Post by davidhr on Sept 17, 2019 7:58:49 GMT -5
This past week of course involved the final preparations for the tour which started yesterday in New York. For those who would prefer not to know anything about the concert before they see it, I’ll leave my comments to the very end.
Lara ‘celebrated’ the beginning of the tour with this picture on her Instagram site,
Lara Fabian Embarks On '50' World Tour 2019
by BWW News Desk Sep. 10, 2019
Lara Fabian Embarks On '50' World Tour 2019
Global Pop Star Lara Fabian is kicking off her latest world tour in New York City at the Beacon Theatre on September 16th. Celebrating not only her 30 year long music career, but also her 50th birthday, Fabian is coming to four major US cities as a part of her "50" World Tour 2019. She will then continue on to 20 cities throughout Russia and Europe until March 2020.
The latest tour will also be bringing not just her classic hits, but also her latest French-language album Papillon. The new record marks her return to performing in French after her last English record Camouflage, released in 2017.
A career spanning three decades, Lara Fabian has become one of the best-selling artists in Belgium. Her breakthrough came with the release of her 1994 album Carpe Diem. The record reached triple platinum within a year and went on to receive two Félix awards at the 1995 ADISQ gala - Best Show Of The Year and Best Female Singer Of The Year. In 1999, Fabian made her first English record, Lara Fabian, which debuted at #1 on the Billboard 'Heatseekers' album chart, reached #1 on the French album chart and #2 on the Belgian album chart. "I Will Love Again", her first English single, reached #1 on the US Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play, and peaked at #32 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Over the years, Lara Fabian has continued to release records and tour extensively around the world. In 2017, she released her English-language album Camouflage, which showed Fabian embarking on a new musical direction - electro-pop production and classical orchestration. Soon after its release, Fabian embarked on The Camouflage World Tour, in which she toured throughout the world, making 40 appearances.
Today, Lara Fabian is kicking-off her celebratory "50" World Tour. From September 16-23, Fabian will hit New York City, Chicago, San Jose, and Los Angeles. Then, Fabian will be heading off to Russia and Europe, bringing a dazzling stage performance of her latest album, Papillon. Be sure to catch Lara Fabian when she comes to your city this September, and check out her latest album, Papillon, available on all streaming platforms.
50 World Tour 2019 (USA leg)
Mon. 9/16, @ 8:00 pm - Beacon Theatre, New York, NY
Wed. 9/18, @ 8:00 pm - The Chicago Theatre, Chicago, IL
Fri. 9/20, @ 8:00 pm - San Jose Center for the Performing Arts, San Jose, CA
Mon. 9/23, @ 8:00 pm - Dolby Theatre, Los Angeles, CA
For More Information: LaraFabian.ca
----------------------------------------------
The reason the article thinks there are only 24 venues on this tour is that they probably looked at Lara’s official website, which is missing half of them…
Then there was an interview in French Morning ( frenchmorning.com/lara-fabian-le-temps-est-une-triste-invention-humaine/?fbclid=IwAR3aEiHQ-jExqbZDHUMKTA5dNGG_PwDSbsuWvsxZk-jFZ1TEIg8Qq49nhgc); note this is a United States publication for francophones. Here’s the translation:
------------------------------------------------
Lara Fabian: "Time is a sad human invention"
By Alexis Buisson - September 9, 2019
Lara Fabian
Learn more
"50" World Tour
New York (16 September)
Chicago (19)
San Jose (20)
Los Angeles (23)
Lara Fabian has a lot of things to celebrate these days: her 50 years in January and thirty years of career, filled with international hits and 20 million albums sold in the world ...
To mark the occasion with her fans, the singer decided to go on an international tour: the "50" World Tour will take her in September to New York (16) , Chicago (19) , San Jose (20) and Los Angeles (23). " It's a retrospective that will be divided into several acts, " says the artist, who wants to keep the effect of surprise.
