Post by davidhr on Jan 21, 2014 10:36:19 GMT -5
Obviously, Lara’s decision to cancel her 2014 Le Secret tour due to health reasons IS the news this past week, and probably for many, many weeks to come. The Lara Fabian Romanian FB site has posted a version of Lara’s announcement with English subtitles; it’s available at:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSSRBEOhx2M
In the ‘outlook for 2014’ section of the ‘Year in Review’ on this site, it was noted that all depended on her health, and assumed a ‘best-case’ scenario. What has actually happened is close to a ‘worst-case’, at least professionally, but it was not a ‘least likely’. There was always the feeling that the 3 days on/8 days off approach was based on very limited data concerning her hearing improvement, so its failure is not a great surprise. Lara herself anticipated the possibility when last month, in response to the question of whether she would cancel her tour, said, “we are not yet at that point”. Clearly we are now, with her experience on her Canada trip ‘prima facie’ evidence. At each stop it was noted that she touched her left ear during performances, and apparently it was even more noticeable in Toronto. This being the end of her current ‘international’ expedition, it allowed her to accomplish that goal, at least, and marks an obvious stopping point.
Lara would clearly have liked to continue. In her message she indicates frustration that she is now prevented from further highlighting ‘Le Secret’, which as she said, she put so much of herself into. She would seem to be afraid that people will fail to realize its great honesty, creativity and accomplishment, and her prescription for dealing with our problems, contacting our Secret Inner Self. She’s probably right, but there was no great evidence that people were catching on, anyway – the most common word you heard about the ideas behind the album from the public in Canada was ‘obscure’. And sales were not picking up, either there or in France/Belgium. It may be that it is ‘too creative’ for a public weaned on superficial tastes – hence the comments from the reviewers, who loved it, but said that perhaps it wasn’t very commercial. If true, Lara would have been beating her head against the wall at the risk of her health with little to show for it. Nevertheless, Lara’s fans in the cities where she will not appear would have loved to see her whatever she was singing. They will now be deprived of that gift, a fact that Lara was also clearly concerned about. And while the tickets for these shows will surely be refunded, as many fans have pointed out that’s not necessarily true of airplane tickets or other expenses incurred in planning for seeing Lara outside of one’s home area.
As you might expect, the story has been picked up by numerous publications, including both entertainment and major newspapers, e.g,
www.cinetelerevue.be/fr/lara-fabian-oreille-interne-probleme-tournee-annulation.html?cmp_id=7&news_id=26057&vID=3
www.purepeople.com/article/lara-fabian-bouleversante-annonce-l-arret-de-sa-tournee-pour-raisons-medicales_a135085/1
www.lepoint.fr/ces-gens-la/video-lara-fabian-annule-completement-sa-tournee-pour-raison-medicale-20-01-2014-1782290_264.php
www.leparisien.fr/loisirs-et-spectacles/malade-lara-fabian-annule-la-fin-de-sa-tournee-20-01-2014-3512527.php
www.lefigaro.fr/flash-actu/2014/01/20/97001-20140120FILWWW00492-lara-fabian-annule-le-reste-de-sa-tournee.php#xtor=AL-155
There’s no reason to provide translations, as they all simply make use of Lara’s statements from her video. The comments from readers of these publications were pretty somber, some describing having problems that have lasted for years, with no relief – hence they were in general very sympathetic. [There were also some suggesting it was simply a way of getting out of playing in half-filled concert halls. This is, after all, France!].
The focus now turns to: where do we go from here? It will be addressed in the form of Q&A, with the questions obvious, and the answers largely unknown, both to us and probably in most cases to Lara herself.
Q: How long will Lara’s self-isolation last?
Considering the fact that the original injury occurred in early May, it has now lasted eight months without having healed, though she has been irritating it with concerts for the last four months. Referring to the discussion of ‘acoustic shock disorder’ (ASD) in the News Update of 11/12, the sources indicated that “in some cases all symptoms resolved within a few hours or days. In other cases symptoms persisted for months or indefinitely.” The article also noted that “progress can be slow once symptoms become entrenched”. She apparently had begun to heal up a little bit (hence her continuing the concerts after early November); that should provide some hope that with rest and medication there will eventually be a resolution. The doctors stated that one should not return to ‘headset duty’ until the symptoms are fully resolved, and even then, it should be done gradually. Having opted for the drastic remedy of cancelling all her concerts, one expects she will make sure it’s really o.k. before returning. Obviously any estimate (by anyone) would be highly speculative, but it would not be surprising if Lara did not return to live concerts this whole year. She must think so to, to have jettisoned the whole schedule, including shows that were in October. Hopefully this is too pessimistic…[Note that her official sites still list all the shows, presumably assuming that her public statement is sufficient].
