Post by davidhr on Apr 5, 2011 12:01:36 GMT -5
A busy week for Lara in the media, both ‘at home’ and abroad.
Lara’s performance at the show in London honoring Michael Gorbachev took place this week and it was aired on 1TV in Russia. Surprisingly, considering the venue, she sang ‘Je t’aime’ (maybe it was expressing her feelings about Gorbachev ? ☺ ). Her amazing presentation, with all the passion from her days in Canada and her first days in France, reminds one that Lara is most herself when she is not in France, confronting the critics - compare this with her lukewarm performance of that song on the “500 Choristes” recently, and one can appreciate how conflicted she is in that country. [These remarks coincidentally dovetail with the section of Lara’s biography that we’re up to, below.] She also showed that her voice is as capable as it was 15 years ago. It received A+ reviews from the notoriously hard to please fans on her forum.
Then, in a completely different vein, Lara performed “Caruso” for the French ‘Sidaction’ program, raising money to help combat AIDS. [So – she sang a French song in London, and an Italian song in France…]. It was a haunting performance with a versatile Chinese pianist, and an accompanying acrobat. All in all one of her most memorable renditions of it!
Finally, Lara was at the musical awards in Armenia, where she presented three songs, “Demain N’existe Pas”, “Mademoiselle Hyde” and “Adagio”. All were lip-synched, the last undoubtedly due to the show’s mechanics, but it continues the record of her never having sung anything from Mlle. Zhivago live. Not having to focus on her singing, Lara, with plenty of make-up, had time to leisurely stroll around the stage during the musical interludes.
Videos of all these TV appearances are readily available on the web. Lara looks wonderful, and is clearly enjoying herself right now.
In news of upcoming activities, the post-production of ‘Mlle. Zhivago’ (the movie) is finished, and apparently it will be presented at the upcoming Cannes Film Festival (May 11-22), according to Alan Badoev. This is as a ‘sneak preview’ before it is released in the ‘countries to the east’. We may get a better reading on the validity of all this at the first news conference listing the films to be presented, take place on April 14th. Even if it is not an official selection, the movie can still be presented/made available there.
Maria in Russia reported that Lara will begin a world tour with the Mlle. Zhivago album on Sept. 30 in Saratov, Russia. What that means, exactly, we shall see, however at this point it does not seem as if France is to be included. Given Lara’s full-throated singing, that would certainly be understandable. Again, see the biography review, below. The album is now 7th in Russia, down two places, in its 21st week on the list.
Relevant in a sense to the future predictions of the two above items, in an ‘April Fools’ joke, a member of the official site forum ‘found out’ that Lara had cancelled her participation in the 1939 stage show scheduled for June. As you might expect, some fans got very agitated, having made elaborate arrangements to come to Paris for the show. It was even then mentioned on the website for ‘1939’, before the author admitted the joke. While this re-emphasizes one cannot believe everything one hears or reads, we have also learned where Lara is concerned that even when people really did say what was reported, the events may still not come to pass. A further case in point: the director Mike Ogden has now indicated that the filming of Charlie, scheduled to begin June 27, will probably not take place then, but hopefully will occur sometime this year.
‘Thatsall’ in the thread for the last news update, provided the tracks for the Canadian ‘best of’ release (e.g., Archambault), and as she indicated, it is quite different than either of the European ones, more oriented towards her Canadian career. It’s nice to see that Lara has put some thought into the Canadian production, not just spinning off the French product. As she also noted, there are a lot of obvious omissions that a second CD could have alleviated, but one imagines that given the prospective size of her Canadian audience, it couldn’t be justified. With respect to the inclusion of ‘Demaine n’existe pas’, it will be interesting to see which version it is – you may remember that the original version (that we saw presented in Latvia, August, 2009) was released as a single in Russia, with different backup music (more modern, actually). If it is a teaser for a future Mlle. Zhivago release in that country, it would be great news. Again, the CD will be available starting April. 19th.
Now for the biography of Lara, pp. 77-84 (a little longer than usual to complete the section).
**Where last we left Lara, she was on top of the world in France, but beginning in 1998 and intensifying in 1999, Lara fell under the guns of the French media critics.
**Their musical complaints: shouting rather than singing, bombastic music, insipid lyrics.
**Their personal complaints: overly ambitious and arrogant, publicity seeking, intemperate behavior – in effect, everything ‘overdone’. So the attacks were not only professional, they were very personal, aimed at, it seemed to Lara, who she was at the core.
**In particular, ‘Je t’aime’ was mocked, both in cartoons and on a show Lara was actually on, where it was compared to ‘shit’ from a toilet!
**Lara, terribly hurt by this, did not answer back. At first, she couldn’t believe that what she considered baseless remarks were taken seriously, so she didn’t bother. Later she didn’t want to face her feelings or show them to the public, so she pretended that everything was o.k.