Since her previous tour, last year, Lara Fabian did not come to perform in the United States, a country where she became known thanks to her hit "I will love again" which appeared on her album eponymous in 1999. At the time, she had come to promote her thirteenth album. Released in 2017, "Camouflage" was her first opus entirely in English in more than a decade.
Two years later, the Belgian-Canadian star is back on American soil, a few months after the release of a fourteenth studio album, in French this one: "Papillon". It was made in eleven short days completely in Montreal with the producer of Swedish pop Moh Denebi and the American songwriter Sharon Vaughn. "It was a small miracle," she slips in. “It's called inspiration. It's something that's going through us, that's completely beyond us. I had seven days of vacation. It was during a winter break while I was on tour. We sat down and we said to ourselves: let's see what comes out," she says.
There came out an album of eleven songs, including a surprising "Je ne t’aime plus", which echoes her famous "Je t’aime of 1996. Never had she concluded a love story in her songs. "I wanted to find a term for it. There are loves that never leave us and, one day, we find the lucidity to look at these stories. It may take twenty years, but we have the strength to turn the page "
In thirty years, Lara Fabian, who sings in nine languages (including Turkish, Russian and Hebrew), can boast of having built a career crossing borders, languages and nationalities. “When music is able to crystallize a unity, it's wonderful. It's as if we have achieved something despite ourselves," she says.
What advice would she give to Lara Fabian thirty years ago, the one who moved to Quebec and was about to release her first album? "To be a little more confident, to calm her insecurity and gain wisdom," she says. “I enter my 50th year with a lot of serenity. Time is a sad human invention. It's only a number. I prefer to see it as an ally."
-----------------------------------------
In other tour news, Bogdan Miahi posted a video for Lara’s upcoming performance in Craoiva on November 17th which can be seen at
www.facebook.com/bogdan.mihai.792/videos/2404724232977871/
He will be the special guest singer the show. [Thanks to the larafabian web FB site for the link].
An article appeared in “Gala” about Lara and ‘The Voice’ (thanks to the Lara Fabian - PHQ site for the scans) (https://www.facebook.com/larafabianphq/photos/pcb.1841310609348937/1841310479348950/?type=3&theater). Here’s the translation:
------------------------------------------
Lara Fabian: Why I Said Yes to The Voice
RETURN WITH FANFARE
This native of Brussels has made her life in Quebec
Gala: When were you asked about joining The Voice?
Gala: What was your reaction?
LF: I was very astonished. I told him first of all that I wouldn’t have the time, then we looked at the planning together. He quite accommodated me, so that I could keep my engagements. Without preventing me as well from the time I reserve for my family. It was out of the question that I move from Quebec where I have my life, my house, my husband Gabriel, and my 12 year old daughter Lou who is in school.
Gala: You know the other members of the jury?
LF: I have had the chance of working with Marc Lavoine some 15 years ago at the time when I was performing all those weeks at the Casino de Paris. We sang together, and I found this man very fine, full of humor, with multiple facets. I have equally sung with Pascal Obispo. He is perhaps still more mysterious than Marc…As for Amel Bent, I am not objective. For me, Amel is a “bonbon gorge du soleil”, “candy crunch” as one says in North America. I love this kid, she is sunny, pure, transparent. Like me, she knows how to laugh uproariously. With our two ‘agricultural laughs’ – I call them that – it’s going to make a happy contrast with the two men full of shadows and mysteries!
Gala: The reason for being of this show, is it always to discover new talent or isn’t it only a machine to draw an audience?
LF: The Voice is above all a space where the artists can express themselves, evolve, learn certain mechanisms of their profession. To fall, also, better to get up. All in touch, in contact, with the public. It is a very beautiful showcase, and if the program existed when I was young, I would have completely gone to participate in it. And then the people always appreciate it. In Quebec, La Voix attained between 2.5 and 2.8 million viewers every week, out of a total of 8 million francophones!
Gala: According to you, why should one come to look for you on the French edition?
