Post by davidhr on Apr 16, 2013 12:34:54 GMT -5
One of the most important weeks for Lara has just concluded with the release of two projects that were years in the making. The double CD ‘Le Secret’ made its official debut yesterday, with all the fanfare Lara could give it, including multiple TV and press appearances, and two special showcases for fans. And late last week, the movie 'Mademoiselle Zhivago' was released on the Internet, featuring Lara as a dramatic actress to the background of the songs from that album. In contrast to the CD release, Lara ignored it entirely, but both are very high quality productions with the capacity to change her professional life.
Concerning first the CD, early responses have been as positive as any Lara has ever gotten. It is a mixture of songs of various tempos and styles, connected by musical interludes (and various cacophonous sounds), with beautiful melodies, amazing singing, and meaningful lyrics. A separate thread is provided for reviews; I’ve started it with several ‘worthy’ entries, but please feel free to add your own. For those who can’t make adequate judgment without understanding the lyrics, the LF Romania FB site is providing English translations. As the release was so recent, sales are just beginning, but it is near the top on iTunes, Amazon.fr, and VirginMega.fr
One complaint that has surfaced, relatively trivial but nonetheless valid, is that the packaging screams “cheap, cheap”. It is a simple white box, with the two CDs; yes, there is a booklet with the lyrics (something that was not done for the Mlle. Zhivago releases) and a couple of pictures, but it is rather minimalist. Not up to the level of the music, or of any of Lara’s previous releases. Why they chose to economize in this regard is anybody’s guess; maybe it cost so much to produce the multi-layered music that there was nothing left. If so, they chose the right emphasis, but it is still a shame. Lara at least seems proud of the cover, for the following statement was presented on her website:
“The secret is also your secret... We open an album on the page to put pictures of you in possession of the "The Secret",online. If you want to participate please feel free to send your photo to the following address: lfabianofficial@gmail.com thanks to all and thanks to Emma L. for this super idea
“
[Note that most of the quotes from the press in this update are translated here from French, and so that won't be repeated ad infinitum...]
In support of the CD, Lara had two showcase presentations last night in Paris for an audience of 2700, including both fans and a number of prestige personages. She sang 10 of the songs from Le Secret; in the videos already available, she was in great voice. This verified that she will be able to present many of them on her upcoming tour. After the second concert, she stayed around for an hour to sign autographs. Lara asked people ahead of time to record videos from the showcase and place them on Evergig.com, saying that in about 3 weeks time they will try to make something of them - so hopefully we may get the complete show. Here’s what they actually say on Evergig.com about Lara’s shows:
“Beginning with a series of concerts in France and abroad (Belgium, Switzerland, USA) which begin in September, and those of the Paris Theatre on April 15 (in partnership with private-sale site) will be shown complete in a few hours !
No need to rush to the famous auction site discount ... what you can do against this is by going to see her concert on evergig in a few days!”
This is truly exciting; we’ll see how it pans out…
A number of pictures from the showcase are available, at:
www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=496812553699709&set=a.496595813721383.1073741873.103390503041918&type=1&theater
and at:
www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.171420933012905.1073741836.170270659794599&type=1
Also in promo mode, Lara was on numerous TV and radio shows in the past week. Perhaps the most interesting from a video perspective was her appearance on Chabada, which featured short duets with Josh Groban, among other songs. In addition to their appearance on youtube, the complete show is available at:
www.larafabianbrasil.com.br/2013/04/lara-fabian-no-programa-chabada-14042013.html
[You may remember this is the show that Roberto Alagna was supposed to be the featured performer, but got angry and walked out, with Lara taking up the slack].
