Post by davidhr on Jan 1, 2013 13:27:55 GMT -5
Year in Review 2012
A year of big changes for Lara, both professionally and personally. And yet, amid the many controversies, disappointments, and yes, successes, it may be that Lara’s immediate path has been clarified, or at least as much as is possible for someone as mercurial as she is.
At the end of last year, Lara, and her fans, were wrestling with issues that had been unresolved for the past several years: how to bring the Mlle. Zhivago project to completion, and how much should she make the products of her international career available to her French-speaking audience.
The year started auspiciously enough in the same fashion as the previous one, with Lara appearing on Russian TV New Year’s Day, a highlight of which was her duet with Igor Krutoi of “Les feuilles mortes” (Autumn Leaves). [It was symbolic, in that Russia played a role in her highlights throughout the year.] The main event for the first month, however, was her free ‘concert for the fans’ in Paris. When Lara initially proposed this concert, it was as compensation for fan-club members who had been deprived of the cancelled quarterly Farfallina publication. In practice, it turned out to be a chance for Lara to ‘get things off her chest’ to the 800 fans present, people who she knew loved her unquestionably. Lara announced she would be leaving Universal Music after her next album (‘Le Secret’), and that she was working to make the Mlle. Zhivago film more positive so that it could eventually be presented to her fans. She noted that 2011 had been a difficult year, but now things were looking up. In retrospect, all these statements turned out to be too optimistic. The concert itself, composed mostly of her standards, was very well received; it was to be the only concert for her French fans this year, one in which she turned 42 (on Jan. 9).
The other big news during this month was the cancellation of Lara’s planned February concerts in Lebanon due to ‘threats’. The stated reason for her to be a target of “The Campaign to Boycott Israeli Supporters” was Lara’s performance at the 60th anniversary of Israel’s birth, in Paris in 2008 (as well as several times in Israel itself), in particular the ending where she yelled to the crowd that she loved Israel. Her response, given through her press secretary, was that "Lara Fabian has never taken a political position. She loves Israel as Lebanon and there is nothing political in it. She is an artist and regrets having to cancel concerts for such reasons." We know this is true – Lara is not political, as illustrated, ironically, by the criticism she received subsequently for performing in some of the ‘countries to the east’ that routinely violate human rights. In the ‘every cloud has a silver lining’ department, the controversy did get Lara’s name in the press around the world, including in many countries whose inhabitants had never heard of her.
Lara did not want her Lebanese fans to be completely deprived of her presence, so instead she organized a video concert, entitled “entre vous et moi” performed in Paris and broadcast on Lebanese MTV. It took place on the day of one of her cancelled concerts, Valentine’s Day, February 14th. The one hour show (with commercials) covered Lara’s usual favorite songs in French and English but also included duets with Amel Bent (Mistral Gagnant), Anggun (Tue es mon autre), Véronic Dicaire (Bridge Over Troubled Waters), and Sofia Essaîdi (John Lennon’s Imagine). It was a classy show; Lara did not say anything overly political, but quotes from various authors appeared on the screen before many of the songs, and some of these could be read as commentary on the situation that forced this event. As advertized, the songs did emphasize Love, as did Lara’s initial statement, with the most political song commentary in ‘Imagine’ with its line about ‘all the world living as one’. It turns out that more than 2/3 of the people watching TV in Lebanon at that time tuned in to see Lara, and it received excellent reviews in the French press.
The month also featured the unfortunate death of a ‘fellow’ pop diva, Whitney Houston. Lara’s published response displayed her usual depth and meaning. It included the lines, “The world’s greatest souls are often subjected to the most powerful demons... The proportional forces confront each other until a crucial choice determines the path... The choice of light isn't easy to choose, the darkness is always there to threaten…”. One imagines she also viewed the MZ film through that lens.
At the end of the month, Lara appeared on “Vivement Dimanche”, a program honoring Nana Mouskouri. Together they performed a duet of the song “La vie, l’amour, la mort”, which they had recorded together for Nana’s new CD.
While concerts in ‘the west’ were rare this year, Lara gave many in the ‘countries to the east’, and March featured the first of these. She gave her ‘first ever’ concert in the Czech Republic (where she introduced the new song, ‘Le Secret’), followed by shows in Slovakia, Moldavia, and finally two in Bucharest, Romania. She looked and sang wonderfully, the press and fan reviews were glowing, and she was treated in a queenly fashion in these countries. It turns out that this was just a forerunner to her experiences in the ‘countries to the east’ later in the year.
One humorous event: at the news conference preceding one show in Bucharest, she was asked what had she heard about Romania. To everyone’s surprise, Lara responded that she knew it had been called ‘Transylvania’ and was the home to Count Dracula! She also said she knew it might be a myth, but she hoped that it wasn’t, because she wanted the old stories to have some validity. To say her press audience was surprised (horrified might be a better word) is an understatement. But Lara was fairly free with her comments all year long, talking about angels and reincarnation in discussing the meanings of the various songs. This ‘freedom’ would later come back to ‘bite her’ (without Dracula’s help
).
Her comfort with non-ordinary reality beliefs apparently did not extend to Alan Badoev’s, for at the end of the month it was reported that Lara had rejected his ‘last’ re-editing of the Mlle. Zhivago film. In response, he had some derogatory comments about Lara on Russian TV. The failure to come to agreement on the movie, one that Lara had pinned her hopes on, has to rank as one of the most disappointing occurrences of the year (although there were other strong contenders), and probably of her whole career. Badoev actually delivered the ‘finished’ version of the movie to its ‘owner’ (presumably Universal Music France, who had spent close to 3 million dollars on it). But it couldn’t be released without Lara’s consent, which was not forthcoming.