LF: I had been contacted for the first edition, and I could not at the time due to a tour of the countries of the East. Why has one thought of me this year? Perhaps because I’m someone very empathetic, an indispensable quality to participate in this genre of program. And without a doubt also because of my experience: this makes 30 years that I make this profession, with my highs and my lows. My relationship with the French has continued since 1996 and the song ‘Je t’aime’. During all this time, I’ve had the necessity of adapting, like others, to the new modes of consuming music. The French public is loyal, always curious. Even if my last albums ‘Camouflage’ and ‘Papillon’ have been ‘more confidential’ successes, this beautiful story continues.
Gala: Your daughter Lou, did she watch you in La Voix?
LF: Oh, of course. I am before all a mother and I love very much the very detached look that my daughter carries for me. She finds me very funny even if, like all children of her age, it annoys her a bit to see her mother lend herself to buffoonery ....I think she will come join me in France during the holiday period for several concerts, but it is not a question of perturbing her schooling.
----------------------------------------
In other news, Lara provided ‘congratulations’ for Igor Krutoi, at
vk.com/video-121236_456241085?fbclid=IwAR1R2tZUuaKtWvDR8SrXFWMBRIAHXnCOvvAFF0dneGNAJyKNdcJZhO7bw20
The video is dubbed in Russian, but it seems she is wishing him a happy birthday (his birthday is actually on July 29th). Krutoy himself will be in New York, at the Barclay Center on October 26th.
Last week we provided a discussion of Lara’s renovation of her terrace. A longer video of that activity can be found at:
vk.com/video-23729576_456240229?fbclid=IwAR15dLGhIMZhJEKEbeKmJiCMD0jcBpKddhsF2vgSwTVbDSyP-v5A0vCqvR4
Interesting photo(s) of the week: Lara with her chorus, taken by Manu Pitois
www.facebook.com/larafabiantonautre/photos/a.646180015435666/2397089473678036/?type=3&theater
and the caption, “The rehearsals are going well ... thank you Manu Pitois”.
Beginning of spoiler zone: those who don’t want to know about the concert should stop reading now!
-----------------------------------------
Lara’s New York City concert was pretty well sold out, from what one could see at least, and, as in her two previous appearances in N.Y., the audience was heavily populated with Russian voices. Lara was joined on stage by the Riverin sisters who were more than just back-ups; they participated in many of the activities with a lot of singing and movement. Lara thus had a great deal of ‘help’ at this concert, though she was still certainly the focal point for each song. Perhaps because she was often not ‘alone’ at the front of the stage, she seemed as relaxed as I can remember her; she was in good voice, never seemed to strain, and she looked like she could have gone on all day without tiring herself out. She dressed in black for the first half (around 50 minutes) and in white after the intermission (about an hour). The intermission was not ‘announced’ by Lara – it just ‘happened’, the lights came on and no one was on stage. That’s something they may well work on for future shows.
The overall focus for the first half of the show was a recounting of Lara’s career, from her beginnings onward. There was a lot of narrative, personal anecdotes about how her career path evolved, with various songs performed along the way, to some degree in historical order (though one shouldn’t carry that notion too far). Besides the Riverin sisters, Manu Pitois and perhaps a computer technician provided all the unobtrusive instrumentation. There were a number of background visuals, attractive but not of the same scope and all-encompassing nature as on her previous tour. The second half of the concert had less emphasis of the historical narrative thread, though the songs did advance later along the time-line (again, with much deviation).
Here was the setlist: Adagio (Italian); Alleluiah; medley of songs from the early albums (including J’ai zappe; Le jour ou tu partiras; Leila; Reveille-toi Brother); Tu t’en vas; Take Me Home Country Roads [as a tribute to her father, it being the first song she ever sang, with him]; Perdere l’amore [as a tribute to her mother]; La difference; Si tu m’aimes [in a progressive rock style], Je suis malade; Saisir le jour; medley of songs from Nue (including J’y crois encore; Aimer deja (if I remember correctly); Parce que tu pars; Immortelle); Tu es mon autre [as a dedication to Maurane]; Love Like a Dream (sung in Russian as a thank you to Igor Krutoy for introducing her to a “whole other country and a whole culture”); Je suis a toi [as a dedication to Gabriel]; I Will Love Again; Par amour; Humana; Je t’aime (as the encore).
