Post by davidhr on Dec 13, 2016 9:08:56 GMT -5
Lara finished the last extended portion of the 'Ma vie dans la tienne' tour this past week and it encapsulated in a nutshell all the various elements we’ve seen since it began over a year ago: strong vocal performances, enthusiastic audience response, terrorism and technical problems. Since the above list is also the chronological order, we’ll start with Lara’s wonderful concerts in Istanbul, which received high ratings from the audience.
Lara set up the Istanbul appearance with a beautiful photo looking out from her room there, at
www.facebook.com/larafabianofficial/photos/a.215378125170359.50343.201065806601591/1334182853289875/?type=3&theater
and the caption, “Günaydin Istanbul! Waking up in a mysterious city... the view from my room.. See you this evening for one of the last concerts of this magical tour "Ma vie dans la tienne", in Istanbul (at the Zorlu PSM)..”
The two concerts, on the 8th and 9th seemed to be very well attended and received; Lara posted several photos attesting to that, first from 12/8
www.facebook.com/larafabianofficial/photos/a.215378125170359.50343.201065806601591/1335437859831041/?type=3&theater
and then on 12/9
www.facebook.com/larafabianofficial/photos/a.215378125170359.50343.201065806601591/1337327396308754/?type=3&theater
with the caption, “Thank you Istanbul ...teşekkürler [thanks].
We have several longer videos from the performance, and many shorter ones primarily from the ‘Lara Fabian est Notre Vie’ FB site. Normally the shorter videos are not linked to here, but since they compose the vast majority of images from the concert, they are listed below, along with their duration [the longer videos are not timed, and are indicted by *].
Istanbul 12-8-16
*Abba medley:
www.facebook.com/larafabianofficial/videos/1336846169690210/
1) Winner Takes All /Dancing Queen(2:01): www.facebook.com/126019024417182/videos/360407897644959
2) Gimme gimme gimme (1:31):
www.facebook.com/126019024417182/videos/360407604311655
Adagio (0:46): www.facebook.com/126019024417182/videos/308397236179359/
*Elle danse: www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PNJc6ZSAF8
(2:04): www.facebook.com/piuent/videos/590726984452803/
Envie d’en rire (1:11): www.facebook.com/126019024417182/videos/308384682847281/
(0:48): www.facebook.com/126019024417182/videos/360410137644735/
I Will Love Again (1:08): www.facebook.com/126019024417182/videos/308385966180486/
(1:36): www.facebook.com/126019024417182/videos/360408784311537/
Immortelle (1:25): www.facebook.com/126019024417182/videos/360416884310727/
*Je t’aime: www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uQrLeHoP9Y
(0:58): www.facebook.com/126019024417182/videos/360395984312817/
(1:00):
La difference (1:00): www.facebook.com/126019024417182/videos/360409627644786/
Le Coeur qui tremble (1:13):
www.facebook.com/126019024417182/videos/360406837645065/
*L’oubli: www.facebook.com/126019024417182/videos/360401050978977/
Ma vie dans la tienne (0:53):
www.facebook.com/126019024417182/videos/360417774310638/
Non coupable (1:06):
www.facebook.com/126019024417182/videos/360405360978546/
*Quand je ne chante pas: www.facebook.com/126019024417182/videos/360394950979587/
Releve-toi (1:57): www.facebook.com/126019024417182/videos/360405927645156/
S’il ne reste qu’un ami (1:10)
www.facebook.com/126019024417182/videos/360408994311516/
Tue es mon autre (1:23): www.facebook.com/126019024417182/videos/360409984311417/
Ton desir (2:02)
www.facebook.com/larafabianromania/videos/1269075883115406/
(0:35):
www.facebook.com/126019024417182/videos/360413284311087/
Best moments: www.facebook.com/larafabianromania/videos/1271026846253643/
Speech before L’oubli (1:56): www.facebook.com/126019024417182/videos/360401300978952/
A related short video shows Lara on Turkish TV talking about her love for languages, at:
www.facebook.com/projegelistirmemerkezi/videos/1314471911937115/
(thanks to the Lara Fabian Est Notre Vie site for the link…).