In April, Lara went with Gerard and Lou to see a preview of the movie ‘Snow White’. Much to everybody’s surprise, they posed for pictures, and for the first time, Lou’s picture was all over the web (without threats of a lawsuit!). Another ironic occurrence, given what happened later…
The big news this month, however, was Lara’s announcement on her FB site that a DVD/CD book version of Mlle. Zhivago would be released in France in June. As it turned out, it would include a book of 64 pages describing the genesis and history of the Mlle. Zhivago project; a 104 page book of photos, many from the Mlle. Zhivago movie; a CD of 10 songs plus 2 bonus songs; and the DVD of Lara’s concert in Moscow from Nov. 5, 2010 (but also including her performance of ‘Always’ at the Asian winter games in 2011). The CD would contain several new songs (and omit several others from the Russian release). It would be available exclusively (in France) through Carrefour stores, although there was a website for international orders. About the MZ movie, Lara said, “The film… well… we didn’t find a way to understand each other the director and me… it’s life… I’ve made my grief of the situation… and I’ve learned that despite everything people can say, in life, experience is a lantern that enlightened only the one who’s wearing it…”
Disappointment over the film’s fate was palpable among Lara’s fans, and even the French media seemed disappointed, given the excitement that Badoev’s promo video had aroused about it. Badoev on his Twitter account acknowledged that he could not show the film without a license from Lara, which would cost several hundred thousand dollars plus the additional expenses Lara would charge for the music royalties. He also indicated that the film was available for ‘purchase’ for $3,200,000 (presumably, again, from Universal France). Comments continued about this for the next several months, but gradually disappeared when it became obvious that it was a ‘fait accompli’. [As long as the film still exists, it’s not impossible it will someday surface…].
The failure of the much ballyhooed project did not deter Lara from returning to the ‘countries to the east’ this month, first for a visit to Russia where she had some publicity interviews, and then appearing at a charity ball in Kazakhstan for the benefit of ill children.
Towards the end of the month, a new album by George Perris was released in Quebec. It contained a song written by Lara called "Dis-moi comment t'aimer" and a duo with her entitled "Ma solitude". Lara specifically promoted it on her web site. Although not equally emphasized, a double album in honor of Dalida, marking the 25th anniversary of her death, was also released, on about the same day. Lara has often been compared with this singer, as they have a number of startling similarities. The double album is entitled "Depuis qu'elle est partie", and Lara is included with her rendition of Dalida’s song "Il venait d'avoir 18 ans" (from TLFM).
May was a quiet month, although ramifications of the film’s demise ricocheted around the media and among Lara’s fans, including the oddity of her apparently including stills from the ‘forbidden film’ in the upcoming MZ package. Lara attempted to maintain connection with her public by releasing some personal details of her favorite designers such as Rita Zia for jewelry, Consuelo Zoely for casual clothes, and Bernard de Poorter for ready-to-wear dresses. Humorously, a bio of her for an upcoming concert in Israel then came out including the description, “Fabian’s performances differ from the majority of the world's pop stars with a lack of dancers, scenery and trendy clothes. The singer goes on stage in a strict dress with minimal jewelry and make-up, content just to be with her voice.” Not a description those designers would happily be associated with!
Lara did give one performance this month, a private concert in Italy, of which no further information ever surfaced (worthy of mention here because she has never given a public concert in Italy, the nationality that she considers her ‘own’). However, she did have another appointment there; Bernard Depoorter (see above) posted a letter indicating his upcoming collection for the fall will feature “the melancholic Sissi for the past and the charismatic Lara Fabian for the future. This collection will offer mystery and strength, with nice surprises :-)”. It appears the collection will be called ‘The Amazons’. Later in the year, we learned Lara will also be associated with the Igor Gulyaev Fashion House (in fashion too having both French and Russian lines).
Lara did some further travelling in June. At the beginning of the month she was in Switzerland, where the musical comedy school AICOM held the finals of its 3rd annual competition. Lara continues in her role as ‘godmother’ for this organization, and was involved, once again, in the judging. She then gave a concert in Caesarea, Israel; with Gerard and her daughter Lou present, Lara performed some 15 songs. As was true throughout the year, she looked wonderful and was in fine voice. Novel was a performance of ‘Parce que tu pars’ (in duet with the Israeli singer Harel Skaat). Lou even appeared on stage, bringing up flowers and then staying through a song – she was widely featured in fan-made videos of the show.
Towards the end of the month, the MZ CD/DVD/Book was released in Carrefour stores in France, and through an Internet seller for everyone else. In interviews, Lara insisted that the project had really been meant only for the Russian audience, that it had a Russian flavor/lushness, and was only released in the west due to the insistence of her fans. Not exactly the sort of endorsement meant to induce the French public to buy it. Nevertheless, fans were particularly enamored with her new song ‘Je t’aime encore’, so much so that it was eventually released as a single to radio stations, and became Lara’s focal point for the new album. The accompanying booklet indicated that Lara considered this ‘Russian fairy tale’ to be a ‘parenthesis in her career’, that was now finished. By the end of the year, she would be reversing this position…She also noted that Igor Krutoi had so enjoyed her powerful singing that it made her realize she had been limiting her vocal capabilities in misplaced deference to her French critics – something she said she would never do again. The film was never mentioned anywhere in the release, even though the pictures illustrating the songs came directly from it. And Lara strangely omitted one of the best songs from the Russian CD release, ‘Mama’, an homage to her mother. As its release was not a general one (in France, again, only in Carrefour stores), it was never reviewed by the press, and appeared on no album charts (Charts in France still does not acknowledge its existence).
July brought the first tentative attempts by Lara to promote the album in France, with even that being something of a surprise given her restricted release (the international sales via an internet site were discovered by fans, and only after the information was widely dispersed did Lara’s website get around to acknowledging it). In addition to creating a shorter, ‘single’ version of ‘Je t’aime encore’ for radio play, she gave interviews for several radio stations, even calling in from vacation in Sicily. She was careful to also plug the coming release of ‘Le Secret’, so as to not alienate the French and Belgian fans.
