Post by davidhr on Nov 2, 2010 11:49:57 GMT -5
Lara’s ’journey to the east’ was in full swing this past week, with concerts in the Ukraine and Belarus, following the release of her new ‘Mlle. Zhivago’ album in the Ukraine (and hence, practically speaking, everywhere). The advantage of getting the album out before the concerts started was obvious, including the ability to sell records at the concerts, and the increased familiarity of the audience with the songs.
In the Ukraine, the first big surprise was that there was a symphony orchestra to accompany her, with some 50 musicians. While this was consistent with the sound on the new album, it wasn’t advertised ahead of time, and has hardly been standard for Lara’s concerts in the past. We see here again Igor Krutoi’s influence!
The tracklist provided by jonlee on the official site forum was:
1. Intro (Air de Bach) 2. Demain n'existe pas 3. Everland 4. Lou
5. Toccami 6. Je t'aime 7. Desperate Housewife 8. Llora 9. Russian Fairytale
10 Adagio (piano solo by Igor Krutoi) 11. Adagio 12. I guess I loved you
13. Je suis malade 14. Broken vow 15. Mlle. Hyde 16. Mama
17. Mr President 18. Vocalize 19. Tomorrow is a lie
20. Russian song
The first night (the 28th) there were questions about whether Lara sang every song live, and it incited numerous comments on both the French and Russian websites. Regardless of the situation, apparently Lara had extra rehearsals before the second night to eliminate the necessity for lip-synching, which were reported to be largely gone for that concert. Numerous videos exist on youtube and elsewhere as well as photos (see Christina’s sites, as well as the great collection on larafabiannews.com); there is also a video of the rehearsal where Lara discusses learning the Russian necessary to sing the last song.
Many notables were at the first concert, and several newspaper articles discussed it, in particular praising Lara’s voice. For those interested in the reports (in Russian but with photos), they are at:
www.novaya.com.ua/?/articles/2010/10/29/143235-10
www.segodnya.ua/news/14189390.html
Another interesting component was that Lara’s pianist was Giora Linenberg, who accompanied her in Israel, and is thought to be the composer for the songs on the (so-far mythical) album “Le Secret”.
Lara was in Belarus on the 31st; there is less information about that show, with just one video so far on youtube, a lip-synched version of the Russian song on the album. In case you missed it, it’s at:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvvEJSYnlgk
Several TV shows accompanied the concert and album promotion. On Saturday night, Lara’s performance of ‘Lou’ was shown on Russian TV. In contrast to the performances shown earlier, in this case the instrumentation did seem to be exactly what was on the album, indicating that perhaps that song was finalized earlier. Lara was also on the TV show ‘the X factor’ in the Ukraine and lip-synched three songs. They are readily available on the web. The intro to Lara’s appearance emphasized how much they consider her an international superstar. All this is undoubtedly pleasing to Lara, and very different from her reception in France the last few years. There was even a report in the Ukrainian press that Lara is buying real estate in Kiev, so that she won’t have to stay in a hotel when she visits Igor Krutoi there. Unsubstantiated, of course, but Lara did recently sell her home in Montreal…
Next up for Lara, starting tomorrow, are four concerts in Moscow. Hopefully Lara has worked out the issues in her performance, and can fulfill the lofty aims set for her by the Russian fans. In addition, several people now claim that a DVD "Mademoiselle Zhivago Live in Moscow" is going to be filmed at these concerts, to appear in 2011. No official word on that either, of course. It would be in addition to the Mlle. Zhivago movie, also expected out next year, so, if true, it will be interesting to see how the packaging would work.
As to the Mlle. Zhivago album itself, there has been surprisingly little commentary on Lara’s sites. For the French there is perhaps a certain reluctance to admit downloading the album (which I’m sure they all have done!), so it limits their ability to respond. But even the Russians – in the openly available forums – have said surprisingly little. Instead they have focused on Igor Krutoi, and not in a complimentary way. Their basic feeling is that he has ‘corrupted’ Lara, as evidenced by the apparent lip-synching at the first concert in the Ukraine, but also by the ‘piano bar music’ he writes for her. They don’t think he’s a good pianist, they think he takes too much credit for what Lara does, and basically controls her (it was reported that Lara wanted to sing ‘Immortelle’ in the Ukraine, but he vetoed that in favor of ‘Je t’aime’). To sum it up, they think he has led Lara firmly down the MOR path, and away from her uniqueness. And they’re especially disappointed that the general Ukrainian (and probably Russian) public doesn’t see the difference, and continues to laud Igor Krutoi.