Lara posted a picture of herself with Mustafa Ceceli, at
www.facebook.com/larafabianofficial/photos/a.215378125170359.50343.201065806601591/1337187119656115/?type=3&theater
With the caption, “Meeting good friends in Istanbul. Mustafa Cecli”
and then he himself posted a short video (0:58) of Lara singing ‘Envie d’en rire’ on his Instagram site, at:
[If that video was taken from his actual seat, he surprisingly did not have a very good seat!].
An interview with Lara appeared in a Turkish paper (http://www.gazeteler-rss.com/detay/empati-kurabilirsek-yeryuzune-baris-gelir/) (thanks to the Lara Fabian – PHQ site for the link). Here’s the (google) translation:
----------------------------------------------------
'Peace comes to earth if we can build empathy'
Dec. 12, 2016 HABERTURK
Lara Fabian, a world-famous Belgian singer who has behind her a quarter of a century in music career, said, "We have to look first to make life viable. Peace comes to earth if we can build empathy, otherwise we are hunted"
The last stop of the Belgian singer Lara Fabian was Istanbul, which was promoting the world tour as part of the introduction of her album "Ma vie dans la tienne". The famous singer, who catches fame with her tracks called 'I Will Love Again' and 'Je T'aime', has sold more than 25 million copies of her 15 albums in 25 years of music career. Unlike other popular artists, Fabian, who is like an aged wine, says, "I do not like to dress in flashy, scaly dress. Always free for naturalism. The artist must be far from overblown ", revealing her position. It was also evident the integration of the famous singer in Istanbul concerts with the audience, indicating that she enjoyed the pleasant conversation of people from historical places and touristic places of Istanbul.
On Thursday and yesterday evening in Zorlu, you've eased the pace of our ears. How did the concert process go on your way?
LF: Starting in March, the last stop for international touring was Istanbul. I think we made a splendid closing. Istanbul has a mystery that cannot be named. When I see people's energies, I do not want to be more motivated. It was a nice getaway for me to understand.
How do you feel when you come to my country?
LF: It is a difficult question. Turkey is a country where I feel affinity on the one hand and second country when I come to the place. But in recent years, this country is a country full of contradictions and complexes, difficult to understand, unfortunately. I can speak like that because the person who undertakes my mentorship is born in Istanbul. I follow closely what happens.
Is a more livable world possible?
LF: Of course it is possible. The sentence I have always spoken, even in my songs, says, "We have to look at the same thing and empathize before we can raise the level of welfare of the society we live in. If we can bring ourselves to an ideal level of humanity, we will not want to affect other individuals. People will not be able to make peace on earth before they empathize. "I especially pray that Turkey will be able to attain peace.”
The only problem is that people are not looking at the same thing and empathizing?
LF: Not actually. People have forgotten the concept of love because of their financial ambitions. Nobody says to each other 'I love you'. I ask everybody who reads this interview. When was the last time your spouse, your mother, your father or your friend openly said 'I love you'? Why are we afraid, embarrassed and afraid of love? I think that people's misery is caused by loneliness rather than by events.
Although you have been in the music industry for many years, you are making a more compelling profile than most artists do. I do not remember giving you magazine stuff ...
LF: I'm not the sort of woman that would appeal to the magazine, unfortunately. I am a mother who has a happy marriage to composing and singing. My daily life is like an ordinary housewife. I make my art on the stage, drawing the corner. I do not care much about fame coming and going.
Is it easy for an artist to get rid of it?
LF: From the moment that the artist is a mother, there is no ego in her world. Unlike many other artists, I am a simple, outward-looking woman who stands on her feet. I always wanted to live in peace in my family and business life.
What will you be doing musically next year?
LF: English album will meet music lovers in fall 2017. I will take a world tour and pop album on the way back. I have a chance to make a duet with a Turkish artist.
Do you follow the music market in our country?
LF: We are in contact with Mustafa Ceceli. I follow artists like Mercan Dede and Kudsi Erguner closely.
Who would you like to meet most?