Overall, then, some 18 songs (counting each medley as a full song). As you can see, there were two sung in English, two in Italian, one in Russian, and all the rest in French. Lara spoke French a good deal more than English, despite this being in the U.S; perhaps she felt the audience who would come to see her would be francophones regardless of their first language. The song and language choice suggest she has largely given up appealing to an English language audience.
As one can also see, this was definitely NOT a concert to promote Papillon, with only two entries from it. Also obvious from the set list, all the songs were from albums prior to 2004 except for those two (and Love Like a Dream, from the Mademoiselle Zhivago album, though of course that’s not her song). There was an attempt to ‘modernize’ a few of them, with ‘electro-pop’, which I quite liked; the highlight of these was ‘Si tu m’aimes’. Often the interaction with the other singers gave an additional variation to the songs. And “Take Me Home, Country Roads”, sung in combination with the Riverin sisters was special – Lara the country/folk singer! All-in-all, though, this concert will appeal strongly to those who love Lara’s classic ‘singer-of-voice’ numbers, which were presented sincerely. It was a celebration of the vocal highlights of her career, as we know chosen by her voting audience, primarily from the first 13 years.
Overall, I found it very enjoyable, quite intelligently done, with Lara looking like she had a lot of fun singing and interacting with the Riverin sisters. To say a ‘good time was had by all’ would probably be very accurate. At last year’s tour for ‘Camouflage’, her classic songs got the strongest reaction; she’s learned from that. This year Lara gave the audience just what they wanted, with some updates.
She should have no trouble picking up this show and carrying it around on her ‘world tour’, pleasing most other audiences as well. The only country one would wonder about is France; can she really sing her classic songs to those fans? She has said she would vary the setlist depending on the audience. She might consider adding some more numbers from Papillon (and even Camouflage) for those people who know the ‘oldies’ quite well, and might demand something new. But Lara’s conundrum is that the ‘new’ stuff has not sold well.
There are already a few videos available on youtube, and more will undoubtedly be added. They illustrate a number of the above comments.
“Early songs” medley: www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeB7qc61qGk
I Will Love Again: www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiKnpblOjsE
Je suis malade: www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbcXuHQ6iug&list=RDxiKnpblOjsE&index=2
Je t’aime: www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNJrd2GuaXY&list=RDxiKnpblOjsE&index=3
La difference: www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKQE0QMSO-Y
Love Like a Dream (Lyubov pokhozhaya na son): www.youtube.com/watch?v=yh6wiVwWjcs
-----------------------------------
Lara’s U.S. concerts continue this week, and hopefully we’ll have plenty of pictures and videos, including more from this show.
