Post by davidhr on Jul 13, 2010 9:55:06 GMT -5
The international aspect of Lara’s career, as well as the past and future, were on full display this last week.
It began with Lara finishing the filming of Mlle. Zhivago, as expected. Some additional photos from clips we have already seen are available on the web. Considering all the different videos/photos, Lara has now been seen in a much greater variety of poses than she displayed during the previous 20 years, including some risqué ones - not playing herself, of course! It was further noted that Lara’s emotional response to the ‘concentration camp’ scene was partly due to the fact that she had relatives in the camps during WWII, something not previously reported.
Now the film has to be edited and prepared for its intended release this fall. We’ll see whether it turns out to be anything more than an accompaniment to the Mlle. Zhivago album. Regardless, it has achieved several objectives. It has helped Lara experience the acting profession that has so intrigued her. And it has made her a well-known figure in Ukraine, and increasingly so in Russia.
The Ukrainian success can be measured in several ways. First, it was reported that last June 27th, Lara jointed the ‘Successful Woman’s Club’ in Kiev. In an interview Lara suggested that women are by nature mediators rather than the bosses, and that family will always be most important to them. One wonders whether this is what the ‘successful women’ in that club wanted to hear!
Then she was invited to sing at the birthday party of the Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, also in Kiev. This is reminiscent of her New Year’s eve appearance for the Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, and she has clearly insinuated herself into the highest status levels of the former Soviet Union. Given her upcoming concerts in Russia in November, and the fall release of the album and movie in these countries, such activities represent the future, in the sense of Lara’s energy pouring into new venues.
Her Ukrainian “fête” took place on July 9th. She only had time for one song apparently, because from there, Lara flew for 15 hours back into her past so to speak, to Canada, for her performance to open the Festival d'été in Québec, on July 10th. The set list was truly extraordinary in many respects: J'ai zappé; Soleil, Soleil; Je t'aime; Tout; Si tu m'aimes; S'en aller; Silence; La Différence; Tu es mon autre; Leila; Tu t'en vas; Alléluia; Saisir le jour; Pas sans toi; Humana; J'y crois encore; Immortelle; Je suis malade; Je me souviens; Adagio. With just a few exceptions, this concert could have been given in 2002. Lara indicated that she was very nervous about reappearing before a Canadian audience after another several year absence, and she tried her best to choose songs that she had shared with the audience while living there: 12 of the 20 songs were from Carpe Diem or Pure, two of her three Canadian albums. As seen in the video for ‘Je me souviens’, she was highly emotional about her return; she called Canada ‘her first love, her great love’, and one can understand why. This was the place that she found freedom, where she worked hard to achieve her dreams as a young woman, and where she became a star with uncritical acceptance (as she’s now getting to some degree in Russia/Ukraine). She must look back upon those years with the fondest of memories, and to get a negative reception would be heartbreaking. But the response was good – an adoring audience, and positive reviews in the papers, lauding her still-perfect voice and the emotional intensity of songs like ‘Je suis malade’. However, her absence from the Canadian scene showed; 15,000 people attending was a good turnout for someone who has been gone from the music scene for so long – without any radio play, either – but the venue could have accommodated twice that many on a Saturday night. Also, it is hard to ‘go home again’ – while she chose songs that would emphasize her emotional presentation, some fans felt she wasn’t fully involved with them, at least not as much as when she sang them for the first times, 10-15 years ago (on the positive side, some reviewers felt this showed ‘greater restraint’). You can judge for yourself, since as of the time of this writing, videos of all or parts of 8 of the songs are available on the web. Most are available on the special thread devoted to this subject on this site (and special thanks to "xIamwhoIamx" for the wonderful photos).
In focusing on what the audience knew and what she knew they liked best, Lara largely foreswore the opportunity to introduce her new work, from either of the two reprise albums to be released there in September (not even ‘J’ai besoin de parler’ or ‘Angel’ by Canadian artists), or anything from Mlle. Zhivago. For those who didn’t know better, she could have been confused with an ‘oldies’ act. Apparently she felt emphasizing her common bonds with the audience was more important in re-establishing her base then priming them for something new. It will be interesting to see how much effort she puts into the September promotion. Clearly, Lara would love to be accepted again as a major musical influence in this place that she loves so much. But she would also like to be accepted in the country she considers her origin, Italy; and also accepted around the world with Mlle. Zhivago. Difficult to make any of these things work if attention is paid to them only occasionally - she has only given a handful of concerts in Canada in the last decade. At least with Russia she goes back annually, and multiple times this year.
The allure an international career has for her is understandable given the lack of appreciation she receives from the French public in general (aside from her devoted fans). It was noted that ‘TLFM’ sold 69,000 copies in France in 2009, and probably about 80,000 overall since its release in that country. This is not necessarily an indication of her true popularity, as many artists have had low sales with albums of ‘covers’, and sales were undoubtedly hurt by the poor early reviews. An album of new songs might fare differently.
In that regard, it was reported that her pianist in Turkey, and prior to that in Israel, Giora Linenberg, is the man who has written the music for, potentially, the next French album referred to by many as ‘Le Secret’. larafabiannews.com has a video of her talking about him in Israel. Lara’s modus operandi appears now to be associating herself with writers who provide the music (Krutoi, Linenberg) while she writes the lyrics. New, tuneful songs with Lara’s great voice may still eventually win over the French-speaking public; “re-births” are common in the music industry when the artistry is still there.
Nothing is on Lara’s public schedule for the next few weeks, although one would think some additional promotion is not out of the question; we’ve still not heard the planned radio interview on ‘Rock Détente’. Also time, perhaps, for a vacation in Quebec?