LF: I want to meet Sezen Aksu, Ajda Pekkan, Nilüfer, Candan Erçetin and Bülent Ersoy. Especially, Mrs. Bulent's clothing style is very careful.
-----------------------------------------------------------
It’s interesting that there were several comments about clothes in this interview. The one negative opinion that was posted by several people about Lara’s concerts in Istanbul had to do with her outfit, of “sneakers and sweatpants”. Several fans felt she was not living up to her ‘diva’ reputation and providing them with the appropriate spectacle. Of course it’s hard to please everybody, but this issue was mentioned with respect to the concerts in Russia as well, where Lara used to dress up (in Krutoi’s presence, at least). As she says in this article, she likes to dress naturally, and in fact tries to play down her ‘fame’. One wonders if the show had been filmed for a DVD, would she still have worn that outfit (she was better dressed on some of the past DVDs). It will be interesting to see what she wears on the English language tour…
Lara has been all over the place about the date for the release of the new English album, having been quoted first as saying it would be the summer, then more recently the spring, and now the fall. In cases like this it is almost always even later than the latest estimate; let’s see if it even happens in 2017
. Most likely, the later the release is, the later the full promotional concert tour will be.
As noted above, Lara’s concerts in Istanbul were on the 8th and 9th. You probably know by now that on the evening of December 10th, two explosions caused by a car bombing and suicide bombing in Istanbul's Beşiktaş municipality killed 46 people and injured 166 others. 36 of the victims were police officers, 8 were civilians and one remains unidentified as of this time. 19 of the injured remain in critical condition. The Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK) took responsibility. Lara was presumably gone by the time of this event, though no clear statement to that effect was offered on her FB site. It marks the fourth time that her concerts or appearances have occurred in near-conjunction with terrorist events in a little more than a year: Paris, Brussels, Antalya and now Istanbul. Welcome to the 2010s… Of course none of these bombings had anything directly to do with her, but it is ironic, since Lara is all about love and tolerance. In her concerts she continually says she is optimistic that if people learn to love themselves, then that love will spread and we will be able to heal all those people who are hurting, themselves and others. Obviously, there’s a long way to go…
And then there’s the issue of the ‘technical malfunctions’, really a trivial point in comparison to the previous one, but meaningful to the people who are disappointed when it leads to concert cancellations. That happened again for the concert in Craiova, Romania. Lara’s team posted the following statement on the official FB site:
“We regret to inform that due to last minute technical difficulties, and which are impossible to solve in time, the Romanian organizers of the concert in Craiova on December 11th 2016, are forced to postpone the concert date. The new date of the postponed show will be publicly announced the week of December 12 - 16th 2016.”
The above comment seems to imply that it was the Romanian organizers who somehow were at fault, but a fan, ‘Valentin Tudor’, writing into Lara’s FB site, said that the organizers are saying that Lara’s team informed them of the problem and they could do nothing about it. Finger pointing is to be expected in such circumstances, though the Lara Fabian Romania site reported that the Dec. 9th show in Istanbul had technical problems, and perhaps that’s when they were discovered. One has to say that this tour has not been trouble free (though perhaps, like any human endeavor, one should not expect it to be). One can also note the poor organization before the rain postponed the show in Athens; the terrible cold conditions and poor sound in Odessa; the unexplained cancellations in Montauban and Strasbourg. This does not count the cancellations in Poland, which were said to be done for professional reasons (i.e., Lara’s working on the English album, although in fact she was often ‘out and about’ during that time frame). At least the Polish concerts have been rescheduled for this coming February; the Greek concert has yet to receive new dates. We’ll see about the new date for Craiova this coming week.
Another relevant issue, that affects Poland and Athens too, is what type of concert will these re-scheduled ones be? Those fans initially bought tickets for ‘Ma vie dans la tienne’ – will they still get that concert? Do they get automatic refunds if it’s a ‘Best of’, or concert for the English album instead? Probably most fans would not care all that much – though the 'Ma via dans la tienne' concerts were truly wonderful – but hopefully this has been or will be properly considered.