Q: Will what she is doing really work to heal her?
A: Another article indicated that, “the progression of hyperacusis is unpredictable. Many patients' tolerance improves while some cases grow steadily worse. The only factor we know of that unquestionably affects progression or regression is continued exposure to loud noise.” She also apparently is taking cortisone, and that has been known to have mixed benefits. Again, given that Lara did show some improvement when following her ‘isolation’ approach, there is reason to be optimistic.
Q: What is the worst that can happen?
A: Lara indicated that the doctors warned her she could become deaf, although reports indicate that ASD generally does not result in a complete hearing loss. It has affected her low-to-mid frequency hearing, on the order of a few thousand Hz. If the symptoms are resolved, presumably that should return.
Q: Will she really be totally invisible to the public, or will she still make occasional appearances?
A: We certainly don’t know, but we have one (imperfect) precedent. In 2004, when Lara was ordered by her doctors to take ‘complete rest’ for some four month she was completely out of sight. No interviews, no incidental programs, nothing. That ailment involved internal organs, so was entirely different. Another factor is that after cancelling the tour because of health it might be ‘inconvenient’ to show up on TV shows, even if they wouldn’t be harmful, so from a PR standpoint she might desist. There’s also the legal aspect: the only way one can cancel performances in theatres without financial repercussion is with a ‘doctor’s note’ (as she did in 2004). This too argues against public appearances, including any possible involvement with the next season of ‘The Best’ as well. In fact it’s now been confirmed by numerous sources that Lara has left the program and will not participate, concentrating on “resting and composition” instead, e.g.,
mfmradio.fr/musique/people/7403/lara-fabian-lance-un-appel-ses-fans?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+mfmradio-people+%28MFM+Radio+-+People%29
www.ozap.com/actu/-the-best-2-lara-fabian-quitte-le-jury/451167
tvmag.lefigaro.fr/programme-tv/article/television/79287/the-best-avec-christophe-beaugrand-et-sans-lara-fabian.html
www.chartsinfrance.net/Lara-Fabian/news-90147.html
With this as example, the guess here is that she won’t be ‘on the air’, although interviews for magazines, etc. would seem somewhat likely. It’s an odd situation because outside of her hearing issue, Lara presumably feels well, with all her normal energy.
Q: Can she actually continue to work on new songs, and perhaps put out an album (or at least a single) during this time period?
A: Lara said she would be working on new songs; her piano probably doesn’t qualify as ‘loud sounds’. And the way records are produced today, Lara could sing onto a track and have the musical tracks added later around her, as we know her vocals haven’t been affected. Whether she would want to do it that way, if it isn’t her normal procedure, is another question. Igor Krutoi had said that the new album with Lara was ‘done’, but we don’t know if he meant that literally.
Q: Will there continue to be any promotion of ‘Le Secret’ (possibly enabled by the visibility associated with her health)?
A: Probably not by Lara personally, although if there are any press interviews, she might bring it up. But it would make a type of macabre sense to push the album now, under these circumstances of sympathetic publicity. [I can already hear voices suggesting this is all a marketing ploy – refer to the financial discussion in the answer to a previous question!
).
Q: If she recovers, will the ‘Le Secret’ tour resume?
A: Given the likely time-frame of recovery, it would probably be too late, especially if there is a new album with Krutoi to promote in the ‘countries to the east’ in 2015. Furthermore, fans have now been ‘jerked around’ twice – once when the original schedule of ‘Le Secret’ concerts had to be revised due to her need for intervening rest, and now this complete cancellation. Would Lara’s people, or Lara’s fans, really want to make a third try at it?
If indeed the concert in Toronto on 1-13-14 was the last ‘Le Secret’ concert (and as suggested in the other thread, that would provide perhaps the only justification for giving a French concert in that city), we are fortunate to have a recording of it. ‘Smoothlara’ provided the mp3 file, and with permission, I’ve done a little work on it (emphasizing the high frequencies, breaking the songs apart, while keeping the continuity). The only other change was substituting “I Will Love Again’ from the available video for the version in ‘Smoothlara’s’ recording that was somewhat noisy. The audio from the video isn’t perfect either, as it has a few small skips, but the sound is better. [I’d like to emphasize that Smoothlara’s recording was itself quite good, and we should all be very grateful that it was made available!]. The revised recording can be downloaded for the next week (through January 28) at:
www.hightail.com/download/elNJek9peFVubHpFdzhUQw
(The time of availability can be extended upon request).
