Post by davidhr on Jul 19, 2011 9:47:05 GMT -5
A quiet week for Lara as far as public performances go, and it looks like the rest of the year will be quieter than expected, as well.
Clearly, the big news this week was Lara’s official cancellation of her Russian/Ukranian fall tour of some 29 concerts. In a notice buried on her Facebook site, on the second page of the discussion section concerning the Russian tour (not on the main ‘Wall’, a place one would have thought it merited), the following was posted:
-------------------------------------------------------
Hello,
The Russian Tour is postponed. We don't have more information for the moment but we will keep you inform(ed) as soon as we know when this tour will take place. The reason is completely professional and has nothing to do with any personal problem.
The Staff
-------------------------------------------------------
This response followed a number of entries from fans asking for information on ticket availability, or reporting that box offices had no knowledge of the tour (and also followed by at least a week the concerts being removed from the official site). As usual when Lara’s people are forced to address a subject they would rather avoid, the ‘explanation’ raises as many questions as it answers. That the cancellation is not the result of ‘personal problems’ presumably means that it is not health related, which is good! But what the professional complications were is somewhat of a mystery, presumably because they were so confident of the tour taking place that the notoriously slow official site actually listed the venues. Cancelling that many concerts is a big deal, although admittedly it would have been much worse had they already started selling tickets (as happened in 2004 when Lara’s illness forced the cancellation –that then required a doctor’s note to get her off the hook financially).
As to what the ‘professional problems’ could be, the first thought of course turns to the Mlle. Zhivago film, which it was assumed the concert tour was supposed to promote (although this was never really said). If the film was delayed, then the concert tour would have been premature. And that might be the explanation, but Alan Badoev just ‘tweeted’ the following (in translation):
---------------------------------------------------
“Moscow tomorrow going to do some serious coloring work on the film version of Mademoiselle Zhivago, then to Belgium where I will show the clips to Lara Fabian.
---------------------------------------------------
This doesn’t sound as if the film would be that much delayed, although it might be that post-processing and booking arrangements could take more than a few months.
Another possibility may be associated with the concert tour management itself. We know Lara has broken with the previous management that oversaw her tours in Russia; however, one would imagine that Igor Krutoi could handle such arrangements.
And the message also says that the ‘staff’ has no more information about when it will be rescheduled. A number of fans claiming to ‘be in the know’ have stated that it will be next spring (avoiding the winter sounds logical), but, maybe more cautious now, Lara’s people could be hesitant to say that if uncertainties exist. Perhaps a major uncertainty is what to do with the Mlle. Zhivago film… One can’t take for granted that a tour of the magnitude originally planned will ever take place.
All this has brought Lara’s new fans In the ‘countries to the east’ fully into Lara’s ‘universe’, where French fans have long grown accustomed to unexplained changes in plans (although, again, cancelling this many concerts is extreme even for her). We will see how many of them ‘stay the course’.
Still on (so far) is Lara’s scheduled appearance at the ‘New Wave’ competition in Latvia at the end of July. The website describing the event has the following listing (in translation):
---------------------------------------------------------------
Gala-concert dedicated to the closure of the competition
Recital of Igor Krutoi. World Stars - Sumi Jo, Dmitri Hvorostovsky and Lara Fabian sing songs written by the composer. Ceremonial presentation of the main prizes of the winners … Presentation of certificates to the winners of the competition. People's Choice Award … Special prizes from sponsors.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Hopefully Lara will be well-enough to attend…
Off-hand one wonders at how Latvia is able to draw such distinguished performers to their young artists’ competition, but perhaps it relates to something said on the Russian forum, that ‘this is one event where Russians and (at least) the Baltic States can get together for an event where the Russian language is spoken without political overtones’.
We’ve gotten some more videos from Lara’s performance in Astana last week. ‘Aima Seitova ‘ on the FB forum put the following link:
files.mail.ru/LWAH6Z
from which extracts and a few complete songs can be downloaded – the three complete songs (Je t’aime; Adagio; and Je suis malade) were then subsequently put on youtube. It’s not clear if these were the only full songs that were recorded (there are extracts of just about all the others), and if so, why the complete songs were only her older ones. These videos were personally done, not from any TV show – were there really no copies made of the reported transmission of this concert? {Many copies were made of last December’s TV show from Moscow…)
Nevertheless, these selections show that she was at a truly great vocal level (which makes the lip-synching on some of the others even more perplexing). Some French fans wondered why it appears that Lara sings better (or at least more powerfully) when she is not in France. One look at the criticism she receives there should make the answer obvious.
Some nice photos were noted by ‘Elisa Vidal’ of the ‘Maguen David d'or’ event in June where Lara and Gerard were honored (Lara looks quite luminous). They can be found at:
rockyromy.forumactif.net/t135p120-info-salvatore-adamo2
Of particular interest here is that there are not very many pictures available of Lara with Gerard. In the accompanying article, they particularly noted her performance of “Hurshat Ha Eucalyptus”.
In an older vein, don’t miss the English translations (subtitles) that are currently in the process of being created for the ‘Dans l’universe de…Lara Fabian’ show from last November.