In this opinion, I think they misread Lara. She has always had an MOR aspect to her – what does one think hobnobbing with David Forster and Michael Bolton reveals? It’s not all of her, but it is a part, and it is exemplified by this album. Clearly this is one of Lara’s greatest vocal performances ever, something many of us have been waiting for for most of the last decade. The lyrics are often straightforward, which has drawn some criticism – but that doesn’t mean they lack meaning, emotional impact and even profundity at times. In fact, Lara has often been criticized for her overly obscure lyrics, since it takes more work to decipher them. Part of that complexity had to do with conflicted emotions; in contrast, this album is quite positive, echoing the emotional state Lara is in at this stage of her life.
Is she ‘selling out’ with this album? She probably has been influenced by Igor Kruoi’s straightforward melodies (which some fans call ‘boring’), but my (limited) experience with those I’ve exposed them to is that people find them beautiful. Some of the French fans, wanting greater complexity, feel that this album is appropriate only for the (less sophisticated) tastes of the ‘countries to the east’. We will see what the general reaction is when more people weigh in, and if the general public in different countries gets a chance to express their opinion via purchases.
Thanks to the efforts of Laetitia on larafabianweb.com, we now have translations (into French) of the liner notes that Lara and Igor have written accompanying the album. Here is a further translation into English, beginning with Lara’s:
----------------------------------------------------------
This new project is an encounter between two lovers who fall in love with music ... Two souls forever confined in an extraordinary journey they undertook to create this album ... My passion, my hopes, my thoughts and my joy that I kept guarded since my childhood ... you can hear it all in every song.
I hope you feel the depth of the emotions we felt while working on this album.
I must confess, my heart beats at an accelerated pace with the thought that you will all discover our creation.
Here, "Mademoiselle Zhivago". ...
Sincere feelings,
Lara
-------------------------------------------------------------
And then from Igor,
--------------------------------------------------------------
I am extremely happy that fate allowed me to accomplish my dream and I could create beside Lara. Create it with the singer Lara Fabian, with the poet Lara Fabian, with the actress Lara Fabian.
The project "Mademoiselle Zhivago" plunged us into a surreal world that we created.
New cities and countries, strange fates, love and separation, meetings, sorrow and joy.
In creating this world, we have lived the small lives of the heroes.
I really want that you also be there in this grand world where everything is governed by music and poetry. Listen!
Igor Krutoi
------------------------------------------------------------------
In other news, the promo continues for the ‘best of’ release still scheduled for November 15th in France. Associated with this, the new song “On s'aimerait tout bas” is getting regular airplay on various radio stations throughout the region. The cover for this single can be found on larafabiannews.com and Christina’s sites, as well as at:
www.cheriefm.fr/musique-104/news-musique-26/article/251336--lara-fabian-donne-le-best-of-d-elle-meme.html?facebookdirectlink=redirect%3Ffacebookdirectlink%3Dredirect&ref=nf
At one of the concerts in the Ukraine, Lara reaffirmed that the live DVD would be released on that day as well. On amazon.fr, about 70% of those interested are buying the 2 CDs + DVD, with 30% buying the 2 CDs alone.
It was announced by Jérémy P, that on the anniversary of Lara’s 25 years in the business (2011), he will be publishing a biography on Lara. He anticipates that not only will it be a book in print, but it will also be available in digital format, with an interactive system that allows access to multimedia content (websites, audios, videos, etc.). In mentioning this on the official forum site, in addition to drumming up potential sales, he seems also to be asking fans to provide anecdotes about Lara.
You may remember that ‘Kathy’ wrote a book about Lara, with Hezia providing the introduction. It was not authorized by Lara, and basically consisted of saying that on this date Lara did this, then she did that, etc. In contrast, ‘jonlee’ on the official site forum said that Lara has agreed to the publication of this biography.