And Thierry Palomares reposted a complete concert video of one of Lara’s first ‘Le Secret’ shows, from Brussels on 9/20/13, at:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVpNZvfykfo&feature=youtu.be
So there you have it – 4 months of what was to have been more than a year of shows…for the ‘groundbreaking album that she was so proud of…
Lara’s fan sites are offering her support, in the form of pictures, cards, etc. e.g.,
www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=787744004574470&set=a.247913198557556.83420.246805652001644&type=1&theater
www.dromadaire.com/dromacarte/view/?p=eyJ0eGlkIjoiVUwtMTM5MDAyMzIyMDc1MzkiLCJyX2VtYWlsIjoiZS1tYWlsQGxhcmFmYWJpYW53ZWIuY29tIn0%3D&utm_source=sent_conf&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=mail_destinataire
Thierry Palomares has set up a special website for fans to express one’s thoughts for Lara concerning this. It’s at:
www.facebook.com/lesecrettour
Since it looks like there won’t be any new Lara videos for quite some time, the fan sites have been choosing some old ones to show. Assuming nothing changes in the next week, we will do the same here, but with a twist. More about that next week…
Lara’s fans are now in a new era, with a largely absentee performer, and will have to adjust their sites/sights accordingly. Professionally, she may not suffer too greatly - she has been so prevalent in the French media this past year that one imagines she will not drop out of the people’s consciousness even with an extended absence, especially one that is health-related. Of more concern is whether/when she really will get well. There may not be any news about this for quite some time. But Lara has indicated that she will be putting together the fans’ videos of the ‘Le Secret’ tour and will make it available in the near future - that may well be our next contact from her. At least she has a burden off her shoulders, not having to perform while worried about her hearing. Hopefully, she’s feeling better already!
David
www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSSRBEOhx2M
In the ‘outlook for 2014’ section of the ‘Year in Review’ on this site, it was noted that all depended on her health, and assumed a ‘best-case’ scenario. What has actually happened is close to a ‘worst-case’, at least professionally, but it was not a ‘least likely’. There was always the feeling that the 3 days on/8 days off approach was based on very limited data concerning her hearing improvement, so its failure is not a great surprise. Lara herself anticipated the possibility when last month, in response to the question of whether she would cancel her tour, said, “we are not yet at that point”. Clearly we are now, with her experience on her Canada trip ‘prima facie’ evidence. At each stop it was noted that she touched her left ear during performances, and apparently it was even more noticeable in Toronto. This being the end of her current ‘international’ expedition, it allowed her to accomplish that goal, at least, and marks an obvious stopping point.
Lara would clearly have liked to continue. In her message she indicates frustration that she is now prevented from further highlighting ‘Le Secret’, which as she said, she put so much of herself into. She would seem to be afraid that people will fail to realize its great honesty, creativity and accomplishment, and her prescription for dealing with our problems, contacting our Secret Inner Self. She’s probably right, but there was no great evidence that people were catching on, anyway – the most common word you heard about the ideas behind the album from the public in Canada was ‘obscure’. And sales were not picking up, either there or in France/Belgium. It may be that it is ‘too creative’ for a public weaned on superficial tastes – hence the comments from the reviewers, who loved it, but said that perhaps it wasn’t very commercial. If true, Lara would have been beating her head against the wall at the risk of her health with little to show for it. Nevertheless, Lara’s fans in the cities where she will not appear would have loved to see her whatever she was singing. They will now be deprived of that gift, a fact that Lara was also clearly concerned about. And while the tickets for these shows will surely be refunded, as many fans have pointed out that’s not necessarily true of airplane tickets or other expenses incurred in planning for seeing Lara outside of one’s home area.