David
Lara ‘celebrated’ the beginning of the tour with this picture on her Instagram site,
and the caption, “Rehearsals at home .... before we meet again ... soon in New York for the premiere of our great appointment .... 💗❤️ # 50WorldTour
And then, yesterday morning she wrote on her FB page: “Preparation ... so impatient, stressed but immensely happy to meet you tonight at @beacontheatre in New York for the first date of OUR # 50WorldTour ... I can not tell you how much I look forward to knowing that all these next months will allow us to meet again on the road ... and to share, to celebrate with you my 50 years but also our 30 years of bonds .... strong and continuous .... To offer you Live these songs which marked my life and probably also accompanied yours a little... From wherever you are, I send you a thousand kisses from my heart to you and I hope to see you very quickly on the road ... Love ... Lara
#Show #Concert #Tour #singer #Love #Ilovemyfans #Iloveyou
#Show #Concert #Tour #singer #Love #Ilovemyfans #Iloveyou
This was accompanied by Lara’s picture, at
www.facebook.com/larafabianofficial/photos/a.622966977744803/3113183725389770/?type=3&theater
There was some media attention in the U.S. for this opening event and tour, in both English and French. An article appeared in Broadway World (https://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwmusic/article/Lara-Fabian-Embarks-On-50-World-Tour-2019-20190910?fbclid=IwAR0oobtI4afaJVRyQU60j5hZVjSyeYnRNrEbMbPnvMcfn1dYwqKVSiuRaVM) copied below:
--------------------------------------------www.facebook.com/larafabianofficial/photos/a.622966977744803/3113183725389770/?type=3&theater
There was some media attention in the U.S. for this opening event and tour, in both English and French. An article appeared in Broadway World (https://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwmusic/article/Lara-Fabian-Embarks-On-50-World-Tour-2019-20190910?fbclid=IwAR0oobtI4afaJVRyQU60j5hZVjSyeYnRNrEbMbPnvMcfn1dYwqKVSiuRaVM) copied below:
Lara Fabian Embarks On '50' World Tour 2019
by BWW News Desk Sep. 10, 2019
Lara Fabian Embarks On '50' World Tour 2019
Global Pop Star Lara Fabian is kicking off her latest world tour in New York City at the Beacon Theatre on September 16th. Celebrating not only her 30 year long music career, but also her 50th birthday, Fabian is coming to four major US cities as a part of her "50" World Tour 2019. She will then continue on to 20 cities throughout Russia and Europe until March 2020.
The latest tour will also be bringing not just her classic hits, but also her latest French-language album Papillon. The new record marks her return to performing in French after her last English record Camouflage, released in 2017.
A career spanning three decades, Lara Fabian has become one of the best-selling artists in Belgium. Her breakthrough came with the release of her 1994 album Carpe Diem. The record reached triple platinum within a year and went on to receive two Félix awards at the 1995 ADISQ gala - Best Show Of The Year and Best Female Singer Of The Year. In 1999, Fabian made her first English record, Lara Fabian, which debuted at #1 on the Billboard 'Heatseekers' album chart, reached #1 on the French album chart and #2 on the Belgian album chart. "I Will Love Again", her first English single, reached #1 on the US Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play, and peaked at #32 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Over the years, Lara Fabian has continued to release records and tour extensively around the world. In 2017, she released her English-language album Camouflage, which showed Fabian embarking on a new musical direction - electro-pop production and classical orchestration. Soon after its release, Fabian embarked on The Camouflage World Tour, in which she toured throughout the world, making 40 appearances.
Today, Lara Fabian is kicking-off her celebratory "50" World Tour. From September 16-23, Fabian will hit New York City, Chicago, San Jose, and Los Angeles. Then, Fabian will be heading off to Russia and Europe, bringing a dazzling stage performance of her latest album, Papillon. Be sure to catch Lara Fabian when she comes to your city this September, and check out her latest album, Papillon, available on all streaming platforms.
50 World Tour 2019 (USA leg)
Mon. 9/16, @ 8:00 pm - Beacon Theatre, New York, NY
Wed. 9/18, @ 8:00 pm - The Chicago Theatre, Chicago, IL
Fri. 9/20, @ 8:00 pm - San Jose Center for the Performing Arts, San Jose, CA
Mon. 9/23, @ 8:00 pm - Dolby Theatre, Los Angeles, CA
For More Information: LaraFabian.ca
----------------------------------------------
The reason the article thinks there are only 24 venues on this tour is that they probably looked at Lara’s official website, which is missing half of them…
Then there was an interview in French Morning ( frenchmorning.com/lara-fabian-le-temps-est-une-triste-invention-humaine/?fbclid=IwAR3aEiHQ-jExqbZDHUMKTA5dNGG_PwDSbsuWvsxZk-jFZ1TEIg8Qq49nhgc); note this is a United States publication for francophones. Here’s the translation:
------------------------------------------------
Lara Fabian: "Time is a sad human invention"
By Alexis Buisson - September 9, 2019
Lara Fabian
Learn more
"50" World Tour
New York (16 September)
Chicago (19)
San Jose (20)
Los Angeles (23)
Lara Fabian has a lot of things to celebrate these days: her 50 years in January and thirty years of career, filled with international hits and 20 million albums sold in the world ...