Big week for Lara coming up with her concerts in Moscow…let’s hope it fulfills everyone’s expectations, as the Russian fans have been very enthusiastic and deserve great shows. And of course, if it happens, a great DVD!
David
In the Ukraine, the first big surprise was that there was a symphony orchestra to accompany her, with some 50 musicians. While this was consistent with the sound on the new album, it wasn’t advertised ahead of time, and has hardly been standard for Lara’s concerts in the past. We see here again Igor Krutoi’s influence!
The tracklist provided by jonlee on the official site forum was:
1. Intro (Air de Bach) 2. Demain n'existe pas 3. Everland 4. Lou
5. Toccami 6. Je t'aime 7. Desperate Housewife 8. Llora 9. Russian Fairytale
10 Adagio (piano solo by Igor Krutoi) 11. Adagio 12. I guess I loved you
13. Je suis malade 14. Broken vow 15. Mlle. Hyde 16. Mama
17. Mr President 18. Vocalize 19. Tomorrow is a lie
20. Russian song
The first night (the 28th) there were questions about whether Lara sang every song live, and it incited numerous comments on both the French and Russian websites. Regardless of the situation, apparently Lara had extra rehearsals before the second night to eliminate the necessity for lip-synching, which were reported to be largely gone for that concert. Numerous videos exist on youtube and elsewhere as well as photos (see Christina’s sites, as well as the great collection on larafabiannews.com); there is also a video of the rehearsal where Lara discusses learning the Russian necessary to sing the last song.
Many notables were at the first concert, and several newspaper articles discussed it, in particular praising Lara’s voice. For those interested in the reports (in Russian but with photos), they are at:
www.novaya.com.ua/?/articles/2010/10/29/143235-10
www.segodnya.ua/news/14189390.html
Another interesting component was that Lara’s pianist was Giora Linenberg, who accompanied her in Israel, and is thought to be the composer for the songs on the (so-far mythical) album “Le Secret”.
Lara was in Belarus on the 31st; there is less information about that show, with just one video so far on youtube, a lip-synched version of the Russian song on the album. In case you missed it, it’s at:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvvEJSYnlgk
Several TV shows accompanied the concert and album promotion. On Saturday night, Lara’s performance of ‘Lou’ was shown on Russian TV. In contrast to the performances shown earlier, in this case the instrumentation did seem to be exactly what was on the album, indicating that perhaps that song was finalized earlier. Lara was also on the TV show ‘the X factor’ in the Ukraine and lip-synched three songs. They are readily available on the web. The intro to Lara’s appearance emphasized how much they consider her an international superstar. All this is undoubtedly pleasing to Lara, and very different from her reception in France the last few years. There was even a report in the Ukrainian press that Lara is buying real estate in Kiev, so that she won’t have to stay in a hotel when she visits Igor Krutoi there. Unsubstantiated, of course, but Lara did recently sell her home in Montreal…
Next up for Lara, starting tomorrow, are four concerts in Moscow. Hopefully Lara has worked out the issues in her performance, and can fulfill the lofty aims set for her by the Russian fans. In addition, several people now claim that a DVD "Mademoiselle Zhivago Live in Moscow" is going to be filmed at these concerts, to appear in 2011. No official word on that either, of course. It would be in addition to the Mlle. Zhivago movie, also expected out next year, so, if true, it will be interesting to see how the packaging would work.
As to the Mlle. Zhivago album itself, there has been surprisingly little commentary on Lara’s sites. For the French there is perhaps a certain reluctance to admit downloading the album (which I’m sure they all have done!), so it limits their ability to respond. But even the Russians – in the openly available forums – have said surprisingly little. Instead they have focused on Igor Krutoi, and not in a complimentary way. Their basic feeling is that he has ‘corrupted’ Lara, as evidenced by the apparent lip-synching at the first concert in the Ukraine, but also by the ‘piano bar music’ he writes for her. They don’t think he’s a good pianist, they think he takes too much credit for what Lara does, and basically controls her (it was reported that Lara wanted to sing ‘Immortelle’ in the Ukraine, but he vetoed that in favor of ‘Je t’aime’). To sum it up, they think he has led Lara firmly down the MOR path, and away from her uniqueness. And they’re especially disappointed that the general Ukrainian (and probably Russian) public doesn’t see the difference, and continues to laud Igor Krutoi.
