Post by davidhr on Mar 8, 2011 11:35:13 GMT -5
The CD/DVD of David Foster and Friends, and the initial appearance of the PBS show went off as scheduled this past week. As expected, it included Lara’s solo of Caruso and her duet with Michael Bolton on ‘The Prayer’. IMHO Lara did a good job on both songs, especially considering she reportedly had traveled for 48 hours straight to get there from Moscow, with the air traffic controller’s strike in Paris. At the end of each song there was very enthusiastic applause from the audience, as well as from David Foster. Whether this will have further ramifications for Lara’s international career remains to be seen, but it certainly can’t hurt. Videos are available on the web, and there will be additional showings on PBS in the coming week.
Also as scheduled, Lara was in Azerbaijan on March 2nd with Igor Krutoi, where they won the prize for ‘duo of the year 2010 (according to jonlee on the official site forum). Lara sang either three or five songs (the information is conflicting) at the end of the show, the Russian song (“Lyubov Pohozhaya na Son”) from her album being one of them. Of course we don’t know how much she actually ‘sang’ rather than lip-synched (if previous appearances are any indication, not much). Photos are available on larafabiannews.com, while those from the full show can be found on larafabianweb.com.
And, it was reported that Lara took part in the Russian Star Academy on March 4th, with the show to be aired on the 12th. This was reported on the fans’ Russian website and has yet to be officially confirmed (don’t hold your breath…).
It was also announced that Lara is to give a concert in Grozny, in the Chechen Republic today (3/8), International Women’s Day. Her renown in Moscow is getting her all these invitations, as that is where the person who invited her, the Chief of the Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov apparently became acquainted with her work. Christina has a picture and video of Lara's arrival in that country on her Greek Music Treasure Box site. And don’t forget, Lara will be in Armenia to give a concert for “French Day’ on March 18th, returning again for ‘Armenian Day’ next month.
In the same (geographic) vein, it was reported that Alan Badoev the director of the ‘Mlle. Zhivago’ film had finished it, and it would be shown to media outlets and the press this month. There are conflicting reports as to when it would be available to the general public, with one report saying it would be in the fall, and another saying the (short) film would be distributed soon. ‘jonlee’, again on the official site forum, indicated that there will not be much promotion for it, and that instead ‘something else is planned’ for 2012, that being a new album in French. We have certainly learned by now not to take these ‘future plans’ very seriously, although lack of promotion for Mlle. Zhivago (CD plus movie) in France is probably likely.
And now, with our attention shifted back to France: some more information surfaced about the AICOM awards from last week. A 14 year old singer Clara Chevallerau won second prize with an extract from Mozart. According to the report, “the award will grant her the advice of Lara Fabian for the production of her CD with three original songs”. (It may mean that Lara will provide her with three original songs, although that’s not completely clear). A picture of her with Lara is available at
acmgeneve.ch/?p=327
and a video of the winners and Lara being interviewed is at:
www.etoilecasting.com/
To make matters even more interesting, apparently Clara participated on the official site forum. Here’s what she wrote (in translation):
“My name is Clara, and I'm 14 years old. I love Lara Fabian since I was little, I listen to her songs continually, and yesterday I had the chance to meet her because I was a finalist in the International Competition of Musical Comedy, and I won singing lessons with her, so I'm super happy !!!”
Concerning Lara’s ‘non-appearance’ on the show/CD Paroles de Femmes”: ‘Nicholasleroy’ on the official site forum said he discussed it with Stanislas at the show’s recording, and the explanation he got was that the project was completed in 6 weeks to be ready for a March 7th release. Lara would have been involved, but was unable to participate because she was out of the country. This is also the reason Stanislas gave to others who asked. Fans did not really accept this as the full explanation – thinking that there are studios in other countries where she could have recorded her song, and that if Lara had wanted to find the time, she could have (she was after all in Paris the week before for the AICOM competition, although that might have been too late). Probably we’ll never really know, but it would have been an opportunity to reconnect with French public, if in fact Lara is still interested in that.
Regarding Lara’s record sales, the ‘best of’ is currently 16th in Belgium (up four places) – remember there is now a new, cheaper (1 CD) edition. Mlle Zhivago has dropped 7 places to 13th in Russia. BTW, there has appeared another ‘best of’ for Lara that several fans bought at ‘Chatelet’ in Paris as a Russian import. It costs 22 euros, and includes some nice photos and a very interesting track list (albeit one we could put together ourselves), visible at
i63.servimg.com/u/f63/09/03/88/40/18489110.jpg
It’s not clear if one can buy it on-line, although apparently one can write to the store (see the Lara Fabian ‘greatest hits’ thread on the official site forum for the address). It's also not clear if it is essentially a 'pirated' edition from Russia, or has a legal connection with Polydor (it apparently carries a Polydor label, but of course that could be pirated as well...).