Clearing up some bookkeeping, there were a few more videos posted for the shows in Kiev the previous week:
Kiev 12-2-16
I Will Love Again: www.youtube.com/watch?v=QiMib79_weI
Kiev 12-3-16
I Will Love Again: www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnTT4fBsUy4
Ma vie dans la tienne: www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIt6VGdlAjE
And the Lara Fabian – PHQ site has wonderful photos from the concerts in Ukraine, at:
www.facebook.com/357585007681152/photos/pcb.980466015393045/980464545393192/?type=3&theater
The TV show “Montreal s’allume” (‘Montreal Lights’), celebrating the 375th anniversary of the city, aired in Canada Sunday night. Though it featured some 100 artists, a main attraction (for us) was that both Lara and Celine Dion were to be ‘present’ (http://fr.canoe.ca/divertissement/telemedias/nouvelles/archives/2016/11/20161117-161322.html), though Lara by ‘video’ only, as she was supposed to have been at her concert in Romania that night. The 90 minute show was presented on all the major channels, Radio-Canada, Télé-Québec, TVA, V, CBC and CTV. Lara apparently offered her ‘good wishes’ to Montreal. At least one review (http://www.lapresse.ca/le-soleil/arts/chroniques/richard-therrien/201612/11/01-5050413-feu-de-paille-pour-montreal-sallume.php) felt that the show was scattered, mundane, and ‘lacked soul’. Some of the light projects established as part of this celebration will remain in place.
As to future TV shows, Lara will be on M6 later this month (http://www.toutelatele.com/people-incognito-m6-degaine-sa-nouvelle-emission-de-cameras-cachees-en-pleine-nuit-avec-lara-fabian-keen-v-vianney-anthony-kavanagh-86938) (thanks to the Lara Fabian-PHQ site for the link). Here’s the translation:
--------------------------------------------
People Incognito: M6 unsheathed its new show of hidden cameras at midnight with Lara Fabian, Keen V Vianney, Anthony Kavanagh ...
It's quite discreet, on the night of Monday 26 to Tuesday, December 27 M6 will broadcast its new program, People Incognito. In this format, the stars of different backgrounds have accepted a new experience by going to the meeting with their fan under cover.
The culmination point of this broadcast occurs when the celebrity openly reveals his identity. For this first (and only number?), the channel invited Lara Fabian, Keen V Vianney, Anthony Kavanagh , and Frederic Michalak .
People Incognito is broadcast from 0:15 Monday, December 26.
-----------------------------------------------
This could be interesting enough, though the fans’ reaction would appear to be fairly obvious; a relevant question is, why is this airing so late in the evening?
The Lara Fabian Select site posted a link to an article about Dmitri Hvorostovky (http://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/12/08/arts/music/dmitri-hvorostovsky-citing-brain-tumor-withdraws-from-opera.html?_r=0&referer) who announced that he is retiring from active performing for the time being because of a brain tumor. It was originally discovered in 2015. He said he will still be making recordings, however. As we know, he has sung various duets with Lara under Igor Krutoi’s tutelage.
On a lighter note, the ‘Lara Fabian est ton autre’ site posted a video from RTL TVI showing one of the end-of-year ‘bloopers’ they will be airing. It features Lara and host Sabrina Jacobs attempting to take a ‘selfie’, and can be seen at:
www.facebook.com/RTLTVI/videos/10153865534246685/
Lara provided a promotion for Televie’s ‘Advent Calendar that was discussed in last week’s Update; the short video can be seen at
www.facebook.com/televie/videos/10154710495462226/
Donations can be made at: dons.televie.be/
Interesting photo(s) of the week, from the Turkish interview posted above (and taken here from Lara Fabian Mexico),
www.facebook.com/LaraFabianfromMexico/photos/pb.556364357750962.-2207520000.1481584824./1185598184827573/?type=3&theater
And from the Lara Fabian – PHQ site, from Ukraine,
www.facebook.com/357585007681152/photos/pcb.980466015393045/980463992059914/?type=3&theater
The last two concerts of the ‘Ma vie dans la tienne’ tour are scheduled for this week, fittingly enough the last one being in Brussels at Forest National. Natalia will be one of Lara’s special guests, along with Anggun. Hope people take good videos !!!