To mark the occasion with her fans, the singer decided to go on an international tour: the "50" World Tour will take her in September to New York (16) , Chicago (19) , San Jose (20) and Los Angeles (23). " It's a retrospective that will be divided into several acts, " says the artist, who wants to keep the effect of surprise.
Since her previous tour, last year, Lara Fabian did not come to perform in the United States, a country where she became known thanks to her hit "I will love again" which appeared on her album eponymous in 1999. At the time, she had come to promote her thirteenth album. Released in 2017, "Camouflage" was her first opus entirely in English in more than a decade.
Two years later, the Belgian-Canadian star is back on American soil, a few months after the release of a fourteenth studio album, in French this one: "Papillon". It was made in eleven short days completely in Montreal with the producer of Swedish pop Moh Denebi and the American songwriter Sharon Vaughn. "It was a small miracle," she slips in. “It's called inspiration. It's something that's going through us, that's completely beyond us. I had seven days of vacation. It was during a winter break while I was on tour. We sat down and we said to ourselves: let's see what comes out," she says.
There came out an album of eleven songs, including a surprising "Je ne t’aime plus", which echoes her famous "Je t’aime of 1996. Never had she concluded a love story in her songs. "I wanted to find a term for it. There are loves that never leave us and, one day, we find the lucidity to look at these stories. It may take twenty years, but we have the strength to turn the page "
In thirty years, Lara Fabian, who sings in nine languages (including Turkish, Russian and Hebrew), can boast of having built a career crossing borders, languages and nationalities. “When music is able to crystallize a unity, it's wonderful. It's as if we have achieved something despite ourselves," she says.
What advice would she give to Lara Fabian thirty years ago, the one who moved to Quebec and was about to release her first album? "To be a little more confident, to calm her insecurity and gain wisdom," she says. “I enter my 50th year with a lot of serenity. Time is a sad human invention. It's only a number. I prefer to see it as an ally."
-----------------------------------------
In other tour news, Bogdan Miahi posted a video for Lara’s upcoming performance in Craoiva on November 17th which can be seen at
www.facebook.com/bogdan.mihai.792/videos/2404724232977871/
He will be the special guest singer the show. [Thanks to the larafabian web FB site for the link].
An article appeared in “Gala” about Lara and ‘The Voice’ (thanks to the Lara Fabian - PHQ site for the scans) (https://www.facebook.com/larafabianphq/photos/pcb.1841310609348937/1841310479348950/?type=3&theater). Here’s the translation:
------------------------------------------
Lara Fabian: Why I Said Yes to The Voice
She is going to celebrate her 50th birthday January 9th, “A number like any other”, assures the singer who takes on an international tour and joins the jury of the star program of TF1.
The 50 World Tour, it is the symbolic title initiated by the star on the eve of her 50th birthday. The United States in September, Russia in October, central Europe in November...The French fans will find her from January. But it is in Brussels that she will blow out the candles on stage.
RETURN WITH FANFARE
This native of Brussels has made her life in Quebec
Gala: When were you asked about joining The Voice?
LF: It was summer, when I was on vacation in Italy. I had just announced that I could no longer participate in La Voix, the Canadian version of The Voice, because I was leaving on my World Tour. Mathieu Grelier, the producer of The Voice, called me to wish me congratulations because this year it was my candidate who had carried it to the finish. I found that very nice, I thanked him, and then when I was going to hang up, he proposed that I join the French jury.
Gala: What was your reaction?
LF: I was very astonished. I told him first of all that I wouldn’t have the time, then we looked at the planning together. He quite accommodated me, so that I could keep my engagements. Without preventing me as well from the time I reserve for my family. It was out of the question that I move from Quebec where I have my life, my house, my husband Gabriel, and my 12 year old daughter Lou who is in school.
Gala: You know the other members of the jury?