**Instead, she turned her pain inward. As is well-known Lara says now that she considered suicide, her state of mind aptly described in the song ‘Parce que tu pars’ from ‘Nue’. At the time she indicated she had written it for someone else, but later admitted it was for herself. And this wasn’t only about the French critics – she said all aspects of her life were going bad, were telling her that she was worthless. So, she says now, she just wanted to give up, but that desire was not as strong as the desire to live.
**As is also well-known, Lara ascribes the beginning of her turn-around to a meeting with Francois Hardy, who gave her support and suggested she establish some distance to look at herself.
**The result, according to Lara, was that she became much more in touch with and less afraid of her feelings and her failures – accepting herself for good and bad relieved the pressure to be perfect so that she could be loved by everybody. She says that she can now be alone with herself, an important achievement. She also learned that ‘the press is not your friend’, that she could not broadcast her deepest feelings through them.
My take on this is that Lara never really understood the criticism and to this day doesn’t. From the perspective of most of her fans, it was wildly overdone, with her amazing talents under-appreciated. Like most young ‘stars’, she was not prepared for the pressure cooker existence that fame produces, and handled it inexpertly. This was combined with the fact that the French, unlike Americans and Canadians, have rarely liked powerful ‘singers of voice’, seem to be highly cynical by nature, and especially target anyone (females, in particular) who does not appear sufficiently humble.
It had a practical effect on her music, as we know and as Lara has admitted, of turning her away from singing with her full power when in that country. Her performance of ‘Je t’aime’ in London this past week would probably never take place in France anymore, and it is no surprise that all of her powerful singing, along with the Mlle. Zhivago album, is kept out of that country. In France, only restrained performances are given (e.g., ‘Caruso’ this past week). If the Mlle. Zhivago world tour never makes it to France, that would probably be to everybody’s advantage, except of course the French fans. And if the album isn’t released there, it’s unlikely the film will be either, despite a possible initial showing at Cannes.
With this perspective, one wonders about the report that Igor Krutoi is writing the music for Lara’s next album, and that the album is supposed to be in French. Krutoi’s music takes full advantage of Lara’s vocal capacity, so how can that be envisioned for the French audience? [And, for that matter, what happened to ‘Le Secret’?].
This coming week, Lara’s concert in Armenia of several weeks ago will be broadcast on TV in that country. Hopefully there will be a video of the show made available.
David
Lara’s performance at the show in London honoring Michael Gorbachev took place this week and it was aired on 1TV in Russia. Surprisingly, considering the venue, she sang ‘Je t’aime’ (maybe it was expressing her feelings about Gorbachev ? ☺ ). Her amazing presentation, with all the passion from her days in Canada and her first days in France, reminds one that Lara is most herself when she is not in France, confronting the critics - compare this with her lukewarm performance of that song on the “500 Choristes” recently, and one can appreciate how conflicted she is in that country. [These remarks coincidentally dovetail with the section of Lara’s biography that we’re up to, below.] She also showed that her voice is as capable as it was 15 years ago. It received A+ reviews from the notoriously hard to please fans on her forum.
Then, in a completely different vein, Lara performed “Caruso” for the French ‘Sidaction’ program, raising money to help combat AIDS. [So – she sang a French song in London, and an Italian song in France…]. It was a haunting performance with a versatile Chinese pianist, and an accompanying acrobat. All in all one of her most memorable renditions of it!
Finally, Lara was at the musical awards in Armenia, where she presented three songs, “Demain N’existe Pas”, “Mademoiselle Hyde” and “Adagio”. All were lip-synched, the last undoubtedly due to the show’s mechanics, but it continues the record of her never having sung anything from Mlle. Zhivago live. Not having to focus on her singing, Lara, with plenty of make-up, had time to leisurely stroll around the stage during the musical interludes.
Videos of all these TV appearances are readily available on the web. Lara looks wonderful, and is clearly enjoying herself right now.
In news of upcoming activities, the post-production of ‘Mlle. Zhivago’ (the movie) is finished, and apparently it will be presented at the upcoming Cannes Film Festival (May 11-22), according to Alan Badoev. This is as a ‘sneak preview’ before it is released in the ‘countries to the east’. We may get a better reading on the validity of all this at the first news conference listing the films to be presented, take place on April 14th. Even if it is not an official selection, the movie can still be presented/made available there.
Maria in Russia reported that Lara will begin a world tour with the Mlle. Zhivago album on Sept. 30 in Saratov, Russia. What that means, exactly, we shall see, however at this point it does not seem as if France is to be included. Given Lara’s full-throated singing, that would certainly be understandable. Again, see the biography review, below. The album is now 7th in Russia, down two places, in its 21st week on the list.