David
Lara set up the Istanbul appearance with a beautiful photo looking out from her room there, at
www.facebook.com/larafabianofficial/photos/a.215378125170359.50343.201065806601591/1334182853289875/?type=3&theater
and the caption, “Günaydin Istanbul! Waking up in a mysterious city... the view from my room.. See you this evening for one of the last concerts of this magical tour "Ma vie dans la tienne", in Istanbul (at the Zorlu PSM)..”
The two concerts, on the 8th and 9th seemed to be very well attended and received; Lara posted several photos attesting to that, first from 12/8
www.facebook.com/larafabianofficial/photos/a.215378125170359.50343.201065806601591/1335437859831041/?type=3&theater
and then on 12/9
www.facebook.com/larafabianofficial/photos/a.215378125170359.50343.201065806601591/1337327396308754/?type=3&theater
with the caption, “Thank you Istanbul ...teşekkürler [thanks].
We have several longer videos from the performance, and many shorter ones primarily from the ‘Lara Fabian est Notre Vie’ FB site. Normally the shorter videos are not linked to here, but since they compose the vast majority of images from the concert, they are listed below, along with their duration [the longer videos are not timed, and are indicted by *].
Istanbul 12-8-16
*Abba medley:
www.facebook.com/larafabianofficial/videos/1336846169690210/
1) Winner Takes All /Dancing Queen(2:01): www.facebook.com/126019024417182/videos/360407897644959
2) Gimme gimme gimme (1:31):
www.facebook.com/126019024417182/videos/360407604311655
Adagio (0:46): www.facebook.com/126019024417182/videos/308397236179359/
*Elle danse: www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PNJc6ZSAF8
(2:04): www.facebook.com/piuent/videos/590726984452803/
Envie d’en rire (1:11): www.facebook.com/126019024417182/videos/308384682847281/
(0:48): www.facebook.com/126019024417182/videos/360410137644735/
I Will Love Again (1:08): www.facebook.com/126019024417182/videos/308385966180486/
(1:36): www.facebook.com/126019024417182/videos/360408784311537/
Immortelle (1:25): www.facebook.com/126019024417182/videos/360416884310727/
*Je t’aime: www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uQrLeHoP9Y
(0:58): www.facebook.com/126019024417182/videos/360395984312817/
(1:00):
http://instagram.com/p/BNzyrLLBraY
La difference (1:00): www.facebook.com/126019024417182/videos/360409627644786/
Le Coeur qui tremble (1:13):
www.facebook.com/126019024417182/videos/360406837645065/
*L’oubli: www.facebook.com/126019024417182/videos/360401050978977/
Ma vie dans la tienne (0:53):
www.facebook.com/126019024417182/videos/360417774310638/
Non coupable (1:06):
www.facebook.com/126019024417182/videos/360405360978546/
*Quand je ne chante pas: www.facebook.com/126019024417182/videos/360394950979587/
Releve-toi (1:57): www.facebook.com/126019024417182/videos/360405927645156/
S’il ne reste qu’un ami (1:10)
www.facebook.com/126019024417182/videos/360408994311516/
Tue es mon autre (1:23): www.facebook.com/126019024417182/videos/360409984311417/
Ton desir (2:02)
www.facebook.com/larafabianromania/videos/1269075883115406/
(0:35):
www.facebook.com/126019024417182/videos/360413284311087/
Best moments: www.facebook.com/larafabianromania/videos/1271026846253643/
Speech before L’oubli (1:56): www.facebook.com/126019024417182/videos/360401300978952/
A related short video shows Lara on Turkish TV talking about her love for languages, at:
www.facebook.com/projegelistirmemerkezi/videos/1314471911937115/
(thanks to the Lara Fabian Est Notre Vie site for the link…).