LF: I have had the chance of working with Marc Lavoine some 15 years ago at the time when I was performing all those weeks at the Casino de Paris. We sang together, and I found this man very fine, full of humor, with multiple facets. I have equally sung with Pascal Obispo. He is perhaps still more mysterious than Marc…As for Amel Bent, I am not objective. For me, Amel is a “bonbon gorge du soleil”, “candy crunch” as one says in North America. I love this kid, she is sunny, pure, transparent. Like me, she knows how to laugh uproariously. With our two ‘agricultural laughs’ – I call them that – it’s going to make a happy contrast with the two men full of shadows and mysteries!
Gala: The reason for being of this show, is it always to discover new talent or isn’t it only a machine to draw an audience?
LF: The Voice is above all a space where the artists can express themselves, evolve, learn certain mechanisms of their profession. To fall, also, better to get up. All in touch, in contact, with the public. It is a very beautiful showcase, and if the program existed when I was young, I would have completely gone to participate in it. And then the people always appreciate it. In Quebec, La Voix attained between 2.5 and 2.8 million viewers every week, out of a total of 8 million francophones!
Gala: According to you, why should one come to look for you on the French edition?
LF: I had been contacted for the first edition, and I could not at the time due to a tour of the countries of the East. Why has one thought of me this year? Perhaps because I’m someone very empathetic, an indispensable quality to participate in this genre of program. And without a doubt also because of my experience: this makes 30 years that I make this profession, with my highs and my lows. My relationship with the French has continued since 1996 and the song ‘Je t’aime’. During all this time, I’ve had the necessity of adapting, like others, to the new modes of consuming music. The French public is loyal, always curious. Even if my last albums ‘Camouflage’ and ‘Papillon’ have been ‘more confidential’ successes, this beautiful story continues.
Gala: Your daughter Lou, did she watch you in La Voix?
LF: Oh, of course. I am before all a mother and I love very much the very detached look that my daughter carries for me. She finds me very funny even if, like all children of her age, it annoys her a bit to see her mother lend herself to buffoonery ....I think she will come join me in France during the holiday period for several concerts, but it is not a question of perturbing her schooling.
----------------------------------------
In other news, Lara provided ‘congratulations’ for Igor Krutoi, at
vk.com/video-121236_456241085?fbclid=IwAR1R2tZUuaKtWvDR8SrXFWMBRIAHXnCOvvAFF0dneGNAJyKNdcJZhO7bw20
The video is dubbed in Russian, but it seems she is wishing him a happy birthday (his birthday is actually on July 29th). Krutoy himself will be in New York, at the Barclay Center on October 26th.
Last week we provided a discussion of Lara’s renovation of her terrace. A longer video of that activity can be found at:
vk.com/video-23729576_456240229?fbclid=IwAR15dLGhIMZhJEKEbeKmJiCMD0jcBpKddhsF2vgSwTVbDSyP-v5A0vCqvR4
Interesting photo(s) of the week: Lara with her chorus, taken by Manu Pitois
www.facebook.com/larafabiantonautre/photos/a.646180015435666/2397089473678036/?type=3&theater
and the caption, “The rehearsals are going well ... thank you Manu Pitois”.
Beginning of spoiler zone: those who don’t want to know about the concert should stop reading now!
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Lara’s New York City concert was pretty well sold out, from what one could see at least, and, as in her two previous appearances in N.Y., the audience was heavily populated with Russian voices. Lara was joined on stage by the Riverin sisters who were more than just back-ups; they participated in many of the activities with a lot of singing and movement. Lara thus had a great deal of ‘help’ at this concert, though she was still certainly the focal point for each song. Perhaps because she was often not ‘alone’ at the front of the stage, she seemed as relaxed as I can remember her; she was in good voice, never seemed to strain, and she looked like she could have gone on all day without tiring herself out. She dressed in black for the first half (around 50 minutes) and in white after the intermission (about an hour). The intermission was not ‘announced’ by Lara – it just ‘happened’, the lights came on and no one was on stage. That’s something they may well work on for future shows.