In this opinion, I think they misread Lara. She has always had an MOR aspect to her – what does one think hobnobbing with David Forster and Michael Bolton reveals? It’s not all of her, but it is a part, and it is exemplified by this album. Clearly this is one of Lara’s greatest vocal performances ever, something many of us have been waiting for for most of the last decade. The lyrics are often straightforward, which has drawn some criticism – but that doesn’t mean they lack meaning, emotional impact and even profundity at times. In fact, Lara has often been criticized for her overly obscure lyrics, since it takes more work to decipher them. Part of that complexity had to do with conflicted emotions; in contrast, this album is quite positive, echoing the emotional state Lara is in at this stage of her life.
Is she ‘selling out’ with this album? She probably has been influenced by Igor Kruoi’s straightforward melodies (which some fans call ‘boring’), but my (limited) experience with those I’ve exposed them to is that people find them beautiful. Some of the French fans, wanting greater complexity, feel that this album is appropriate only for the (less sophisticated) tastes of the ‘countries to the east’. We will see what the general reaction is when more people weigh in, and if the general public in different countries gets a chance to express their opinion via purchases.
Thanks to the efforts of Laetitia on larafabianweb.com, we now have translations (into French) of the liner notes that Lara and Igor have written accompanying the album. Here is a further translation into English, beginning with Lara’s:
----------------------------------------------------------
This new project is an encounter between two lovers who fall in love with music ... Two souls forever confined in an extraordinary journey they undertook to create this album ... My passion, my hopes, my thoughts and my joy that I kept guarded since my childhood ... you can hear it all in every song.
I hope you feel the depth of the emotions we felt while working on this album.
I must confess, my heart beats at an accelerated pace with the thought that you will all discover our creation.
Here, "Mademoiselle Zhivago". ...
Sincere feelings,
Lara
-------------------------------------------------------------
And then from Igor,
--------------------------------------------------------------
I am extremely happy that fate allowed me to accomplish my dream and I could create beside Lara. Create it with the singer Lara Fabian, with the poet Lara Fabian, with the actress Lara Fabian.
The project "Mademoiselle Zhivago" plunged us into a surreal world that we created.
New cities and countries, strange fates, love and separation, meetings, sorrow and joy.
In creating this world, we have lived the small lives of the heroes.
I really want that you also be there in this grand world where everything is governed by music and poetry. Listen!
Igor Krutoi
------------------------------------------------------------------
In other news, the promo continues for the ‘best of’ release still scheduled for November 15th in France. Associated with this, the new song “On s'aimerait tout bas” is getting regular airplay on various radio stations throughout the region. The cover for this single can be found on larafabiannews.com and Christina’s sites, as well as at:
www.cheriefm.fr/musique-104/news-musique-26/article/251336--lara-fabian-donne-le-best-of-d-elle-meme.html?facebookdirectlink=redirect%3Ffacebookdirectlink%3Dredirect&ref=nf
At one of the concerts in the Ukraine, Lara reaffirmed that the live DVD would be released on that day as well. On amazon.fr, about 70% of those interested are buying the 2 CDs + DVD, with 30% buying the 2 CDs alone.
It was announced by Jérémy P, that on the anniversary of Lara’s 25 years in the business (2011), he will be publishing a biography on Lara. He anticipates that not only will it be a book in print, but it will also be available in digital format, with an interactive system that allows access to multimedia content (websites, audios, videos, etc.). In mentioning this on the official forum site, in addition to drumming up potential sales, he seems also to be asking fans to provide anecdotes about Lara.
You may remember that ‘Kathy’ wrote a book about Lara, with Hezia providing the introduction. It was not authorized by Lara, and basically consisted of saying that on this date Lara did this, then she did that, etc. In contrast, ‘jonlee’ on the official site forum said that Lara has agreed to the publication of this biography.
Big week for Lara coming up with her concerts in Moscow…let’s hope it fulfills everyone’s expectations, as the Russian fans have been very enthusiastic and deserve great shows. And of course, if it happens, a great DVD!
David