That same desire seemed to be at play in another venue. For months, rumors had appeared on various sites in Russia that Lara was planning an extensive fall campaign. Tickets now became available for sale in various cities, including Moscow; eventually Lara had to acknowledge its existence (but on her FB site under ‘eventd’, rather than as a tour). Her reluctance would appear to have been, again, the fear of irritating her French language fans – probably the same reason why she had indicated in the MZ booklet that her flirtation with Russia was over. Instead, it appeared as if a massive tour was in the works, not a ‘closed parenthesis’ but a ‘new beginning’ (after the MZ film debacle). As it turns out, this was to dominate the last part of the year for Lara.
Towards the end of the month, Lara returned to the ‘New Wave’ festival in Latvia, and surprised the audience by presenting ‘Je t’aime encore’ (called ‘Karma’ outside of France/Belgium) from the ‘western’ MZ package, as well as a new song, “Trouver la vie, l’amour, le sens”, music by Igor Krutoi, lyrics by Lara. So Lara’s collaboration with Krutoi was apparently continuing, despite the imbroglio over the MZ film.
Lara had no public appearances during August (she had indicated she would be working on ‘Le Secret’), but her continuing association with Russia still made news. She appeared in Russian magazines, posters for her upcoming concerts began appearing in various cities, her song ‘Immortelle’ was used by the Russian gymnast Daria Dmitrieva in the Olympics, and Lara wrote a supporting letter for a woman’s culture festival to be held in St. Petersburg in September. ‘Je t’aime encore’ was released as a single on iTunes in France, Belgium and Canada (and hence that was acknowledged by ‘Charts in France’); sales of the MZ album led by this single exceeded Lara’s expectations in France. The single was even a strong contestant for ‘song of the summer’ on a French station. It appeared as if Lara was starting to believe that this ‘Russian’ project could actually make some waves in the west; her FB and URl sites started giving it more publicity, especially the single.
And so, in September, Lara launched into a full-scale promotion for the MZ release, to coincide not only with ‘la rentrée’ but also with its scheduled release in Belgium. The media blitz lasted for some three weeks, and Lara was on many radio and TV shows, explaining the origin of the album via Igor Krutoi, its recording, and the reason for its release now in her home country, two years late (“due to the fans’ demand”). Her equivocation about it for a French-speaking audience seemed to evaporate as it was met with great approval, fostered by Lara’s change of approach: instead of the severe France restrictions on sales, it was made available in Belgium through the big record outlets, epitomized by Lara’s appearance at an FNAC store on Sept. 20th. FNAC even ran a contest to choose the fans who would meet Lara. In response, and with Lara’s promo, sales took off: the MZ album went to #2 in the Belgian charts and remained on the charts for a number of weeks, with the single also reaching respectable positions.
Lara could not avoid discussing the MZ film problems, with pictures from it so prominent in the MZ package release. She provided her standard reply, as quoted in the magazine 7sur7: One year after this meeting, the idea of a musical movie comes up, which turned out to be a failure and it came down to the photos from the book. “There was a problem about the content. Once the shooting is done, a director has the skill and the power to do anything he wants through the editing.” Lara Fabian talks about a certain “darkness” and even about “insanities” that really don’t represent her. “To me, it was unmanageable. I remember that when I saw the movie, I asked myself how my fans would react to something like that. I know that some of them are very angry for not seeing the footage. But I think that they would be a lot angrier if the saw the content of that project.” Because of the fact that the Ukrainian director insists on keeping his point of view and refuses to change what’s been shot, the singer has chosen not to release these images. “It’s a real pity. I’m talking about this openly because he’s saying the opposite when he has the chance to do so. She even indicated that he had hired another actress to shoot additional scenes, something never before mentioned.
With this it seemed as if she had put the project to rest forever, but it kept popping back up in interviews and on fan sites. Lara subsequently said that she and her manager are looking for some way to release ‘one last bit’ of the MZ project, involving the film, or some clips from it. Scheduled tentatively for December, we’ve yet to see it (and perhaps never will).
But that was far from the only controversy Lara encountered in her re-engagement with the French language media. Lara gave interviews over a four day period on the show ‘Ma semaine avec’, on Bel RTL radio in Belgium. Her philosophical comments including her belief in astrology, her Uncle’s appreciation of a tomato, and other seemingly ‘way-out’ statements was met with ridicule in the French press. She was even compared with Jean-Claude Van Damme, known for outrageous statements (Lara was referred to as “van dammerie"). She replied that because her critics were not smart enough to understand her, she should not be blamed!
That was bad enough, but what really infuriated her critics was Lara reciting the writing on a sign she said she had in her ‘yellow room’: “I am a princess, and fuck you!” She went on to explain that what it meant was that we should all think of ourselves as special, and recognize that we are not perfect, so we shouldn’t cower in the face of criticism. The press felt that their ‘diva’ classification of Lara had been right all along, while Lara, reacting to their comments, now felt that her poor opinion of the French press was fully justified. In truth, Lara had said her experiences in Russia with Krutoi had made clear to her that she had been abused by the French press, and her quoting this expression was probably a way to take out her anger at them (and at herself for listening to them). What all the criticism did was remind her of what she hated about the music business in the ‘west’. [It also probably helped with sales of the MZ album, as it put her back in the public spotlight; it’s been said that for an entertainer, there is no such thing as bad publicity.]
Lara did have some more pleasant moments this month: she met with Paulo Coehlo in Switzerland, and, as he wrote on his website, "In principle, we have the idea of doing a concert with excerpts from my book Manuscript Found in Accra and her new album, which I had the opportunity to listen to in St. Moritz. She was there to show me her work ". She also attended a party, where she toasted him with a rendition of ‘Caruso’.