On several of the shows Lara performed ‘Deux ils, deux elles’, in particular on ‘Les Cinq Dernières Minutes’, ‘CD Aujourd’hui’, on ‘The Ou Café’, and on “13 Heures”. These are all available on the Internet. Long interviews were given on ‘The Ou Café’ and ‘Les Chauds Matins’ (on Radio Nostalgie). Lara continues to try to explain the title ‘Le Secret’ as the ‘point’ inside oneself where happiness can be found, which is also her explanation for the cover of the album. One gets the impression that the hosts don’t really get it, and so, to some extent, humor her. There is no doubt however about how impressed they are with the album, as several people have said it ‘immersed them in Lara’s world’. Interestingly, a number of them have said that there favorite song is the English one (I Am A-Wa); on “Laissez vous tenter”, today, Lara said that it was a Japanese term referring to an internal source of light (actually, a lot more complicated than that
). On the same show, it was reported that:
“Lara Fabian herself describes “Le Secret" as an epic album. An album that combines progressive rock, film music and lyricism." She added that it "tells a story". It was therefore "imagined as a film. Songs mingle with each other through instrumental and musical interludes that immerse you in the world of song," she says.
I’ll provide my own review at some point in the thread mentioned above.
In contrast, Lara tried to avoid as much as possible the ‘Mademoiselle Zhivago’ film, since she still clearly thinks it is too dark. She in fact refused to embrace it when questioned about it on ‘Radio Nostalgie’, even though the host praised it and her, and there has been no mention of its recent release on her websites. First made available through the Ello channel on youtube, it was blocked after 24 hours from all countries except Russia (and probably the Ukraine). However, once it got out, fans were resourceful enough to make it available on other channels, and it has now returned to youtube (though not on Ello), both for the individual 8 music videos that make up the film, and the whole movie, available at:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPh7S57SfWU
Tarcisio has also made an HD version of both the movie and the ‘making of’ available at:
www.wetransfer.com/downloads/94f6bff8f876effba73c317555cf599b20130413180049/6d77eecb4d90481ced5fa2b3f688d19920130413180049/e65c88
It was reviewed by ‘Charts in France’, who said:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lara Fabian reveals (finally) the film "Mademoiselle Zhivago", directed by Alan Badoev
We heard a lot about, but had never been released in its entirety. The film "Mademoiselle Zhivago" Lara Fabian has (finally) been posted. A page is turned to the singer who had allowed a saving exile in Eastern Europe for this project, and will be back in stores April 15 with the album "The Secret".
It was highly anticipated, especially by the French public following Lara Fabian since its inception. The film "Mademoiselle Zhivago" filmed in Eastern Europe there a little more than two years ago has finally been released on the Internet. A project directed by Alan Badoev as a true musical film featuring the singer in various situations, often more dramatic than happy. "Mademoiselle Zhivago" is actually nine clips for which the singer turned actress. Nine stories related to each other, the action takes place in the early nineteenth century, during the Second World War, in the present and in the distant future. As part of these videos, Lara Fabian appears in a concert hall invaded by terrorists in a fascist concentration camp or in a whimsical world. The artist intends to present different faces of women throughout history.
Of "Mademoiselle Zhivago", we already knew the soundtrack, an album released in Russia and has found hundreds of thousands of buyers according to Le Parisien. In France, the album was released last summer in one sign and in a limited edition. Therefore a rare and valuable find. We can only see the hard work that went into this film, in which we discover another facet of Lara Fabian.
Similarly, it was reviewed in Ptitblog, who said in part:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
It is true that the images are beautiful and the rendering surprising. A work which will permit – and if she wishes - the singer to be approached by other projects in the cinema. Although dark, the project reveals a capacity to break the singer's image and embody different roles from those that one would have been ready to give her!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The movie is 51 minutes long, but several sections were left out in the ‘free release’. The video of a ‘Mother abandoning her child’ (to the song of ‘Mama’), the video set in the future where Lara is the last woman alive and men become pregnant (to ‘Demain n’existe pas’), and the summation video, where Lara in the current time remembers all the past lives, are all missing (they were discussed in the ‘Making of’); it has been stated that at least some of them, and maybe all, have been reserved for a DVD release, said to be of 66 minutes length and rumored for June in Russia. Commenting on the difference between what was shown and the full project, Badoev said that the ‘main points were presented’. And indeed, while this was not the full movie, it was in its way complete; I’ve provided my review of this project in a separate Mademoiselle Zhivago movie review thread. Badoev has heard from many fans on Twitter and has received great praise for a very professional, emotional production. Lara’s fans have also, in general, been very thankful that they finally did get the chance to see it. Actually, the music video format makes them perfect for youtube, and they’re already getting a lot of play on Lara’s fan sites.
