Post by davidhr on Mar 27, 2012 10:29:11 GMT -5
Apparently aware of the danger of losing fans in her upcoming absence from performing - or, less cynically, perhaps out of gratitude for their continuing enthusiastic support - Lara has now taken to sending more frequent messages to fans on her FB site. In this case she welcomed Spring (in the N.H.) in a message of love to them. Her next concert (in Kazakhstan) is still three weeks away, and there’s precious little else going on to keep fans involved. On the FB site in the ‘events’ section, fans have been placing requests for Lara to come give concerts. By far the most common destination suggested is the U.S., a place she has never given a full concert. Lara has said a number of times that she’s dreamed of doing so, but so far has not taken steps to make those dreams happen (and as we know, cancelled steps when it was supposed to happen).
One place one would think she would not be going to any time soon is Russia (and the Ukraine). As noted briefly in a response for the last news update, Tarcisio on the Mlle. Zhivago website reported that according to Russian fans, Lara has rejected Alan Badoev’s third revision of the Mlle. Zhivago movie. He also indicated that Badoev then had less than glowing comments to make about Lara on Russian TV. Badoev is a popular figure in that culture, and were Lara to make an appearance there, she would likely be subject to some unwanted questioning/criticism. This disagreement has closed off a number of career opportunities that Lara seemed to want to pursue; it’s hard to believe they can’t work it out, but as more time passes, the probabilities seem to decrease. It was also to her disadvantage that Lara couldn’t work out the problems with Sony – which of course is a primary reason why Lara has never given a concert in the States.
However, Ira Neva on the Russian forum found an announcement (at chel.kassy.ru/event/?type=%D0%BA%D1%86&range=10) indicating that Lara is scheduled to give a show for young people in the Russian city of Chelyabinsk, on October 3, 2012 (tickets ranging between $30 and $170). This is a city of some 3.5 million people (9th biggest in Russia) on the border north of Kazakhstan. The tickets are not yet available for ordering.
No one knows what this really means – as a ‘youth’ show it would appeal to her, and it is pretty far from Moscow (even further from the Ukraine) – pretty close in fact to where she’ll be in April. So it seems plausible; if real, it may just be a one-time thing (rather than indicative of a tour that Russian fans hope it means). People are waiting to see if its listing appears on any of Lara’s official sites, but we know that many of Lara’s past activities in Russia never did. We’ll see if the venue ever starts selling tickets.
In left-over news from the concerts last week, the Belgian and French press have noted the adoring reception that Lara received when in Bucharest, complete with the 4000 fans holding up signs saying they miss her, and singing along on ‘Je t’aime’. The Romanian fan club has certainly helped boost interest in Lara, with events such as this and their wonderful subtitling of some of her shows. More generally, this has again brought to the attention of the press the great devotion Lara is shown by her fans – which given the general lack of interest in her in France, must come as a continual surprise. Lara’s fans are becoming as much of a story as she is. The articles also gave prominence to Lara’s new song ‘Le Secret’ (and mention how her popularity in Eastern Europe has been ‘sustained’ by the ‘Mlle. Zhivago’ CD and ‘pending’ DVD).
Meanwhile, the alternate site for the video of the 3/17 Bucharest concert started working again (at least for me – thanks Paula for the suggestion). . This video is not from as close to the stage as the one from Prague, nevertheless, it’s nice to have the recordings of both. If anyone still has trouble with it, let us know. One odd aspect of the various individual clips people have put on Youtube from all five concerts is the almost complete absence of ‘Demain n’existe pas’ (the one representative from Mlle. Zhivago, in origin at least, that ‘sustains’ her support there
).
While Lara’s next album is probably a year away, there are reports of two upcoming releases in which Lara will play a part. An article in the Greek press about George Perris indicated that his forthcoming album will feature a duet with Lara. We know they have sung together in the past, and that Lara has attended his shows. The album is due out in April (thanks to Jean Cristoffer Santos on the Mlle. Zhivago FB site).
Also due out the same month (April 23) is an album in honor of Dalida, marking the 25th anniversary of her ‘tragic’ death. The double album is entitled "Depuis qu'elle est partie." One disc is a Best Of album by her, 'Dalida Chante', and the other has recordings of her songs by famous singers, 'Ils chantent Dalida'. Lara’s track is the song "Il venait d 'avoir 18 years”, probably the cut from TLFM. In one of her recent interviews in Eastern Europe Lara was asked about Dalida, and she said that Dalida’s tumultuous life was a lesson for her – that whenever she gets too passionate about things, she remembers how Dalida killed herself, and ‘steps back’. The parallels between them are quite striking, both in terms of life history and temperament, and they have often been compared with respect to their fans' devotion.