Thankfully for her, October, came, and Lara left for her extended tour of Russia and the Ukraine, with a show called ‘The Best Of’. It included some of her standards, but also a number of songs from the MZ album. Some 20 concerts were given in phases, with 10 day breaks so that she could go home to her family. The tour began October 5th, and lasted to the end of November. It was a somewhat surprising set of venues; if one uses the ‘wider’ definition of Siberia, roughly 1/3 of the concerts were set there. Nevertheless, it eventually wended its way to Moscow and St. Petersburg, stopping also in Kiev.
The tour was an unqualified success, for the fans, the Russian/Ukrainian media, and Lara herself, who numerous times repeated how overwhelmed she was with her reception. No press sniping as in France; here she was ‘queen’, and was treated royally in many of the cities she visited. Even in the locales where the director Badoev is so highly regarded, the subject of the MZ film did not seem to intrude. Videos available from many of the concerts show Lara relaxed, beautiful and in great voice – she could even speak about angels and reincarnation without fear of recrimination! No question, this was the highlight of the year for Lara. Fans made posters, showered her with gifts and flowers, and overall treated her the way a ‘diva’ should be! ☺ The only major problem she encountered was that some of the venues were quite cold, and she had to sing with her coat on…but the warm reception overcame even that.
It was so enthralling that it fundamentally changed the way Lara is now approaching her career. In December she gave an interview in which she ‘sort of’ acknowledged that she now feels Russia is her ‘second country’, that in the future she will spend 5 to 6 months a year there, and that she will be recording a follow-up to the MZ album with Igor Krutoi, probably in 2014. Previously reluctant to admit something like that to her French fans, she even placed the ‘second country’ headline on her FB site. This is the first time that Lara has publicly acknowledged, to the fans and perhaps to herself, that her international career may actually rival her French one. That will have major ramifications for Lara going forward.
Lara did have a life back in the ‘west’ during her 10 day breaks. In October, she inaugurated an exposition in Liege marking the 400th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty in Russia, which lasted from 1613 to 1917. In November, the French TV show ‘Zak’, which she had filmed previously, aired and it allowed fans to see Lara as an accomplished actress in the comedy (so at least fans got to see her acting on TV, if not in film…). In December, Lara acted as musical director for a show in Sicily entitled ‘Casanova 3D’, which included ‘virtual reality’ glasses for the audience to interact with the actors; Lara attended its opening performance, while presumably enjoying part of the holiday season with her relatives.
However, events with lasting ramifications for Lara’s life were not limited to her Russian tour. Back in Belgium, during one of the 10 day breaks in November, Lara made the shocking revelation on her FB site that she and Gerard had ‘agreed to go their separate ways, to return to their own lives’. There had been no public hint of any emotional distance between them, and indeed, they had been seen in pictures together more frequently this year than in the past. Lara’s intent in posting the news on her site was to ‘get in front of’ the story, and for once she had the proper foresight – it worked, as the news media did not dig for any further salacious details. Lara and Gerard even got together a few weeks later for an event in which Lara, acting as ‘godmother’, helped auction off dolls to pay for vaccinating children in Darfur; they were deemed the perfect, mature couple, putting aside their differences for a greater cause. One consequence of this split is that Lara no longer has to be in Paris to be with Gerard, allowing her to spend the time in Russia, or elsewhere.
This was not the end of the surprises: also in November, Lara gave an interview in the press (‘Le Parisian’) discussing her upcoming album ‘Le Secret’, in which she revealed she is no longer associated with Universal Records, in fact has no major record company support. Hence she will be releasing this album herself. Back in January she had said Universal would be backing this one last album, but apparently things had changed (on the MZ FB site, it had been claimed, starting in the spring, that Universal had fired her). Not only would she need to cover the costs of its production, but also of the promotional tour of 80 dates, scheduled to begin in September 2013 and last into the summer of 2014 (pretty much the same span of time that her tour for TLFM covered). Without the resources of a record company behind her, Lara will need to work extra hard for this to be successful. That motivation is apparent in the TV appearances she is already lining up for January, 2013.
No recounting of the year’s events is complete without a mention of the rise and fall of various websites devoted to Lara. She herself has put messages to her fans on her FB site more frequently than in the past (perhaps because she now knows her success or failure is entirely in their hands). However the site still failed to provide timely information on Lara’s activities, and is held in such low regard that nobody really expects it to (it may be that it is manned by volunteers, and if so, that is a problem, especially without record company support). Among the (generally Facebook) sites that were the most active in providing information and videos are the LF Romanian site, which added English subtitles to many of Lara-related activities; Lara Fabian is Here; the Mlle. Zhivago site; Lara’s Brazilian and Czech sites; the Lara Fabian-pure site; ‘Tu es mon autre’, and ‘Claire Evelyne Dauge’ (please forgive any ‘oversights’). Sites that became much less active include the ‘Greek Music Treasure Box’, and the Russian website, among others.
It was a year of extremes for Lara, which is, however, not an extreme occurrence for her. From the ‘downs’ of threats postponing her Lebanese concerts, her inability to come to agreement on the MZ film, separating from her record company, splitting up with Gerard, being again in confrontation with the French press… to the ‘highs’ of her classy shows for her ‘angels’ in Paris and for the fans in Lebanon, the unexpected positive reaction to the MZ package in the ‘west’, and the amazingly well-received extensive Russian tour, Lara had a very full and consequential year.
We know that 2013 is to be the year for the French. A single from ‘Le Secret’ is to be released in January, with the album scheduled for April 15. It is now stated that it will be a "concept album from progressive rock and film music", written (at least in part) with Janey Clewer (writer of the music for ‘Bambina’). It had previously been indicated that the song ‘Le Secret’ itself (which is about a woman who had been raped) was written with Giora Linenberg; presumably, that will be on it as well, although the duet that Lara still shows in a video on her FB site apparently has not made the cut. During the year Lara indicated a number of times that she will be back singing the way she used to, and the way she sings on the MZ album – with full vocal power, the critics be damned. If so, we have a very interesting and enjoyable year to look forward to!