And now more from the biography of Lara. The next section dealt primarily with Rick Allison, pp. 51-59 (twice as much we usually cover, as it doesn’t seem worthwhile to spend two weeks on it):
**We think of Rick primarily as the muse for Lara, but in actuality he is directly associated with the sale of about 20 million discs, only ½ of which come from his collaboration with Lara.
**Other prime collaborations have been with Chimene Badi, Patrick Fiori, Johnny Hallyday Michel Sardou, Nataswha-St. Pier, Roch Voisine, Julie Zenatti, and Nolwenn Leroy, among many others…(and of course, Zoe Gilbert, who became his wife).
**Rick and Lara were together as a couple for some 7 years, which ended in 1998. But he continued as her professional companion 'til 2004.
**Concerning their romantic relationship, Lara indicated he treated her like a child, and was never willing to take the risk of it being a true male-female bonding, fearful of losing her as a friend.
**He’s always had a great interest in working with young talent (as he did with Lara), and was often called upon by record companies (Universal, in particular) to do so.
**In that regard, he wanted to set up his own recording studio, and so, at the end of his association with Lara, he bought the big complex in Montreal called l’Espace Dell’arte which included sound and image studios, a rehearsal hall and the multifunctional room known as the Salle Dell’arte. He had them completely refurbished, incorporating the latest in technology.
**Unfortunately, Rick’s fortunes changed during the last half of the 2000s decade; a number of projects failed, and he overspent on l’Espace Dell’arte – with checks that bounced. He ultimately had to pay back close to $1,000,000.
**This was also the time of deteriorating relations with Lara. When she asked to be allowed to use 39 of their joint songs for a new Italian album (and ultimately one in Spanish), he in effect refused, for which they went to court. It was finally settled amicably toward the end of the decade (terms not revealed).
Although it does seem useful to review the information provided here, this section illustrates the weaknesses of the book, which prevent it from being a first class biography. There is no hunting for explanations. Why, for example, did Rick and Lara break up professionally? We’ve heard from other sources that it was at least partly associated with the problems that ‘La Difference’ encountered, but there’s no exploration (or even mention) of that, or any other reason. The author simply states what happens – much like the biography produced by Kathy some years ago, although perhaps a bit more complete. So don’t expect too much of it…
Lara’s wonderful adventure in the ‘countries to the east’ continues for at least the next several weeks. Hopefully Lou will remember her when she gets home…☺
David
Also as scheduled, Lara was in Azerbaijan on March 2nd with Igor Krutoi, where they won the prize for ‘duo of the year 2010 (according to jonlee on the official site forum). Lara sang either three or five songs (the information is conflicting) at the end of the show, the Russian song (“Lyubov Pohozhaya na Son”) from her album being one of them. Of course we don’t know how much she actually ‘sang’ rather than lip-synched (if previous appearances are any indication, not much). Photos are available on larafabiannews.com, while those from the full show can be found on larafabianweb.com.
And, it was reported that Lara took part in the Russian Star Academy on March 4th, with the show to be aired on the 12th. This was reported on the fans’ Russian website and has yet to be officially confirmed (don’t hold your breath…).
It was also announced that Lara is to give a concert in Grozny, in the Chechen Republic today (3/8), International Women’s Day. Her renown in Moscow is getting her all these invitations, as that is where the person who invited her, the Chief of the Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov apparently became acquainted with her work. Christina has a picture and video of Lara's arrival in that country on her Greek Music Treasure Box site. And don’t forget, Lara will be in Armenia to give a concert for “French Day’ on March 18th, returning again for ‘Armenian Day’ next month.
In the same (geographic) vein, it was reported that Alan Badoev the director of the ‘Mlle. Zhivago’ film had finished it, and it would be shown to media outlets and the press this month. There are conflicting reports as to when it would be available to the general public, with one report saying it would be in the fall, and another saying the (short) film would be distributed soon. ‘jonlee’, again on the official site forum, indicated that there will not be much promotion for it, and that instead ‘something else is planned’ for 2012, that being a new album in French. We have certainly learned by now not to take these ‘future plans’ very seriously, although lack of promotion for Mlle. Zhivago (CD plus movie) in France is probably likely.