Relevant in a sense to the future predictions of the two above items, in an ‘April Fools’ joke, a member of the official site forum ‘found out’ that Lara had cancelled her participation in the 1939 stage show scheduled for June. As you might expect, some fans got very agitated, having made elaborate arrangements to come to Paris for the show. It was even then mentioned on the website for ‘1939’, before the author admitted the joke. While this re-emphasizes one cannot believe everything one hears or reads, we have also learned where Lara is concerned that even when people really did say what was reported, the events may still not come to pass. A further case in point: the director Mike Ogden has now indicated that the filming of Charlie, scheduled to begin June 27, will probably not take place then, but hopefully will occur sometime this year.
‘Thatsall’ in the thread for the last news update, provided the tracks for the Canadian ‘best of’ release (e.g., Archambault), and as she indicated, it is quite different than either of the European ones, more oriented towards her Canadian career. It’s nice to see that Lara has put some thought into the Canadian production, not just spinning off the French product. As she also noted, there are a lot of obvious omissions that a second CD could have alleviated, but one imagines that given the prospective size of her Canadian audience, it couldn’t be justified. With respect to the inclusion of ‘Demaine n’existe pas’, it will be interesting to see which version it is – you may remember that the original version (that we saw presented in Latvia, August, 2009) was released as a single in Russia, with different backup music (more modern, actually). If it is a teaser for a future Mlle. Zhivago release in that country, it would be great news. Again, the CD will be available starting April. 19th.
Now for the biography of Lara, pp. 77-84 (a little longer than usual to complete the section).
**Where last we left Lara, she was on top of the world in France, but beginning in 1998 and intensifying in 1999, Lara fell under the guns of the French media critics.
**Their musical complaints: shouting rather than singing, bombastic music, insipid lyrics.
**Their personal complaints: overly ambitious and arrogant, publicity seeking, intemperate behavior – in effect, everything ‘overdone’. So the attacks were not only professional, they were very personal, aimed at, it seemed to Lara, who she was at the core.
**In particular, ‘Je t’aime’ was mocked, both in cartoons and on a show Lara was actually on, where it was compared to ‘shit’ from a toilet!
**Lara, terribly hurt by this, did not answer back. At first, she couldn’t believe that what she considered baseless remarks were taken seriously, so she didn’t bother. Later she didn’t want to face her feelings or show them to the public, so she pretended that everything was o.k.
**Instead, she turned her pain inward. As is well-known Lara says now that she considered suicide, her state of mind aptly described in the song ‘Parce que tu pars’ from ‘Nue’. At the time she indicated she had written it for someone else, but later admitted it was for herself. And this wasn’t only about the French critics – she said all aspects of her life were going bad, were telling her that she was worthless. So, she says now, she just wanted to give up, but that desire was not as strong as the desire to live.
**As is also well-known, Lara ascribes the beginning of her turn-around to a meeting with Francois Hardy, who gave her support and suggested she establish some distance to look at herself.
**The result, according to Lara, was that she became much more in touch with and less afraid of her feelings and her failures – accepting herself for good and bad relieved the pressure to be perfect so that she could be loved by everybody. She says that she can now be alone with herself, an important achievement. She also learned that ‘the press is not your friend’, that she could not broadcast her deepest feelings through them.
My take on this is that Lara never really understood the criticism and to this day doesn’t. From the perspective of most of her fans, it was wildly overdone, with her amazing talents under-appreciated. Like most young ‘stars’, she was not prepared for the pressure cooker existence that fame produces, and handled it inexpertly. This was combined with the fact that the French, unlike Americans and Canadians, have rarely liked powerful ‘singers of voice’, seem to be highly cynical by nature, and especially target anyone (females, in particular) who does not appear sufficiently humble.
It had a practical effect on her music, as we know and as Lara has admitted, of turning her away from singing with her full power when in that country. Her performance of ‘Je t’aime’ in London this past week would probably never take place in France anymore, and it is no surprise that all of her powerful singing, along with the Mlle. Zhivago album, is kept out of that country. In France, only restrained performances are given (e.g., ‘Caruso’ this past week). If the Mlle. Zhivago world tour never makes it to France, that would probably be to everybody’s advantage, except of course the French fans. And if the album isn’t released there, it’s unlikely the film will be either, despite a possible initial showing at Cannes.
With this perspective, one wonders about the report that Igor Krutoi is writing the music for Lara’s next album, and that the album is supposed to be in French. Krutoi’s music takes full advantage of Lara’s vocal capacity, so how can that be envisioned for the French audience? [And, for that matter, what happened to ‘Le Secret’?].
This coming week, Lara’s concert in Armenia of several weeks ago will be broadcast on TV in that country. Hopefully there will be a video of the show made available.
David