David
A year of big changes for Lara, both professionally and personally. And yet, amid the many controversies, disappointments, and yes, successes, it may be that Lara’s immediate path has been clarified, or at least as much as is possible for someone as mercurial as she is.
At the end of last year, Lara, and her fans, were wrestling with issues that had been unresolved for the past several years: how to bring the Mlle. Zhivago project to completion, and how much should she make the products of her international career available to her French-speaking audience.
The year started auspiciously enough in the same fashion as the previous one, with Lara appearing on Russian TV New Year’s Day, a highlight of which was her duet with Igor Krutoi of “Les feuilles mortes” (Autumn Leaves). [It was symbolic, in that Russia played a role in her highlights throughout the year.] The main event for the first month, however, was her free ‘concert for the fans’ in Paris. When Lara initially proposed this concert, it was as compensation for fan-club members who had been deprived of the cancelled quarterly Farfallina publication. In practice, it turned out to be a chance for Lara to ‘get things off her chest’ to the 800 fans present, people who she knew loved her unquestionably. Lara announced she would be leaving Universal Music after her next album (‘Le Secret’), and that she was working to make the Mlle. Zhivago film more positive so that it could eventually be presented to her fans. She noted that 2011 had been a difficult year, but now things were looking up. In retrospect, all these statements turned out to be too optimistic. The concert itself, composed mostly of her standards, was very well received; it was to be the only concert for her French fans this year, one in which she turned 42 (on Jan. 9).
The other big news during this month was the cancellation of Lara’s planned February concerts in Lebanon due to ‘threats’. The stated reason for her to be a target of “The Campaign to Boycott Israeli Supporters” was Lara’s performance at the 60th anniversary of Israel’s birth, in Paris in 2008 (as well as several times in Israel itself), in particular the ending where she yelled to the crowd that she loved Israel. Her response, given through her press secretary, was that "Lara Fabian has never taken a political position. She loves Israel as Lebanon and there is nothing political in it. She is an artist and regrets having to cancel concerts for such reasons." We know this is true – Lara is not political, as illustrated, ironically, by the criticism she received subsequently for performing in some of the ‘countries to the east’ that routinely violate human rights. In the ‘every cloud has a silver lining’ department, the controversy did get Lara’s name in the press around the world, including in many countries whose inhabitants had never heard of her.
Lara did not want her Lebanese fans to be completely deprived of her presence, so instead she organized a video concert, entitled “entre vous et moi” performed in Paris and broadcast on Lebanese MTV. It took place on the day of one of her cancelled concerts, Valentine’s Day, February 14th. The one hour show (with commercials) covered Lara’s usual favorite songs in French and English but also included duets with Amel Bent (Mistral Gagnant), Anggun (Tue es mon autre), Véronic Dicaire (Bridge Over Troubled Waters), and Sofia Essaîdi (John Lennon’s Imagine). It was a classy show; Lara did not say anything overly political, but quotes from various authors appeared on the screen before many of the songs, and some of these could be read as commentary on the situation that forced this event. As advertized, the songs did emphasize Love, as did Lara’s initial statement, with the most political song commentary in ‘Imagine’ with its line about ‘all the world living as one’. It turns out that more than 2/3 of the people watching TV in Lebanon at that time tuned in to see Lara, and it received excellent reviews in the French press.
The month also featured the unfortunate death of a ‘fellow’ pop diva, Whitney Houston. Lara’s published response displayed her usual depth and meaning. It included the lines, “The world’s greatest souls are often subjected to the most powerful demons... The proportional forces confront each other until a crucial choice determines the path... The choice of light isn't easy to choose, the darkness is always there to threaten…”. One imagines she also viewed the MZ film through that lens.
At the end of the month, Lara appeared on “Vivement Dimanche”, a program honoring Nana Mouskouri. Together they performed a duet of the song “La vie, l’amour, la mort”, which they had recorded together for Nana’s new CD.
While concerts in ‘the west’ were rare this year, Lara gave many in the ‘countries to the east’, and March featured the first of these. She gave her ‘first ever’ concert in the Czech Republic (where she introduced the new song, ‘Le Secret’), followed by shows in Slovakia, Moldavia, and finally two in Bucharest, Romania. She looked and sang wonderfully, the press and fan reviews were glowing, and she was treated in a queenly fashion in these countries. It turns out that this was just a forerunner to her experiences in the ‘countries to the east’ later in the year.
One humorous event: at the news conference preceding one show in Bucharest, she was asked what had she heard about Romania. To everyone’s surprise, Lara responded that she knew it had been called ‘Transylvania’ and was the home to Count Dracula! She also said she knew it might be a myth, but she hoped that it wasn’t, because she wanted the old stories to have some validity. To say her press audience was surprised (horrified might be a better word) is an understatement. But Lara was fairly free with her comments all year long, talking about angels and reincarnation in discussing the meanings of the various songs. This ‘freedom’ would later come back to ‘bite her’ (without Dracula’s help
). Her comfort with non-ordinary reality beliefs apparently did not extend to Alan Badoev’s, for at the end of the month it was reported that Lara had rejected his ‘last’ re-editing of the Mlle. Zhivago film. In response, he had some derogatory comments about Lara on Russian TV. The failure to come to agreement on the movie, one that Lara had pinned her hopes on, has to rank as one of the most disappointing occurrences of the year (although there were other strong contenders), and probably of her whole career. Badoev actually delivered the ‘finished’ version of the movie to its ‘owner’ (presumably Universal Music France, who had spent close to 3 million dollars on it). But it couldn’t be released without Lara’s consent, which was not forthcoming.