They can be found, along with an increasing number of others, at:
www.youtube.com/user/LaraFabianRomanianFC#p/u/6/Pj-14mKH7_k
Now for the next selection from the ‘biography of Lara’, pp. 167-171. This is concerned with her relationship with Jean-Felix Lalanne.
**They were introduced by Maurane, who insisted that Lara participate in the show he organized (every year), “Autour de la Guitare”. This program always included elite guitarists, but also singers and artists in very different genres (including the visual and performing arts, i.e., dancers, humorists, designers, painters…).
**In order to make it to his show, Lara had to quickly leave the 2003 ‘Victoires de la Musique” also taking place the same night. But it was worth it – the first time she heard him play, she asked him to work with her, and, as we know, that led to their personal relationship as well.
**There is no question that Jean-Felix is a musical master, and the book spends a few pages discussing his history, from a teenage prodigy up to his current projects. You may remember that during one of her Moscow concerts some years ago Lara said he was ‘one of the greatest musicians of the 20th century’ (!).
**And there is also no question (although the book doesn’t go into this) that he came along just as Lara was transitioning into a more restrained mode of singing (e.g., ETI). Actually, he has been ‘accused’ in the press of leading her astray, that way, but he appears correct when he says she was going in that direction before she even met him. What she said about him at the time was that “We see the music the same way. We are two unsatisfied searchers; we want to work with colors which still don’t exist in music, but which are simple, sober. We can work our instruments for many hours – him, the guitar, and me, the voice – to arrive to create things a little different. We have a truly great communication thanks to the music”.
**As we know, he co-wrote, co-composed and arranged the album “Neuf”, and even sang some measures of the song “Le tour du Monde” where they joke about adding a baby to the their lives.
**As we also know, their relationship fell apart during the tour “Un regard neuf”, to the extent that he, one of the ‘greatest musicians of the 20th century’, did not even appear on-stage in it (this is not in the book, but someone reported finding him sitting outside on the steps of the music hall during one of the concerts). And of course Gerard was the one who filmed the tour. Despite Lara’s claim that they parted amicably, and could therefore still work together, there has been no evidence of that subsequently.
Obviously, a lot of things fall apart for all of us, and Lara’s Russian tour is just the latest example. While it is easy to say that this is ‘business as usual’ for Lara, cancellations of this magnitude must be a big blow for her, and one feels sorry for what she may well have gone through when the decision was made (perhaps her recent health problems reflect that). Hopefully, Lara will like the clips that Badoev is supposed to bring her, and the Mlle. Zhivago project will move forward from there.
David
Clearly, the big news this week was Lara’s official cancellation of her Russian/Ukranian fall tour of some 29 concerts. In a notice buried on her Facebook site, on the second page of the discussion section concerning the Russian tour (not on the main ‘Wall’, a place one would have thought it merited), the following was posted:
-------------------------------------------------------
Hello,
The Russian Tour is postponed. We don't have more information for the moment but we will keep you inform(ed) as soon as we know when this tour will take place. The reason is completely professional and has nothing to do with any personal problem.
The Staff
-------------------------------------------------------
This response followed a number of entries from fans asking for information on ticket availability, or reporting that box offices had no knowledge of the tour (and also followed by at least a week the concerts being removed from the official site). As usual when Lara’s people are forced to address a subject they would rather avoid, the ‘explanation’ raises as many questions as it answers. That the cancellation is not the result of ‘personal problems’ presumably means that it is not health related, which is good! But what the professional complications were is somewhat of a mystery, presumably because they were so confident of the tour taking place that the notoriously slow official site actually listed the venues. Cancelling that many concerts is a big deal, although admittedly it would have been much worse had they already started selling tickets (as happened in 2004 when Lara’s illness forced the cancellation –that then required a doctor’s note to get her off the hook financially).
As to what the ‘professional problems’ could be, the first thought of course turns to the Mlle. Zhivago film, which it was assumed the concert tour was supposed to promote (although this was never really said). If the film was delayed, then the concert tour would have been premature. And that might be the explanation, but Alan Badoev just ‘tweeted’ the following (in translation):
---------------------------------------------------
“Moscow tomorrow going to do some serious coloring work on the film version of Mademoiselle Zhivago, then to Belgium where I will show the clips to Lara Fabian.
---------------------------------------------------
This doesn’t sound as if the film would be that much delayed, although it might be that post-processing and booking arrangements could take more than a few months.
Another possibility may be associated with the concert tour management itself. We know Lara has broken with the previous management that oversaw her tours in Russia; however, one would imagine that Igor Krutoi could handle such arrangements.
And the message also says that the ‘staff’ has no more information about when it will be rescheduled. A number of fans claiming to ‘be in the know’ have stated that it will be next spring (avoiding the winter sounds logical), but, maybe more cautious now, Lara’s people could be hesitant to say that if uncertainties exist. Perhaps a major uncertainty is what to do with the Mlle. Zhivago film… One can’t take for granted that a tour of the magnitude originally planned will ever take place.