Lara posted a picture of herself with Mustafa Ceceli, at
www.facebook.com/larafabianofficial/photos/a.215378125170359.50343.201065806601591/1337187119656115/?type=3&theater
With the caption, “Meeting good friends in Istanbul. Mustafa Cecli”
and then he himself posted a short video (0:58) of Lara singing ‘Envie d’en rire’ on his Instagram site, at:
http://instagram.com/p/BNzoQyfAlmE
[If that video was taken from his actual seat, he surprisingly did not have a very good seat!].
An interview with Lara appeared in a Turkish paper (http://www.gazeteler-rss.com/detay/empati-kurabilirsek-yeryuzune-baris-gelir/) (thanks to the Lara Fabian – PHQ site for the link). Here’s the (google) translation:
----------------------------------------------------
'Peace comes to earth if we can build empathy'
Dec. 12, 2016 HABERTURK
Lara Fabian, a world-famous Belgian singer who has behind her a quarter of a century in music career, said, "We have to look first to make life viable. Peace comes to earth if we can build empathy, otherwise we are hunted"
The last stop of the Belgian singer Lara Fabian was Istanbul, which was promoting the world tour as part of the introduction of her album "Ma vie dans la tienne". The famous singer, who catches fame with her tracks called 'I Will Love Again' and 'Je T'aime', has sold more than 25 million copies of her 15 albums in 25 years of music career. Unlike other popular artists, Fabian, who is like an aged wine, says, "I do not like to dress in flashy, scaly dress. Always free for naturalism. The artist must be far from overblown ", revealing her position. It was also evident the integration of the famous singer in Istanbul concerts with the audience, indicating that she enjoyed the pleasant conversation of people from historical places and touristic places of Istanbul.
On Thursday and yesterday evening in Zorlu, you've eased the pace of our ears. How did the concert process go on your way?
LF: Starting in March, the last stop for international touring was Istanbul. I think we made a splendid closing. Istanbul has a mystery that cannot be named. When I see people's energies, I do not want to be more motivated. It was a nice getaway for me to understand.
How do you feel when you come to my country?
LF: It is a difficult question. Turkey is a country where I feel affinity on the one hand and second country when I come to the place. But in recent years, this country is a country full of contradictions and complexes, difficult to understand, unfortunately. I can speak like that because the person who undertakes my mentorship is born in Istanbul. I follow closely what happens.
Is a more livable world possible?
LF: Of course it is possible. The sentence I have always spoken, even in my songs, says, "We have to look at the same thing and empathize before we can raise the level of welfare of the society we live in. If we can bring ourselves to an ideal level of humanity, we will not want to affect other individuals. People will not be able to make peace on earth before they empathize. "I especially pray that Turkey will be able to attain peace.”
The only problem is that people are not looking at the same thing and empathizing?
LF: Not actually. People have forgotten the concept of love because of their financial ambitions. Nobody says to each other 'I love you'. I ask everybody who reads this interview. When was the last time your spouse, your mother, your father or your friend openly said 'I love you'? Why are we afraid, embarrassed and afraid of love? I think that people's misery is caused by loneliness rather than by events.
Although you have been in the music industry for many years, you are making a more compelling profile than most artists do. I do not remember giving you magazine stuff ...
LF: I'm not the sort of woman that would appeal to the magazine, unfortunately. I am a mother who has a happy marriage to composing and singing. My daily life is like an ordinary housewife. I make my art on the stage, drawing the corner. I do not care much about fame coming and going.
Is it easy for an artist to get rid of it?
LF: From the moment that the artist is a mother, there is no ego in her world. Unlike many other artists, I am a simple, outward-looking woman who stands on her feet. I always wanted to live in peace in my family and business life.
What will you be doing musically next year?
LF: English album will meet music lovers in fall 2017. I will take a world tour and pop album on the way back. I have a chance to make a duet with a Turkish artist.
Do you follow the music market in our country?
LF: We are in contact with Mustafa Ceceli. I follow artists like Mercan Dede and Kudsi Erguner closely.
Who would you like to meet most?
LF: I want to meet Sezen Aksu, Ajda Pekkan, Nilüfer, Candan Erçetin and Bülent Ersoy. Especially, Mrs. Bulent's clothing style is very careful.