In April, Lara went with Gerard and Lou to see a preview of the movie ‘Snow White’. Much to everybody’s surprise, they posed for pictures, and for the first time, Lou’s picture was all over the web (without threats of a lawsuit!). Another ironic occurrence, given what happened later…
The big news this month, however, was Lara’s announcement on her FB site that a DVD/CD book version of Mlle. Zhivago would be released in France in June. As it turned out, it would include a book of 64 pages describing the genesis and history of the Mlle. Zhivago project; a 104 page book of photos, many from the Mlle. Zhivago movie; a CD of 10 songs plus 2 bonus songs; and the DVD of Lara’s concert in Moscow from Nov. 5, 2010 (but also including her performance of ‘Always’ at the Asian winter games in 2011). The CD would contain several new songs (and omit several others from the Russian release). It would be available exclusively (in France) through Carrefour stores, although there was a website for international orders. About the MZ movie, Lara said, “The film… well… we didn’t find a way to understand each other the director and me… it’s life… I’ve made my grief of the situation… and I’ve learned that despite everything people can say, in life, experience is a lantern that enlightened only the one who’s wearing it…”
Disappointment over the film’s fate was palpable among Lara’s fans, and even the French media seemed disappointed, given the excitement that Badoev’s promo video had aroused about it. Badoev on his Twitter account acknowledged that he could not show the film without a license from Lara, which would cost several hundred thousand dollars plus the additional expenses Lara would charge for the music royalties. He also indicated that the film was available for ‘purchase’ for $3,200,000 (presumably, again, from Universal France). Comments continued about this for the next several months, but gradually disappeared when it became obvious that it was a ‘fait accompli’. [As long as the film still exists, it’s not impossible it will someday surface…].
The failure of the much ballyhooed project did not deter Lara from returning to the ‘countries to the east’ this month, first for a visit to Russia where she had some publicity interviews, and then appearing at a charity ball in Kazakhstan for the benefit of ill children.
Towards the end of the month, a new album by George Perris was released in Quebec. It contained a song written by Lara called "Dis-moi comment t'aimer" and a duo with her entitled "Ma solitude". Lara specifically promoted it on her web site. Although not equally emphasized, a double album in honor of Dalida, marking the 25th anniversary of her death, was also released, on about the same day. Lara has often been compared with this singer, as they have a number of startling similarities. The double album is entitled "Depuis qu'elle est partie", and Lara is included with her rendition of Dalida’s song "Il venait d'avoir 18 ans" (from TLFM).
May was a quiet month, although ramifications of the film’s demise ricocheted around the media and among Lara’s fans, including the oddity of her apparently including stills from the ‘forbidden film’ in the upcoming MZ package. Lara attempted to maintain connection with her public by releasing some personal details of her favorite designers such as Rita Zia for jewelry, Consuelo Zoely for casual clothes, and Bernard de Poorter for ready-to-wear dresses. Humorously, a bio of her for an upcoming concert in Israel then came out including the description, “Fabian’s performances differ from the majority of the world's pop stars with a lack of dancers, scenery and trendy clothes. The singer goes on stage in a strict dress with minimal jewelry and make-up, content just to be with her voice.” Not a description those designers would happily be associated with!
Lara did give one performance this month, a private concert in Italy, of which no further information ever surfaced (worthy of mention here because she has never given a public concert in Italy, the nationality that she considers her ‘own’). However, she did have another appointment there; Bernard Depoorter (see above) posted a letter indicating his upcoming collection for the fall will feature “the melancholic Sissi for the past and the charismatic Lara Fabian for the future. This collection will offer mystery and strength, with nice surprises :-)”. It appears the collection will be called ‘The Amazons’. Later in the year, we learned Lara will also be associated with the Igor Gulyaev Fashion House (in fashion too having both French and Russian lines).
Lara did some further travelling in June. At the beginning of the month she was in Switzerland, where the musical comedy school AICOM held the finals of its 3rd annual competition. Lara continues in her role as ‘godmother’ for this organization, and was involved, once again, in the judging. She then gave a concert in Caesarea, Israel; with Gerard and her daughter Lou present, Lara performed some 15 songs. As was true throughout the year, she looked wonderful and was in fine voice. Novel was a performance of ‘Parce que tu pars’ (in duet with the Israeli singer Harel Skaat). Lou even appeared on stage, bringing up flowers and then staying through a song – she was widely featured in fan-made videos of the show.
Towards the end of the month, the MZ CD/DVD/Book was released in Carrefour stores in France, and through an Internet seller for everyone else. In interviews, Lara insisted that the project had really been meant only for the Russian audience, that it had a Russian flavor/lushness, and was only released in the west due to the insistence of her fans. Not exactly the sort of endorsement meant to induce the French public to buy it. Nevertheless, fans were particularly enamored with her new song ‘Je t’aime encore’, so much so that it was eventually released as a single to radio stations, and became Lara’s focal point for the new album. The accompanying booklet indicated that Lara considered this ‘Russian fairy tale’ to be a ‘parenthesis in her career’, that was now finished. By the end of the year, she would be reversing this position…She also noted that Igor Krutoi had so enjoyed her powerful singing that it made her realize she had been limiting her vocal capabilities in misplaced deference to her French critics – something she said she would never do again. The film was never mentioned anywhere in the release, even though the pictures illustrating the songs came directly from it. And Lara strangely omitted one of the best songs from the Russian CD release, ‘Mama’, an homage to her mother. As its release was not a general one (in France, again, only in Carrefour stores), it was never reviewed by the press, and appeared on no album charts (Charts in France still does not acknowledge its existence).
July brought the first tentative attempts by Lara to promote the album in France, with even that being something of a surprise given her restricted release (the international sales via an internet site were discovered by fans, and only after the information was widely dispersed did Lara’s website get around to acknowledging it). In addition to creating a shorter, ‘single’ version of ‘Je t’aime encore’ for radio play, she gave interviews for several radio stations, even calling in from vacation in Sicily. She was careful to also plug the coming release of ‘Le Secret’, so as to not alienate the French and Belgian fans.