All this has brought Lara’s new fans In the ‘countries to the east’ fully into Lara’s ‘universe’, where French fans have long grown accustomed to unexplained changes in plans (although, again, cancelling this many concerts is extreme even for her). We will see how many of them ‘stay the course’.
Still on (so far) is Lara’s scheduled appearance at the ‘New Wave’ competition in Latvia at the end of July. The website describing the event has the following listing (in translation):
---------------------------------------------------------------
Gala-concert dedicated to the closure of the competition
Recital of Igor Krutoi. World Stars - Sumi Jo, Dmitri Hvorostovsky and Lara Fabian sing songs written by the composer. Ceremonial presentation of the main prizes of the winners … Presentation of certificates to the winners of the competition. People's Choice Award … Special prizes from sponsors.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Hopefully Lara will be well-enough to attend…
Off-hand one wonders at how Latvia is able to draw such distinguished performers to their young artists’ competition, but perhaps it relates to something said on the Russian forum, that ‘this is one event where Russians and (at least) the Baltic States can get together for an event where the Russian language is spoken without political overtones’.
We’ve gotten some more videos from Lara’s performance in Astana last week. ‘Aima Seitova ‘ on the FB forum put the following link:
files.mail.ru/LWAH6Z
from which extracts and a few complete songs can be downloaded – the three complete songs (Je t’aime; Adagio; and Je suis malade) were then subsequently put on youtube. It’s not clear if these were the only full songs that were recorded (there are extracts of just about all the others), and if so, why the complete songs were only her older ones. These videos were personally done, not from any TV show – were there really no copies made of the reported transmission of this concert? {Many copies were made of last December’s TV show from Moscow…)
Nevertheless, these selections show that she was at a truly great vocal level (which makes the lip-synching on some of the others even more perplexing). Some French fans wondered why it appears that Lara sings better (or at least more powerfully) when she is not in France. One look at the criticism she receives there should make the answer obvious.
Some nice photos were noted by ‘Elisa Vidal’ of the ‘Maguen David d'or’ event in June where Lara and Gerard were honored (Lara looks quite luminous). They can be found at:
rockyromy.forumactif.net/t135p120-info-salvatore-adamo2
Of particular interest here is that there are not very many pictures available of Lara with Gerard. In the accompanying article, they particularly noted her performance of “Hurshat Ha Eucalyptus”.
In an older vein, don’t miss the English translations (subtitles) that are currently in the process of being created for the ‘Dans l’universe de…Lara Fabian’ show from last November.
They can be found, along with an increasing number of others, at:
www.youtube.com/user/LaraFabianRomanianFC#p/u/6/Pj-14mKH7_k
Now for the next selection from the ‘biography of Lara’, pp. 167-171. This is concerned with her relationship with Jean-Felix Lalanne.
**They were introduced by Maurane, who insisted that Lara participate in the show he organized (every year), “Autour de la Guitare”. This program always included elite guitarists, but also singers and artists in very different genres (including the visual and performing arts, i.e., dancers, humorists, designers, painters…).
**In order to make it to his show, Lara had to quickly leave the 2003 ‘Victoires de la Musique” also taking place the same night. But it was worth it – the first time she heard him play, she asked him to work with her, and, as we know, that led to their personal relationship as well.
**There is no question that Jean-Felix is a musical master, and the book spends a few pages discussing his history, from a teenage prodigy up to his current projects. You may remember that during one of her Moscow concerts some years ago Lara said he was ‘one of the greatest musicians of the 20th century’ (!).
**And there is also no question (although the book doesn’t go into this) that he came along just as Lara was transitioning into a more restrained mode of singing (e.g., ETI). Actually, he has been ‘accused’ in the press of leading her astray, that way, but he appears correct when he says she was going in that direction before she even met him. What she said about him at the time was that “We see the music the same way. We are two unsatisfied searchers; we want to work with colors which still don’t exist in music, but which are simple, sober. We can work our instruments for many hours – him, the guitar, and me, the voice – to arrive to create things a little different. We have a truly great communication thanks to the music”.
**As we know, he co-wrote, co-composed and arranged the album “Neuf”, and even sang some measures of the song “Le tour du Monde” where they joke about adding a baby to the their lives.
**As we also know, their relationship fell apart during the tour “Un regard neuf”, to the extent that he, one of the ‘greatest musicians of the 20th century’, did not even appear on-stage in it (this is not in the book, but someone reported finding him sitting outside on the steps of the music hall during one of the concerts). And of course Gerard was the one who filmed the tour. Despite Lara’s claim that they parted amicably, and could therefore still work together, there has been no evidence of that subsequently.
Obviously, a lot of things fall apart for all of us, and Lara’s Russian tour is just the latest example. While it is easy to say that this is ‘business as usual’ for Lara, cancellations of this magnitude must be a big blow for her, and one feels sorry for what she may well have gone through when the decision was made (perhaps her recent health problems reflect that). Hopefully, Lara will like the clips that Badoev is supposed to bring her, and the Mlle. Zhivago project will move forward from there.
David