-----------------------------------------------------------
It’s interesting that there were several comments about clothes in this interview. The one negative opinion that was posted by several people about Lara’s concerts in Istanbul had to do with her outfit, of “sneakers and sweatpants”. Several fans felt she was not living up to her ‘diva’ reputation and providing them with the appropriate spectacle. Of course it’s hard to please everybody, but this issue was mentioned with respect to the concerts in Russia as well, where Lara used to dress up (in Krutoi’s presence, at least). As she says in this article, she likes to dress naturally, and in fact tries to play down her ‘fame’. One wonders if the show had been filmed for a DVD, would she still have worn that outfit (she was better dressed on some of the past DVDs). It will be interesting to see what she wears on the English language tour…
Lara has been all over the place about the date for the release of the new English album, having been quoted first as saying it would be the summer, then more recently the spring, and now the fall. In cases like this it is almost always even later than the latest estimate; let’s see if it even happens in 2017
. Most likely, the later the release is, the later the full promotional concert tour will be. As noted above, Lara’s concerts in Istanbul were on the 8th and 9th. You probably know by now that on the evening of December 10th, two explosions caused by a car bombing and suicide bombing in Istanbul's Beşiktaş municipality killed 46 people and injured 166 others. 36 of the victims were police officers, 8 were civilians and one remains unidentified as of this time. 19 of the injured remain in critical condition. The Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK) took responsibility. Lara was presumably gone by the time of this event, though no clear statement to that effect was offered on her FB site. It marks the fourth time that her concerts or appearances have occurred in near-conjunction with terrorist events in a little more than a year: Paris, Brussels, Antalya and now Istanbul. Welcome to the 2010s… Of course none of these bombings had anything directly to do with her, but it is ironic, since Lara is all about love and tolerance. In her concerts she continually says she is optimistic that if people learn to love themselves, then that love will spread and we will be able to heal all those people who are hurting, themselves and others. Obviously, there’s a long way to go…
And then there’s the issue of the ‘technical malfunctions’, really a trivial point in comparison to the previous one, but meaningful to the people who are disappointed when it leads to concert cancellations. That happened again for the concert in Craiova, Romania. Lara’s team posted the following statement on the official FB site:
“We regret to inform that due to last minute technical difficulties, and which are impossible to solve in time, the Romanian organizers of the concert in Craiova on December 11th 2016, are forced to postpone the concert date. The new date of the postponed show will be publicly announced the week of December 12 - 16th 2016.”
The above comment seems to imply that it was the Romanian organizers who somehow were at fault, but a fan, ‘Valentin Tudor’, writing into Lara’s FB site, said that the organizers are saying that Lara’s team informed them of the problem and they could do nothing about it. Finger pointing is to be expected in such circumstances, though the Lara Fabian Romania site reported that the Dec. 9th show in Istanbul had technical problems, and perhaps that’s when they were discovered. One has to say that this tour has not been trouble free (though perhaps, like any human endeavor, one should not expect it to be). One can also note the poor organization before the rain postponed the show in Athens; the terrible cold conditions and poor sound in Odessa; the unexplained cancellations in Montauban and Strasbourg. This does not count the cancellations in Poland, which were said to be done for professional reasons (i.e., Lara’s working on the English album, although in fact she was often ‘out and about’ during that time frame). At least the Polish concerts have been rescheduled for this coming February; the Greek concert has yet to receive new dates. We’ll see about the new date for Craiova this coming week.
Another relevant issue, that affects Poland and Athens too, is what type of concert will these re-scheduled ones be? Those fans initially bought tickets for ‘Ma vie dans la tienne’ – will they still get that concert? Do they get automatic refunds if it’s a ‘Best of’, or concert for the English album instead? Probably most fans would not care all that much – though the 'Ma via dans la tienne' concerts were truly wonderful – but hopefully this has been or will be properly considered.