Despite Lara’s disowning of this venture, it may do her a great deal of good. As Ptitblog noted, Lara now has some serious acting credentials to offer if she wants to pursue a movie career, with which she has flirted in the past. Nevertheless, Lara’s response to this movie release is in line with her continual missteps concerning her international career outside of the ‘countries to the east’. Lara has finally put up the reference to her Carnegie Hall concert on her new site (see below); as far as I know, it will be her first full public concert ever in front of an English speaking audience (with none in Spanish speaking countries – or Italy for that matter). Outside of her devoted fans, the general U.S. population will not come to hear a concert focused on a French album. There is now both a wonderful Mademoiselle Zhivago CD and movie in five languages that could have served her well in (re)introducing her to people in the English and Spanish speaking worlds (among others). Instead, neither of these is likely to become familiar to those audiences, for she has not valued them and used them properly. To provide perspective, however much ‘Le Secret’ is likely to restore her image to the French, and maybe even define her career there, she has let the bigger fish slip away.
In conjunction with the album release, the new website (www.larafabian.com) has officially opened. It is clearly not finished (or at least one hopes it is not), for many components are missing, or simply carried over from the old site of the same name. One suspects that the FB site will continue to be her main channel to fans.
And in other news – yes there was other news – Lara did give her concert in Ankara, Turkey. Although press reports had mentioned it as part of ‘Le Secret’ tour, it was a continuation of the ‘Best of’ concert series, with the same set list. Videos available on the web again show Lara in great voice, and also unafraid to appear in a Moslem country!
On the show ‘Laissez-vous tenter’ today, Lara revealed that the song Amourexique referred to a very serious eating disorder" which she said "carried on for a long time." She was anorexic and lost 10 pounds. Fans had noticed and commented on it; hopefully she has gotten past it!
Upcoming shows for Lara include "A La Bonne Heure" (RTL) – Radio France today,"C TO Vous" on France 5 (also today), "Touche Pas à Mon Poste "(D8) - TV France, on the 17th, and with Sophie Davant on “C'est au programme” on France 2 also on the 17th. And we should get more responses from fans/critics concerning ‘Le Secret’; we expect they will be very positive.
David
Concerning first the CD, early responses have been as positive as any Lara has ever gotten. It is a mixture of songs of various tempos and styles, connected by musical interludes (and various cacophonous sounds), with beautiful melodies, amazing singing, and meaningful lyrics. A separate thread is provided for reviews; I’ve started it with several ‘worthy’ entries, but please feel free to add your own. For those who can’t make adequate judgment without understanding the lyrics, the LF Romania FB site is providing English translations. As the release was so recent, sales are just beginning, but it is near the top on iTunes, Amazon.fr, and VirginMega.fr
One complaint that has surfaced, relatively trivial but nonetheless valid, is that the packaging screams “cheap, cheap”. It is a simple white box, with the two CDs; yes, there is a booklet with the lyrics (something that was not done for the Mlle. Zhivago releases) and a couple of pictures, but it is rather minimalist. Not up to the level of the music, or of any of Lara’s previous releases. Why they chose to economize in this regard is anybody’s guess; maybe it cost so much to produce the multi-layered music that there was nothing left. If so, they chose the right emphasis, but it is still a shame. Lara at least seems proud of the cover, for the following statement was presented on her website:
“The secret is also your secret... We open an album on the page to put pictures of you in possession of the "The Secret",online. If you want to participate please feel free to send your photo to the following address: lfabianofficial@gmail.com thanks to all and thanks to Emma L. for this super idea
“[Note that most of the quotes from the press in this update are translated here from French, and so that won't be repeated ad infinitum...]