The overall focus for the first half of the show was a recounting of Lara’s career, from her beginnings onward. There was a lot of narrative, personal anecdotes about how her career path evolved, with various songs performed along the way, to some degree in historical order (though one shouldn’t carry that notion too far). Besides the Riverin sisters, Manu Pitois and perhaps a computer technician provided all the unobtrusive instrumentation. There were a number of background visuals, attractive but not of the same scope and all-encompassing nature as on her previous tour. The second half of the concert had less emphasis of the historical narrative thread, though the songs did advance later along the time-line (again, with much deviation).
Here was the setlist: Adagio (Italian); Alleluiah; medley of songs from the early albums (including J’ai zappe; Le jour ou tu partiras; Leila; Reveille-toi Brother); Tu t’en vas; Take Me Home Country Roads [as a tribute to her father, it being the first song she ever sang, with him]; Perdere l’amore [as a tribute to her mother]; La difference; Si tu m’aimes [in a progressive rock style], Je suis malade; Saisir le jour; medley of songs from Nue (including J’y crois encore; Aimer deja (if I remember correctly); Parce que tu pars; Immortelle); Tu es mon autre [as a dedication to Maurane]; Love Like a Dream (sung in Russian as a thank you to Igor Krutoy for introducing her to a “whole other country and a whole culture”); Je suis a toi [as a dedication to Gabriel]; I Will Love Again; Par amour; Humana; Je t’aime (as the encore).
Overall, then, some 18 songs (counting each medley as a full song). As you can see, there were two sung in English, two in Italian, one in Russian, and all the rest in French. Lara spoke French a good deal more than English, despite this being in the U.S; perhaps she felt the audience who would come to see her would be francophones regardless of their first language. The song and language choice suggest she has largely given up appealing to an English language audience.
As one can also see, this was definitely NOT a concert to promote Papillon, with only two entries from it. Also obvious from the set list, all the songs were from albums prior to 2004 except for those two (and Love Like a Dream, from the Mademoiselle Zhivago album, though of course that’s not her song). There was an attempt to ‘modernize’ a few of them, with ‘electro-pop’, which I quite liked; the highlight of these was ‘Si tu m’aimes’. Often the interaction with the other singers gave an additional variation to the songs. And “Take Me Home, Country Roads”, sung in combination with the Riverin sisters was special – Lara the country/folk singer! All-in-all, though, this concert will appeal strongly to those who love Lara’s classic ‘singer-of-voice’ numbers, which were presented sincerely. It was a celebration of the vocal highlights of her career, as we know chosen by her voting audience, primarily from the first 13 years.
Overall, I found it very enjoyable, quite intelligently done, with Lara looking like she had a lot of fun singing and interacting with the Riverin sisters. To say a ‘good time was had by all’ would probably be very accurate. At last year’s tour for ‘Camouflage’, her classic songs got the strongest reaction; she’s learned from that. This year Lara gave the audience just what they wanted, with some updates.
She should have no trouble picking up this show and carrying it around on her ‘world tour’, pleasing most other audiences as well. The only country one would wonder about is France; can she really sing her classic songs to those fans? She has said she would vary the setlist depending on the audience. She might consider adding some more numbers from Papillon (and even Camouflage) for those people who know the ‘oldies’ quite well, and might demand something new. But Lara’s conundrum is that the ‘new’ stuff has not sold well.
There are already a few videos available on youtube, and more will undoubtedly be added. They illustrate a number of the above comments.
“Early songs” medley: www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeB7qc61qGk
I Will Love Again: www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiKnpblOjsE
Je suis malade: www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbcXuHQ6iug&list=RDxiKnpblOjsE&index=2
Je t’aime: www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNJrd2GuaXY&list=RDxiKnpblOjsE&index=3
La difference: www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKQE0QMSO-Y
Love Like a Dream (Lyubov pokhozhaya na son): www.youtube.com/watch?v=yh6wiVwWjcs
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Lara’s U.S. concerts continue this week, and hopefully we’ll have plenty of pictures and videos, including more from this show.
David