That same desire seemed to be at play in another venue. For months, rumors had appeared on various sites in Russia that Lara was planning an extensive fall campaign. Tickets now became available for sale in various cities, including Moscow; eventually Lara had to acknowledge its existence (but on her FB site under ‘eventd’, rather than as a tour). Her reluctance would appear to have been, again, the fear of irritating her French language fans – probably the same reason why she had indicated in the MZ booklet that her flirtation with Russia was over. Instead, it appeared as if a massive tour was in the works, not a ‘closed parenthesis’ but a ‘new beginning’ (after the MZ film debacle). As it turns out, this was to dominate the last part of the year for Lara.
Towards the end of the month, Lara returned to the ‘New Wave’ festival in Latvia, and surprised the audience by presenting ‘Je t’aime encore’ (called ‘Karma’ outside of France/Belgium) from the ‘western’ MZ package, as well as a new song, “Trouver la vie, l’amour, le sens”, music by Igor Krutoi, lyrics by Lara. So Lara’s collaboration with Krutoi was apparently continuing, despite the imbroglio over the MZ film.
Lara had no public appearances during August (she had indicated she would be working on ‘Le Secret’), but her continuing association with Russia still made news. She appeared in Russian magazines, posters for her upcoming concerts began appearing in various cities, her song ‘Immortelle’ was used by the Russian gymnast Daria Dmitrieva in the Olympics, and Lara wrote a supporting letter for a woman’s culture festival to be held in St. Petersburg in September. ‘Je t’aime encore’ was released as a single on iTunes in France, Belgium and Canada (and hence that was acknowledged by ‘Charts in France’); sales of the MZ album led by this single exceeded Lara’s expectations in France. The single was even a strong contestant for ‘song of the summer’ on a French station. It appeared as if Lara was starting to believe that this ‘Russian’ project could actually make some waves in the west; her FB and URl sites started giving it more publicity, especially the single.
And so, in September, Lara launched into a full-scale promotion for the MZ release, to coincide not only with ‘la rentrée’ but also with its scheduled release in Belgium. The media blitz lasted for some three weeks, and Lara was on many radio and TV shows, explaining the origin of the album via Igor Krutoi, its recording, and the reason for its release now in her home country, two years late (“due to the fans’ demand”). Her equivocation about it for a French-speaking audience seemed to evaporate as it was met with great approval, fostered by Lara’s change of approach: instead of the severe France restrictions on sales, it was made available in Belgium through the big record outlets, epitomized by Lara’s appearance at an FNAC store on Sept. 20th. FNAC even ran a contest to choose the fans who would meet Lara. In response, and with Lara’s promo, sales took off: the MZ album went to #2 in the Belgian charts and remained on the charts for a number of weeks, with the single also reaching respectable positions.
Lara could not avoid discussing the MZ film problems, with pictures from it so prominent in the MZ package release. She provided her standard reply, as quoted in the magazine 7sur7: One year after this meeting, the idea of a musical movie comes up, which turned out to be a failure and it came down to the photos from the book. “There was a problem about the content. Once the shooting is done, a director has the skill and the power to do anything he wants through the editing.” Lara Fabian talks about a certain “darkness” and even about “insanities” that really don’t represent her. “To me, it was unmanageable. I remember that when I saw the movie, I asked myself how my fans would react to something like that. I know that some of them are very angry for not seeing the footage. But I think that they would be a lot angrier if the saw the content of that project.” Because of the fact that the Ukrainian director insists on keeping his point of view and refuses to change what’s been shot, the singer has chosen not to release these images. “It’s a real pity. I’m talking about this openly because he’s saying the opposite when he has the chance to do so. She even indicated that he had hired another actress to shoot additional scenes, something never before mentioned.
With this it seemed as if she had put the project to rest forever, but it kept popping back up in interviews and on fan sites. Lara subsequently said that she and her manager are looking for some way to release ‘one last bit’ of the MZ project, involving the film, or some clips from it. Scheduled tentatively for December, we’ve yet to see it (and perhaps never will).
But that was far from the only controversy Lara encountered in her re-engagement with the French language media. Lara gave interviews over a four day period on the show ‘Ma semaine avec’, on Bel RTL radio in Belgium. Her philosophical comments including her belief in astrology, her Uncle’s appreciation of a tomato, and other seemingly ‘way-out’ statements was met with ridicule in the French press. She was even compared with Jean-Claude Van Damme, known for outrageous statements (Lara was referred to as “van dammerie"). She replied that because her critics were not smart enough to understand her, she should not be blamed!
That was bad enough, but what really infuriated her critics was Lara reciting the writing on a sign she said she had in her ‘yellow room’: “I am a princess, and fuck you!” She went on to explain that what it meant was that we should all think of ourselves as special, and recognize that we are not perfect, so we shouldn’t cower in the face of criticism. The press felt that their ‘diva’ classification of Lara had been right all along, while Lara, reacting to their comments, now felt that her poor opinion of the French press was fully justified. In truth, Lara had said her experiences in Russia with Krutoi had made clear to her that she had been abused by the French press, and her quoting this expression was probably a way to take out her anger at them (and at herself for listening to them). What all the criticism did was remind her of what she hated about the music business in the ‘west’. [It also probably helped with sales of the MZ album, as it put her back in the public spotlight; it’s been said that for an entertainer, there is no such thing as bad publicity.]
Lara did have some more pleasant moments this month: she met with Paulo Coehlo in Switzerland, and, as he wrote on his website, "In principle, we have the idea of doing a concert with excerpts from my book Manuscript Found in Accra and her new album, which I had the opportunity to listen to in St. Moritz. She was there to show me her work ". She also attended a party, where she toasted him with a rendition of ‘Caruso’.