In support of the CD, Lara had two showcase presentations last night in Paris for an audience of 2700, including both fans and a number of prestige personages. She sang 10 of the songs from Le Secret; in the videos already available, she was in great voice. This verified that she will be able to present many of them on her upcoming tour. After the second concert, she stayed around for an hour to sign autographs. Lara asked people ahead of time to record videos from the showcase and place them on Evergig.com, saying that in about 3 weeks time they will try to make something of them - so hopefully we may get the complete show. Here’s what they actually say on Evergig.com about Lara’s shows:
“Beginning with a series of concerts in France and abroad (Belgium, Switzerland, USA) which begin in September, and those of the Paris Theatre on April 15 (in partnership with private-sale site) will be shown complete in a few hours !
No need to rush to the famous auction site discount ... what you can do against this is by going to see her concert on evergig in a few days!”
This is truly exciting; we’ll see how it pans out…
A number of pictures from the showcase are available, at:
www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=496812553699709&set=a.496595813721383.1073741873.103390503041918&type=1&theater
and at:
www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.171420933012905.1073741836.170270659794599&type=1
Also in promo mode, Lara was on numerous TV and radio shows in the past week. Perhaps the most interesting from a video perspective was her appearance on Chabada, which featured short duets with Josh Groban, among other songs. In addition to their appearance on youtube, the complete show is available at:
www.larafabianbrasil.com.br/2013/04/lara-fabian-no-programa-chabada-14042013.html
[You may remember this is the show that Roberto Alagna was supposed to be the featured performer, but got angry and walked out, with Lara taking up the slack].
On several of the shows Lara performed ‘Deux ils, deux elles’, in particular on ‘Les Cinq Dernières Minutes’, ‘CD Aujourd’hui’, on ‘The Ou Café’, and on “13 Heures”. These are all available on the Internet. Long interviews were given on ‘The Ou Café’ and ‘Les Chauds Matins’ (on Radio Nostalgie). Lara continues to try to explain the title ‘Le Secret’ as the ‘point’ inside oneself where happiness can be found, which is also her explanation for the cover of the album. One gets the impression that the hosts don’t really get it, and so, to some extent, humor her. There is no doubt however about how impressed they are with the album, as several people have said it ‘immersed them in Lara’s world’. Interestingly, a number of them have said that there favorite song is the English one (I Am A-Wa); on “Laissez vous tenter”, today, Lara said that it was a Japanese term referring to an internal source of light (actually, a lot more complicated than that
). On the same show, it was reported that:“Lara Fabian herself describes “Le Secret" as an epic album. An album that combines progressive rock, film music and lyricism." She added that it "tells a story". It was therefore "imagined as a film. Songs mingle with each other through instrumental and musical interludes that immerse you in the world of song," she says.
I’ll provide my own review at some point in the thread mentioned above.
In contrast, Lara tried to avoid as much as possible the ‘Mademoiselle Zhivago’ film, since she still clearly thinks it is too dark. She in fact refused to embrace it when questioned about it on ‘Radio Nostalgie’, even though the host praised it and her, and there has been no mention of its recent release on her websites. First made available through the Ello channel on youtube, it was blocked after 24 hours from all countries except Russia (and probably the Ukraine). However, once it got out, fans were resourceful enough to make it available on other channels, and it has now returned to youtube (though not on Ello), both for the individual 8 music videos that make up the film, and the whole movie, available at:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPh7S57SfWU
Tarcisio has also made an HD version of both the movie and the ‘making of’ available at:
www.wetransfer.com/downloads/94f6bff8f876effba73c317555cf599b20130413180049/6d77eecb4d90481ced5fa2b3f688d19920130413180049/e65c88
It was reviewed by ‘Charts in France’, who said:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lara Fabian reveals (finally) the film "Mademoiselle Zhivago", directed by Alan Badoev
We heard a lot about, but had never been released in its entirety. The film "Mademoiselle Zhivago" Lara Fabian has (finally) been posted. A page is turned to the singer who had allowed a saving exile in Eastern Europe for this project, and will be back in stores April 15 with the album "The Secret".