Clearing up some bookkeeping, there were a few more videos posted for the shows in Kiev the previous week:
Kiev 12-2-16
I Will Love Again: www.youtube.com/watch?v=QiMib79_weI
Kiev 12-3-16
I Will Love Again: www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnTT4fBsUy4
Ma vie dans la tienne: www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIt6VGdlAjE
And the Lara Fabian – PHQ site has wonderful photos from the concerts in Ukraine, at:
www.facebook.com/357585007681152/photos/pcb.980466015393045/980464545393192/?type=3&theater
The TV show “Montreal s’allume” (‘Montreal Lights’), celebrating the 375th anniversary of the city, aired in Canada Sunday night. Though it featured some 100 artists, a main attraction (for us) was that both Lara and Celine Dion were to be ‘present’ (http://fr.canoe.ca/divertissement/telemedias/nouvelles/archives/2016/11/20161117-161322.html), though Lara by ‘video’ only, as she was supposed to have been at her concert in Romania that night. The 90 minute show was presented on all the major channels, Radio-Canada, Télé-Québec, TVA, V, CBC and CTV. Lara apparently offered her ‘good wishes’ to Montreal. At least one review (http://www.lapresse.ca/le-soleil/arts/chroniques/richard-therrien/201612/11/01-5050413-feu-de-paille-pour-montreal-sallume.php) felt that the show was scattered, mundane, and ‘lacked soul’. Some of the light projects established as part of this celebration will remain in place.
As to future TV shows, Lara will be on M6 later this month (http://www.toutelatele.com/people-incognito-m6-degaine-sa-nouvelle-emission-de-cameras-cachees-en-pleine-nuit-avec-lara-fabian-keen-v-vianney-anthony-kavanagh-86938) (thanks to the Lara Fabian-PHQ site for the link). Here’s the translation:
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People Incognito: M6 unsheathed its new show of hidden cameras at midnight with Lara Fabian, Keen V Vianney, Anthony Kavanagh ...
It's quite discreet, on the night of Monday 26 to Tuesday, December 27 M6 will broadcast its new program, People Incognito. In this format, the stars of different backgrounds have accepted a new experience by going to the meeting with their fan under cover.
The culmination point of this broadcast occurs when the celebrity openly reveals his identity. For this first (and only number?), the channel invited Lara Fabian, Keen V Vianney, Anthony Kavanagh , and Frederic Michalak .
People Incognito is broadcast from 0:15 Monday, December 26.
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This could be interesting enough, though the fans’ reaction would appear to be fairly obvious; a relevant question is, why is this airing so late in the evening?
The Lara Fabian Select site posted a link to an article about Dmitri Hvorostovky (http://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/12/08/arts/music/dmitri-hvorostovsky-citing-brain-tumor-withdraws-from-opera.html?_r=0&referer) who announced that he is retiring from active performing for the time being because of a brain tumor. It was originally discovered in 2015. He said he will still be making recordings, however. As we know, he has sung various duets with Lara under Igor Krutoi’s tutelage.
On a lighter note, the ‘Lara Fabian est ton autre’ site posted a video from RTL TVI showing one of the end-of-year ‘bloopers’ they will be airing. It features Lara and host Sabrina Jacobs attempting to take a ‘selfie’, and can be seen at:
www.facebook.com/RTLTVI/videos/10153865534246685/
Lara provided a promotion for Televie’s ‘Advent Calendar that was discussed in last week’s Update; the short video can be seen at
www.facebook.com/televie/videos/10154710495462226/
Donations can be made at: dons.televie.be/
Interesting photo(s) of the week, from the Turkish interview posted above (and taken here from Lara Fabian Mexico),
www.facebook.com/LaraFabianfromMexico/photos/pb.556364357750962.-2207520000.1481584824./1185598184827573/?type=3&theater
And from the Lara Fabian – PHQ site, from Ukraine,
www.facebook.com/357585007681152/photos/pcb.980466015393045/980463992059914/?type=3&theater
The last two concerts of the ‘Ma vie dans la tienne’ tour are scheduled for this week, fittingly enough the last one being in Brussels at Forest National. Natalia will be one of Lara’s special guests, along with Anggun. Hope people take good videos !!!
David