And now, with our attention shifted back to France: some more information surfaced about the AICOM awards from last week. A 14 year old singer Clara Chevallerau won second prize with an extract from Mozart. According to the report, “the award will grant her the advice of Lara Fabian for the production of her CD with three original songs”. (It may mean that Lara will provide her with three original songs, although that’s not completely clear). A picture of her with Lara is available at
acmgeneve.ch/?p=327
and a video of the winners and Lara being interviewed is at:
www.etoilecasting.com/
To make matters even more interesting, apparently Clara participated on the official site forum. Here’s what she wrote (in translation):
“My name is Clara, and I'm 14 years old. I love Lara Fabian since I was little, I listen to her songs continually, and yesterday I had the chance to meet her because I was a finalist in the International Competition of Musical Comedy, and I won singing lessons with her, so I'm super happy !!!”
Concerning Lara’s ‘non-appearance’ on the show/CD Paroles de Femmes”: ‘Nicholasleroy’ on the official site forum said he discussed it with Stanislas at the show’s recording, and the explanation he got was that the project was completed in 6 weeks to be ready for a March 7th release. Lara would have been involved, but was unable to participate because she was out of the country. This is also the reason Stanislas gave to others who asked. Fans did not really accept this as the full explanation – thinking that there are studios in other countries where she could have recorded her song, and that if Lara had wanted to find the time, she could have (she was after all in Paris the week before for the AICOM competition, although that might have been too late). Probably we’ll never really know, but it would have been an opportunity to reconnect with French public, if in fact Lara is still interested in that.
Regarding Lara’s record sales, the ‘best of’ is currently 16th in Belgium (up four places) – remember there is now a new, cheaper (1 CD) edition. Mlle Zhivago has dropped 7 places to 13th in Russia. BTW, there has appeared another ‘best of’ for Lara that several fans bought at ‘Chatelet’ in Paris as a Russian import. It costs 22 euros, and includes some nice photos and a very interesting track list (albeit one we could put together ourselves), visible at
i63.servimg.com/u/f63/09/03/88/40/18489110.jpg
It’s not clear if one can buy it on-line, although apparently one can write to the store (see the Lara Fabian ‘greatest hits’ thread on the official site forum for the address). It's also not clear if it is essentially a 'pirated' edition from Russia, or has a legal connection with Polydor (it apparently carries a Polydor label, but of course that could be pirated as well...).
And now more from the biography of Lara. The next section dealt primarily with Rick Allison, pp. 51-59 (twice as much we usually cover, as it doesn’t seem worthwhile to spend two weeks on it):
**We think of Rick primarily as the muse for Lara, but in actuality he is directly associated with the sale of about 20 million discs, only ½ of which come from his collaboration with Lara.
**Other prime collaborations have been with Chimene Badi, Patrick Fiori, Johnny Hallyday Michel Sardou, Nataswha-St. Pier, Roch Voisine, Julie Zenatti, and Nolwenn Leroy, among many others…(and of course, Zoe Gilbert, who became his wife).
**Rick and Lara were together as a couple for some 7 years, which ended in 1998. But he continued as her professional companion 'til 2004.
**Concerning their romantic relationship, Lara indicated he treated her like a child, and was never willing to take the risk of it being a true male-female bonding, fearful of losing her as a friend.
**He’s always had a great interest in working with young talent (as he did with Lara), and was often called upon by record companies (Universal, in particular) to do so.
**In that regard, he wanted to set up his own recording studio, and so, at the end of his association with Lara, he bought the big complex in Montreal called l’Espace Dell’arte which included sound and image studios, a rehearsal hall and the multifunctional room known as the Salle Dell’arte. He had them completely refurbished, incorporating the latest in technology.
**Unfortunately, Rick’s fortunes changed during the last half of the 2000s decade; a number of projects failed, and he overspent on l’Espace Dell’arte – with checks that bounced. He ultimately had to pay back close to $1,000,000.
**This was also the time of deteriorating relations with Lara. When she asked to be allowed to use 39 of their joint songs for a new Italian album (and ultimately one in Spanish), he in effect refused, for which they went to court. It was finally settled amicably toward the end of the decade (terms not revealed).
Although it does seem useful to review the information provided here, this section illustrates the weaknesses of the book, which prevent it from being a first class biography. There is no hunting for explanations. Why, for example, did Rick and Lara break up professionally? We’ve heard from other sources that it was at least partly associated with the problems that ‘La Difference’ encountered, but there’s no exploration (or even mention) of that, or any other reason. The author simply states what happens – much like the biography produced by Kathy some years ago, although perhaps a bit more complete. So don’t expect too much of it…
Lara’s wonderful adventure in the ‘countries to the east’ continues for at least the next several weeks. Hopefully Lou will remember her when she gets home…☺
David
