Post by davidhr on Dec 28, 2010 15:51:34 GMT -5
Although Lara presumably was enjoying the holiday season at home this past week, her recording of “Je t’aime” on the ‘500 choristes” program aired Christmas day. The fans general opinion was that it was pretty but not transcendent, with Lara’s singing mid-way between powerful and soft/melodic. There was a good audience for it, apparently some five million people watched the show.
Actually, the resultant performance had a back story to it, as relayed by ‘pakisann’ on the official site forum. Here is a translation of what was reported:
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Lara arrived very agreeably but there were several hours of filming (it was now midnight). From the first rehearsal, Lara had expressed her concerns about the sound in her earpiece. She was very patient but after 2, 3, 4, 5 small attempts (she almost always stopped at the end of the first verse), Lara lost her temper and left the stage to retreat to the wings.
However, when she left the stage, a majority of people thought that Lara left the show and that she wouldn't return ... Consequently, many people started to boo.
When she returned to the stage, she was again applauded and cheered by her [few] fans and some part of the public.
However, the damage was done and Lara returned disappointed by what was happening and we did "Je t’aime” in one take ... Therefore, the performance lacked enthusiasm and the result is there ...
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Other opinions expressed on the site were that Lara has been lip-synching so often that she is no longer used to the sound on stage…however, many of the songs at her concerts in Russia were sung with live musicians, especially ‘Je t’aime’; that she appeared tired, which is probably true given her hectic travel schedule and the need to promote two different albums in different countries; and that she wasn’t really ‘there’, having returned from Russia simply to promote the ‘best of’ album and she would have preferred not to have been there. This last explanation perhaps rings truest of all. Nevertheless, it was a nice performance and one is happy to have the video, available on the web.
Three days before, Lara called in to the Cauet show as a surprise for the show’s director Jeremy, who is a big fan of hers. They had a humorous exchange, which had the strong implication that Lara was still not officially married, despite her recent comments referring to Gerard as her ‘husband’. The video (from the Cauet side of the phone call) is available on larafabiannews.com.
The biography of Lara, “Toutes les femmes en elle” by Patinier is available for ordering worldwide, at:
www.lulu.com/product/couverture-souple/lara-fabian-toutes-les-femmes-en-elle-%28biographie%29/14309565
Fans who have already received it and read it generally give it a positive review, although how much new one learns depends upon how much one knows about Lara in the first place. Hence some fans think it does contain previously unknown information, while others do not. The cost is $23, it is 245 pages, paperback. As it is written by someone who is a fan of Lara, but not a member of her ‘inner circle’, it is probably best thought of as a good start, although not the definitive biography (if there ever is one).
Concerning the commercial aspects of Lara’s latest releases:
Lara’s ‘best of’ album has dropped 18 places to 72nd overall on the French charts. It is 6th in Belgium, and there it is the 30th best selling album of the year. On amazon.fr it has moved back into the top 100, at 48, following the ‘500 choristes’ program.
The “TLFM font leur show” DVD is still set for its stand-alone release on January 3rd. Fans are waiting to see if there will be a bonus, some reason to buy it if one already has the version that accompanied the ‘best of’ release. There is still no indication of that on FNAC. [Note that the ‘best of’ package includes the words ‘DVD bonus’, but that is simply the DVD itself, which is the bonus for the package of 2 CDs].
The Mlle. Zhivago album went back up one place on the Russian charts, regaining the 4th position. It has now been in the top 5 for the last 5 weeks.
Lara will be on Russian TV on New Year’s Day, appropriate perhaps for what may be a continued push into that market in the coming year. The DVD of her last tour is set for its January 3rd release, and it could be the last gasp for the French market for the foreseeable future – we’ll find that out in 2011.
As is the custom, this last news update of the year ends with a review of Lara’s year 2010. Obviously this is a personal perspective, and Lara’s might be very different! Because of it’s length (Lara was very active this year – the review is twice as long as last year’s), it is provided as a separate thread.
Happy New Year to all of you.
David
Actually, the resultant performance had a back story to it, as relayed by ‘pakisann’ on the official site forum. Here is a translation of what was reported:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lara arrived very agreeably but there were several hours of filming (it was now midnight). From the first rehearsal, Lara had expressed her concerns about the sound in her earpiece. She was very patient but after 2, 3, 4, 5 small attempts (she almost always stopped at the end of the first verse), Lara lost her temper and left the stage to retreat to the wings.
However, when she left the stage, a majority of people thought that Lara left the show and that she wouldn't return ... Consequently, many people started to boo.
When she returned to the stage, she was again applauded and cheered by her [few] fans and some part of the public.
However, the damage was done and Lara returned disappointed by what was happening and we did "Je t’aime” in one take ... Therefore, the performance lacked enthusiasm and the result is there ...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Other opinions expressed on the site were that Lara has been lip-synching so often that she is no longer used to the sound on stage…however, many of the songs at her concerts in Russia were sung with live musicians, especially ‘Je t’aime’; that she appeared tired, which is probably true given her hectic travel schedule and the need to promote two different albums in different countries; and that she wasn’t really ‘there’, having returned from Russia simply to promote the ‘best of’ album and she would have preferred not to have been there. This last explanation perhaps rings truest of all. Nevertheless, it was a nice performance and one is happy to have the video, available on the web.
Three days before, Lara called in to the Cauet show as a surprise for the show’s director Jeremy, who is a big fan of hers. They had a humorous exchange, which had the strong implication that Lara was still not officially married, despite her recent comments referring to Gerard as her ‘husband’. The video (from the Cauet side of the phone call) is available on larafabiannews.com.
The biography of Lara, “Toutes les femmes en elle” by Patinier is available for ordering worldwide, at:
www.lulu.com/product/couverture-souple/lara-fabian-toutes-les-femmes-en-elle-%28biographie%29/14309565
Fans who have already received it and read it generally give it a positive review, although how much new one learns depends upon how much one knows about Lara in the first place. Hence some fans think it does contain previously unknown information, while others do not. The cost is $23, it is 245 pages, paperback. As it is written by someone who is a fan of Lara, but not a member of her ‘inner circle’, it is probably best thought of as a good start, although not the definitive biography (if there ever is one).
Concerning the commercial aspects of Lara’s latest releases:
Lara’s ‘best of’ album has dropped 18 places to 72nd overall on the French charts. It is 6th in Belgium, and there it is the 30th best selling album of the year. On amazon.fr it has moved back into the top 100, at 48, following the ‘500 choristes’ program.
The “TLFM font leur show” DVD is still set for its stand-alone release on January 3rd. Fans are waiting to see if there will be a bonus, some reason to buy it if one already has the version that accompanied the ‘best of’ release. There is still no indication of that on FNAC. [Note that the ‘best of’ package includes the words ‘DVD bonus’, but that is simply the DVD itself, which is the bonus for the package of 2 CDs].
The Mlle. Zhivago album went back up one place on the Russian charts, regaining the 4th position. It has now been in the top 5 for the last 5 weeks.
Lara will be on Russian TV on New Year’s Day, appropriate perhaps for what may be a continued push into that market in the coming year. The DVD of her last tour is set for its January 3rd release, and it could be the last gasp for the French market for the foreseeable future – we’ll find that out in 2011.
As is the custom, this last news update of the year ends with a review of Lara’s year 2010. Obviously this is a personal perspective, and Lara’s might be very different! Because of it’s length (Lara was very active this year – the review is twice as long as last year’s), it is provided as a separate thread.
Happy New Year to all of you.
David