Thankfully for her, October, came, and Lara left for her extended tour of Russia and the Ukraine, with a show called ‘The Best Of’. It included some of her standards, but also a number of songs from the MZ album. Some 20 concerts were given in phases, with 10 day breaks so that she could go home to her family. The tour began October 5th, and lasted to the end of November. It was a somewhat surprising set of venues; if one uses the ‘wider’ definition of Siberia, roughly 1/3 of the concerts were set there. Nevertheless, it eventually wended its way to Moscow and St. Petersburg, stopping also in Kiev.
The tour was an unqualified success, for the fans, the Russian/Ukrainian media, and Lara herself, who numerous times repeated how overwhelmed she was with her reception. No press sniping as in France; here she was ‘queen’, and was treated royally in many of the cities she visited. Even in the locales where the director Badoev is so highly regarded, the subject of the MZ film did not seem to intrude. Videos available from many of the concerts show Lara relaxed, beautiful and in great voice – she could even speak about angels and reincarnation without fear of recrimination! No question, this was the highlight of the year for Lara. Fans made posters, showered her with gifts and flowers, and overall treated her the way a ‘diva’ should be! ☺ The only major problem she encountered was that some of the venues were quite cold, and she had to sing with her coat on…but the warm reception overcame even that.
It was so enthralling that it fundamentally changed the way Lara is now approaching her career. In December she gave an interview in which she ‘sort of’ acknowledged that she now feels Russia is her ‘second country’, that in the future she will spend 5 to 6 months a year there, and that she will be recording a follow-up to the MZ album with Igor Krutoi, probably in 2014. Previously reluctant to admit something like that to her French fans, she even placed the ‘second country’ headline on her FB site. This is the first time that Lara has publicly acknowledged, to the fans and perhaps to herself, that her international career may actually rival her French one. That will have major ramifications for Lara going forward.
Lara did have a life back in the ‘west’ during her 10 day breaks. In October, she inaugurated an exposition in Liege marking the 400th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty in Russia, which lasted from 1613 to 1917. In November, the French TV show ‘Zak’, which she had filmed previously, aired and it allowed fans to see Lara as an accomplished actress in the comedy (so at least fans got to see her acting on TV, if not in film…). In December, Lara acted as musical director for a show in Sicily entitled ‘Casanova 3D’, which included ‘virtual reality’ glasses for the audience to interact with the actors; Lara attended its opening performance, while presumably enjoying part of the holiday season with her relatives.
However, events with lasting ramifications for Lara’s life were not limited to her Russian tour. Back in Belgium, during one of the 10 day breaks in November, Lara made the shocking revelation on her FB site that she and Gerard had ‘agreed to go their separate ways, to return to their own lives’. There had been no public hint of any emotional distance between them, and indeed, they had been seen in pictures together more frequently this year than in the past. Lara’s intent in posting the news on her site was to ‘get in front of’ the story, and for once she had the proper foresight – it worked, as the news media did not dig for any further salacious details. Lara and Gerard even got together a few weeks later for an event in which Lara, acting as ‘godmother’, helped auction off dolls to pay for vaccinating children in Darfur; they were deemed the perfect, mature couple, putting aside their differences for a greater cause. One consequence of this split is that Lara no longer has to be in Paris to be with Gerard, allowing her to spend the time in Russia, or elsewhere.
This was not the end of the surprises: also in November, Lara gave an interview in the press (‘Le Parisian’) discussing her upcoming album ‘Le Secret’, in which she revealed she is no longer associated with Universal Records, in fact has no major record company support. Hence she will be releasing this album herself. Back in January she had said Universal would be backing this one last album, but apparently things had changed (on the MZ FB site, it had been claimed, starting in the spring, that Universal had fired her). Not only would she need to cover the costs of its production, but also of the promotional tour of 80 dates, scheduled to begin in September 2013 and last into the summer of 2014 (pretty much the same span of time that her tour for TLFM covered). Without the resources of a record company behind her, Lara will need to work extra hard for this to be successful. That motivation is apparent in the TV appearances she is already lining up for January, 2013.
No recounting of the year’s events is complete without a mention of the rise and fall of various websites devoted to Lara. She herself has put messages to her fans on her FB site more frequently than in the past (perhaps because she now knows her success or failure is entirely in their hands). However the site still failed to provide timely information on Lara’s activities, and is held in such low regard that nobody really expects it to (it may be that it is manned by volunteers, and if so, that is a problem, especially without record company support). Among the (generally Facebook) sites that were the most active in providing information and videos are the LF Romanian site, which added English subtitles to many of Lara-related activities; Lara Fabian is Here; the Mlle. Zhivago site; Lara’s Brazilian and Czech sites; the Lara Fabian-pure site; ‘Tu es mon autre’, and ‘Claire Evelyne Dauge’ (please forgive any ‘oversights’). Sites that became much less active include the ‘Greek Music Treasure Box’, and the Russian website, among others.
It was a year of extremes for Lara, which is, however, not an extreme occurrence for her. From the ‘downs’ of threats postponing her Lebanese concerts, her inability to come to agreement on the MZ film, separating from her record company, splitting up with Gerard, being again in confrontation with the French press… to the ‘highs’ of her classy shows for her ‘angels’ in Paris and for the fans in Lebanon, the unexpected positive reaction to the MZ package in the ‘west’, and the amazingly well-received extensive Russian tour, Lara had a very full and consequential year.
We know that 2013 is to be the year for the French. A single from ‘Le Secret’ is to be released in January, with the album scheduled for April 15. It is now stated that it will be a "concept album from progressive rock and film music", written (at least in part) with Janey Clewer (writer of the music for ‘Bambina’). It had previously been indicated that the song ‘Le Secret’ itself (which is about a woman who had been raped) was written with Giora Linenberg; presumably, that will be on it as well, although the duet that Lara still shows in a video on her FB site apparently has not made the cut. During the year Lara indicated a number of times that she will be back singing the way she used to, and the way she sings on the MZ album – with full vocal power, the critics be damned. If so, we have a very interesting and enjoyable year to look forward to!
David
