales - Lara switched to a somewhat cooler outfit after Brussels - but the choice of titles was unvarying. Videos of some of the songs from all of the concerts so far are available on the web. Next up - the big concerts in Paris; let's hope that cameras will be allowed in the Zenith as they were for the ones in Belgium.
Lara also appeared for a mini-concert on 'Radio France' in which she sang six of the songs from the concert. Videos are available of these as well, on Youtube. Lara was exhausted by the end of it, as she herself admitted; when one hasn't toured for several years, it logically takes awhile to gather one's energy (even without the sound problems). [Nicoleroy on the official site indicated that in a personal conversation Lara mentioned she was so tired that she had turned down the dates offered for her to be on "Panique dans l'oreillette" for at least the next month.]
Lara answered questions from the audience, and the two most important - and obviously related points were:
1) Her appearance in 'Victor Victoria' has been postponed for a year; and
2) The new album, 'Le Secret', will be released during the course of the tour.
As noted previously, it was the timing of the theatre production next fall that argued against the new album being released next year unless she planned to promote it and TLFM at the same time. If 'Le secret' were released during the first part of 2010, she could use her February/March concerts to advertise it, but that would imply big changes in the concert format. Hard to believe that her current extravaganza would only be used for the next few months, so it is more likely that there would be a separate tour to promote the new album - perhaps next fall, given that the time is now available.
And Lara appeared live on the show 'Chansons d'amour pour plus de vie' hosted by Michel Drucker on France 3 yesterday. She performed 'Amoureuse' and sang 'Tu es mon autre' with Mauranne. She looked and sang wonderfully. Both videos are available on NABBOX (and will likely soon be on Youtube). [As a side note, on leaving this show, Lara had some trouble with a fan who grabbed her neck to pull her close to him for a photo, and then with paparazzi who bombarded her with flash photos (which she hates). She was glad to make it to the car and get away.]
Lara is in several publications this week, including 'Le Parisian', 'Direct soir', and the Belgian 'Paris Match' (with the Obamas on the cover). An article on her in Gala magazine, can be seen (on p. 34-35) at:
www.discountpresse.com/consultation_feuilleteur.php?id=89488
In it she notes that her big fear on the tour is to make mistakes on the timing, since everything in the show is so scripted. This fits in with the comments made about it so far - technology is a doubled-edged sword.
All is still not peaceful in Lara's relations with the press. An article in Pure People claims that Lara wants the press to either speak kindly of her or keep quiet, and, quoting 'Le Parisien, they argue that she had exaggerated the sales of 'TLFM' (but they probably failed to include the sales in countries other than France). Nevertheless, they do admit that her concerts so far have been pretty well attended, and the ones in Paris are close to being sold out. Lara is quoted as saying that now that the tour is underway, the press will have a chance to evaluate her performance, rather than just attack her personally (and 'Le Parisian' said she is spectacular on stage). Actually, Pure People is really just out for publicity, so they will use Lara in whatever way they can: another article, this one positive, notes that Lara has agreed to act as a model, along with other celebrities, for the charity "La voix de l'enfant', next October 13th. Both articles have interesting pictures of her to lead their stories, at:
www.purepeople.com/article/lara-fabian-c-est-parlez-de-moi-en-bien-ou-taisez-vous_a41351/1
www.purepeople.com/article/lara-fabian-et-frederique-bel-vont-jouer-les-mannequins-et-risquent-fort-d-etre-a-croquer_a41077/1
Lara is apparently not too tired to stop her charity appearances; in addition to the above event, Lara has also agreed to perform on the Telethon 2009 to take place on December 4th and 5th, which will be broadcast on both France 2 and 3. She had already agreed to be on the Belgian Telethon, called Cap48, which takes places on October 11th, to be shown on RTBF.
People have noticed the professional looking appearance of the Russian site at www.lara-fabian.ru/ and have wondered whether it is in any sense 'official'. It is associated with 'Marina', and is due to open on January 1, 2010. Despite protestations by fans that it can't be official, that there is one official site already, it is registered as a corporate enterprise, and the address further suggests it might be more than just another fan site. We'll have to keep an eye on it…Lara's interest in pursuing the Russian market has been a continual theme these past few months, so having a Russian site would make sense.
In Belgium, TLFM has risen 4 places, and is now 19th in sales, while in France it has dropped another 8 places to 81st. Just in time, the big concerts at the Paris Zenith take place tomorrow and Thursday evenings. Let's hope they go without a technological hitch, and that Lara can fully enjoy herself.
David