It was highly anticipated, especially by the French public following Lara Fabian since its inception. The film "Mademoiselle Zhivago" filmed in Eastern Europe there a little more than two years ago has finally been released on the Internet. A project directed by Alan Badoev as a true musical film featuring the singer in various situations, often more dramatic than happy. "Mademoiselle Zhivago" is actually nine clips for which the singer turned actress. Nine stories related to each other, the action takes place in the early nineteenth century, during the Second World War, in the present and in the distant future. As part of these videos, Lara Fabian appears in a concert hall invaded by terrorists in a fascist concentration camp or in a whimsical world. The artist intends to present different faces of women throughout history.
Of "Mademoiselle Zhivago", we already knew the soundtrack, an album released in Russia and has found hundreds of thousands of buyers according to Le Parisien. In France, the album was released last summer in one sign and in a limited edition. Therefore a rare and valuable find. We can only see the hard work that went into this film, in which we discover another facet of Lara Fabian.
Similarly, it was reviewed in Ptitblog, who said in part:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
It is true that the images are beautiful and the rendering surprising. A work which will permit – and if she wishes - the singer to be approached by other projects in the cinema. Although dark, the project reveals a capacity to break the singer's image and embody different roles from those that one would have been ready to give her!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The movie is 51 minutes long, but several sections were left out in the ‘free release’. The video of a ‘Mother abandoning her child’ (to the song of ‘Mama’), the video set in the future where Lara is the last woman alive and men become pregnant (to ‘Demain n’existe pas’), and the summation video, where Lara in the current time remembers all the past lives, are all missing (they were discussed in the ‘Making of’); it has been stated that at least some of them, and maybe all, have been reserved for a DVD release, said to be of 66 minutes length and rumored for June in Russia. Commenting on the difference between what was shown and the full project, Badoev said that the ‘main points were presented’. And indeed, while this was not the full movie, it was in its way complete; I’ve provided my review of this project in a separate Mademoiselle Zhivago movie review thread. Badoev has heard from many fans on Twitter and has received great praise for a very professional, emotional production. Lara’s fans have also, in general, been very thankful that they finally did get the chance to see it. Actually, the music video format makes them perfect for youtube, and they’re already getting a lot of play on Lara’s fan sites.
Despite Lara’s disowning of this venture, it may do her a great deal of good. As Ptitblog noted, Lara now has some serious acting credentials to offer if she wants to pursue a movie career, with which she has flirted in the past. Nevertheless, Lara’s response to this movie release is in line with her continual missteps concerning her international career outside of the ‘countries to the east’. Lara has finally put up the reference to her Carnegie Hall concert on her new site (see below); as far as I know, it will be her first full public concert ever in front of an English speaking audience (with none in Spanish speaking countries – or Italy for that matter). Outside of her devoted fans, the general U.S. population will not come to hear a concert focused on a French album. There is now both a wonderful Mademoiselle Zhivago CD and movie in five languages that could have served her well in (re)introducing her to people in the English and Spanish speaking worlds (among others). Instead, neither of these is likely to become familiar to those audiences, for she has not valued them and used them properly. To provide perspective, however much ‘Le Secret’ is likely to restore her image to the French, and maybe even define her career there, she has let the bigger fish slip away.
In conjunction with the album release, the new website (www.larafabian.com) has officially opened. It is clearly not finished (or at least one hopes it is not), for many components are missing, or simply carried over from the old site of the same name. One suspects that the FB site will continue to be her main channel to fans.
And in other news – yes there was other news – Lara did give her concert in Ankara, Turkey. Although press reports had mentioned it as part of ‘Le Secret’ tour, it was a continuation of the ‘Best of’ concert series, with the same set list. Videos available on the web again show Lara in great voice, and also unafraid to appear in a Moslem country!
On the show ‘Laissez-vous tenter’ today, Lara revealed that the song Amourexique referred to a very serious eating disorder" which she said "carried on for a long time." She was anorexic and lost 10 pounds. Fans had noticed and commented on it; hopefully she has gotten past it!
Upcoming shows for Lara include "A La Bonne Heure" (RTL) – Radio France today,"C TO Vous" on France 5 (also today), "Touche Pas à Mon Poste "(D8) - TV France, on the 17th, and with Sophie Davant on “C'est au programme” on France 2 also on the 17th. And we should get more responses from fans/critics concerning ‘Le Secret’; we expect they will be very positive.
David