David
It began with Lara finishing the filming of Mlle. Zhivago, as expected. Some additional photos from clips we have already seen are available on the web. Considering all the different videos/photos, Lara has now been seen in a much greater variety of poses than she displayed during the previous 20 years, including some risqué ones - not playing herself, of course! It was further noted that Lara’s emotional response to the ‘concentration camp’ scene was partly due to the fact that she had relatives in the camps during WWII, something not previously reported.
Now the film has to be edited and prepared for its intended release this fall. We’ll see whether it turns out to be anything more than an accompaniment to the Mlle. Zhivago album. Regardless, it has achieved several objectives. It has helped Lara experience the acting profession that has so intrigued her. And it has made her a well-known figure in Ukraine, and increasingly so in Russia.
The Ukrainian success can be measured in several ways. First, it was reported that last June 27th, Lara jointed the ‘Successful Woman’s Club’ in Kiev. In an interview Lara suggested that women are by nature mediators rather than the bosses, and that family will always be most important to them. One wonders whether this is what the ‘successful women’ in that club wanted to hear!
Then she was invited to sing at the birthday party of the Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, also in Kiev. This is reminiscent of her New Year’s eve appearance for the Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, and she has clearly insinuated herself into the highest status levels of the former Soviet Union. Given her upcoming concerts in Russia in November, and the fall release of the album and movie in these countries, such activities represent the future, in the sense of Lara’s energy pouring into new venues.
Her Ukrainian “fête” took place on July 9th. She only had time for one song apparently, because from there, Lara flew for 15 hours back into her past so to speak, to Canada, for her performance to open the Festival d'été in Québec, on July 10th. The set list was truly extraordinary in many respects: J'ai zappé; Soleil, Soleil; Je t'aime; Tout; Si tu m'aimes; S'en aller; Silence; La Différence; Tu es mon autre; Leila; Tu t'en vas; Alléluia; Saisir le jour; Pas sans toi; Humana; J'y crois encore; Immortelle; Je suis malade; Je me souviens; Adagio. With just a few exceptions, this concert could have been given in 2002. Lara indicated that she was very nervous about reappearing before a Canadian audience after another several year absence, and she tried her best to choose songs that she had shared with the audience while living there: 12 of the 20 songs were from Carpe Diem or Pure, two of her three Canadian albums. As seen in the video for ‘Je me souviens’, she was highly emotional about her return; she called Canada ‘her first love, her great love’, and one can understand why. This was the place that she found freedom, where she worked hard to achieve her dreams as a young woman, and where she became a star with uncritical acceptance (as she’s now getting to some degree in Russia/Ukraine). She must look back upon those years with the fondest of memories, and to get a negative reception would be heartbreaking. But the response was good – an adoring audience, and positive reviews in the papers, lauding her still-perfect voice and the emotional intensity of songs like ‘Je suis malade’. However, her absence from the Canadian scene showed; 15,000 people attending was a good turnout for someone who has been gone from the music scene for so long – without any radio play, either – but the venue could have accommodated twice that many on a Saturday night. Also, it is hard to ‘go home again’ – while she chose songs that would emphasize her emotional presentation, some fans felt she wasn’t fully involved with them, at least not as much as when she sang them for the first times, 10-15 years ago (on the positive side, some reviewers felt this showed ‘greater restraint’). You can judge for yourself, since as of the time of this writing, videos of all or parts of 8 of the songs are available on the web. Most are available on the special thread devoted to this subject on this site (and special thanks to "xIamwhoIamx" for the wonderful photos).
In focusing on what the audience knew and what she knew they liked best, Lara largely foreswore the opportunity to introduce her new work, from either of the two reprise albums to be released there in September (not even ‘J’ai besoin de parler’ or ‘Angel’ by Canadian artists), or anything from Mlle. Zhivago. For those who didn’t know better, she could have been confused with an ‘oldies’ act. Apparently she felt emphasizing her common bonds with the audience was more important in re-establishing her base then priming them for something new. It will be interesting to see how much effort she puts into the September promotion. Clearly, Lara would love to be accepted again as a major musical influence in this place that she loves so much. But she would also like to be accepted in the country she considers her origin, Italy; and also accepted around the world with Mlle. Zhivago. Difficult to make any of these things work if attention is paid to them only occasionally - she has only given a handful of concerts in Canada in the last decade. At least with Russia she goes back annually, and multiple times this year.
The allure an international career has for her is understandable given the lack of appreciation she receives from the French public in general (aside from her devoted fans). It was noted that ‘TLFM’ sold 69,000 copies in France in 2009, and probably about 80,000 overall since its release in that country. This is not necessarily an indication of her true popularity, as many artists have had low sales with albums of ‘covers’, and sales were undoubtedly hurt by the poor early reviews. An album of new songs might fare differently.
In that regard, it was reported that her pianist in Turkey, and prior to that in Israel, Giora Linenberg, is the man who has written the music for, potentially, the next French album referred to by many as ‘Le Secret’. larafabiannews.com has a video of her talking about him in Israel. Lara’s modus operandi appears now to be associating herself with writers who provide the music (Krutoi, Linenberg) while she writes the lyrics. New, tuneful songs with Lara’s great voice may still eventually win over the French-speaking public; “re-births” are common in the music industry when the artistry is still there.
Nothing is on Lara’s public schedule for the next few weeks, although one would think some additional promotion is not out of the question; we’ve still not heard the planned radio interview on ‘Rock Détente’. Also time, perhaps, for a vacation in Quebec?
David