Nothing on Lara’s schedule publicly for the next several weeks, but given her new-found penchant for communication, we should not be surprised to get a (probably innocuous) message from her on her FB site.
David
One place one would think she would not be going to any time soon is Russia (and the Ukraine). As noted briefly in a response for the last news update, Tarcisio on the Mlle. Zhivago website reported that according to Russian fans, Lara has rejected Alan Badoev’s third revision of the Mlle. Zhivago movie. He also indicated that Badoev then had less than glowing comments to make about Lara on Russian TV. Badoev is a popular figure in that culture, and were Lara to make an appearance there, she would likely be subject to some unwanted questioning/criticism. This disagreement has closed off a number of career opportunities that Lara seemed to want to pursue; it’s hard to believe they can’t work it out, but as more time passes, the probabilities seem to decrease. It was also to her disadvantage that Lara couldn’t work out the problems with Sony – which of course is a primary reason why Lara has never given a concert in the States.
However, Ira Neva on the Russian forum found an announcement (at chel.kassy.ru/event/?type=%D0%BA%D1%86&range=10) indicating that Lara is scheduled to give a show for young people in the Russian city of Chelyabinsk, on October 3, 2012 (tickets ranging between $30 and $170). This is a city of some 3.5 million people (9th biggest in Russia) on the border north of Kazakhstan. The tickets are not yet available for ordering.
No one knows what this really means – as a ‘youth’ show it would appeal to her, and it is pretty far from Moscow (even further from the Ukraine) – pretty close in fact to where she’ll be in April. So it seems plausible; if real, it may just be a one-time thing (rather than indicative of a tour that Russian fans hope it means). People are waiting to see if its listing appears on any of Lara’s official sites, but we know that many of Lara’s past activities in Russia never did. We’ll see if the venue ever starts selling tickets.
In left-over news from the concerts last week, the Belgian and French press have noted the adoring reception that Lara received when in Bucharest, complete with the 4000 fans holding up signs saying they miss her, and singing along on ‘Je t’aime’. The Romanian fan club has certainly helped boost interest in Lara, with events such as this and their wonderful subtitling of some of her shows. More generally, this has again brought to the attention of the press the great devotion Lara is shown by her fans – which given the general lack of interest in her in France, must come as a continual surprise. Lara’s fans are becoming as much of a story as she is. The articles also gave prominence to Lara’s new song ‘Le Secret’ (and mention how her popularity in Eastern Europe has been ‘sustained’ by the ‘Mlle. Zhivago’ CD and ‘pending’ DVD).
Meanwhile, the alternate site for the video of the 3/17 Bucharest concert started working again (at least for me – thanks Paula for the suggestion). . This video is not from as close to the stage as the one from Prague, nevertheless, it’s nice to have the recordings of both. If anyone still has trouble with it, let us know. One odd aspect of the various individual clips people have put on Youtube from all five concerts is the almost complete absence of ‘Demain n’existe pas’ (the one representative from Mlle. Zhivago, in origin at least, that ‘sustains’ her support there
). While Lara’s next album is probably a year away, there are reports of two upcoming releases in which Lara will play a part. An article in the Greek press about George Perris indicated that his forthcoming album will feature a duet with Lara. We know they have sung together in the past, and that Lara has attended his shows. The album is due out in April (thanks to Jean Cristoffer Santos on the Mlle. Zhivago FB site).
Also due out the same month (April 23) is an album in honor of Dalida, marking the 25th anniversary of her ‘tragic’ death. The double album is entitled "Depuis qu'elle est partie." One disc is a Best Of album by her, 'Dalida Chante', and the other has recordings of her songs by famous singers, 'Ils chantent Dalida'. Lara’s track is the song "Il venait d 'avoir 18 years”, probably the cut from TLFM. In one of her recent interviews in Eastern Europe Lara was asked about Dalida, and she said that Dalida’s tumultuous life was a lesson for her – that whenever she gets too passionate about things, she remembers how Dalida killed herself, and ‘steps back’. The parallels between them are quite striking, both in terms of life history and temperament, and they have often been compared with respect to their fans' devotion.
Nothing on Lara’s schedule publicly for the next several weeks, but given her new-found penchant for communication, we should not be surprised to get a (probably innocuous) message from her on her FB site.
David