As you might expect, the story has been picked up by numerous publications, including both entertainment and major newspapers, e.g,
www.cinetelerevue.be/fr/lara-fabian-oreille-interne-probleme-tournee-annulation.html?cmp_id=7&news_id=26057&vID=3
www.purepeople.com/article/lara-fabian-bouleversante-annonce-l-arret-de-sa-tournee-pour-raisons-medicales_a135085/1
www.lepoint.fr/ces-gens-la/video-lara-fabian-annule-completement-sa-tournee-pour-raison-medicale-20-01-2014-1782290_264.php
www.leparisien.fr/loisirs-et-spectacles/malade-lara-fabian-annule-la-fin-de-sa-tournee-20-01-2014-3512527.php
www.lefigaro.fr/flash-actu/2014/01/20/97001-20140120FILWWW00492-lara-fabian-annule-le-reste-de-sa-tournee.php#xtor=AL-155
There’s no reason to provide translations, as they all simply make use of Lara’s statements from her video. The comments from readers of these publications were pretty somber, some describing having problems that have lasted for years, with no relief – hence they were in general very sympathetic. [There were also some suggesting it was simply a way of getting out of playing in half-filled concert halls. This is, after all, France!].
The focus now turns to: where do we go from here? It will be addressed in the form of Q&A, with the questions obvious, and the answers largely unknown, both to us and probably in most cases to Lara herself.
Q: How long will Lara’s self-isolation last?
Considering the fact that the original injury occurred in early May, it has now lasted eight months without having healed, though she has been irritating it with concerts for the last four months. Referring to the discussion of ‘acoustic shock disorder’ (ASD) in the News Update of 11/12, the sources indicated that “in some cases all symptoms resolved within a few hours or days. In other cases symptoms persisted for months or indefinitely.” The article also noted that “progress can be slow once symptoms become entrenched”. She apparently had begun to heal up a little bit (hence her continuing the concerts after early November); that should provide some hope that with rest and medication there will eventually be a resolution. The doctors stated that one should not return to ‘headset duty’ until the symptoms are fully resolved, and even then, it should be done gradually. Having opted for the drastic remedy of cancelling all her concerts, one expects she will make sure it’s really o.k. before returning. Obviously any estimate (by anyone) would be highly speculative, but it would not be surprising if Lara did not return to live concerts this whole year. She must think so to, to have jettisoned the whole schedule, including shows that were in October. Hopefully this is too pessimistic…[Note that her official sites still list all the shows, presumably assuming that her public statement is sufficient].
Q: Will what she is doing really work to heal her?
A: Another article indicated that, “the progression of hyperacusis is unpredictable. Many patients' tolerance improves while some cases grow steadily worse. The only factor we know of that unquestionably affects progression or regression is continued exposure to loud noise.” She also apparently is taking cortisone, and that has been known to have mixed benefits. Again, given that Lara did show some improvement when following her ‘isolation’ approach, there is reason to be optimistic.
Q: What is the worst that can happen?
A: Lara indicated that the doctors warned her she could become deaf, although reports indicate that ASD generally does not result in a complete hearing loss. It has affected her low-to-mid frequency hearing, on the order of a few thousand Hz. If the symptoms are resolved, presumably that should return.
Q: Will she really be totally invisible to the public, or will she still make occasional appearances?
A: We certainly don’t know, but we have one (imperfect) precedent. In 2004, when Lara was ordered by her doctors to take ‘complete rest’ for some four month she was completely out of sight. No interviews, no incidental programs, nothing. That ailment involved internal organs, so was entirely different. Another factor is that after cancelling the tour because of health it might be ‘inconvenient’ to show up on TV shows, even if they wouldn’t be harmful, so from a PR standpoint she might desist. There’s also the legal aspect: the only way one can cancel performances in theatres without financial repercussion is with a ‘doctor’s note’ (as she did in 2004). This too argues against public appearances, including any possible involvement with the next season of ‘The Best’ as well. In fact it’s now been confirmed by numerous sources that Lara has left the program and will not participate, concentrating on “resting and composition” instead, e.g.,
mfmradio.fr/musique/people/7403/lara-fabian-lance-un-appel-ses-fans?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+mfmradio-people+%28MFM+Radio+-+People%29
www.ozap.com/actu/-the-best-2-lara-fabian-quitte-le-jury/451167
tvmag.lefigaro.fr/programme-tv/article/television/79287/the-best-avec-christophe-beaugrand-et-sans-lara-fabian.html
www.chartsinfrance.net/Lara-Fabian/news-90147.html
With this as example, the guess here is that she won’t be ‘on the air’, although interviews for magazines, etc. would seem somewhat likely. It’s an odd situation because outside of her hearing issue, Lara presumably feels well, with all her normal energy.
Q: Can she actually continue to work on new songs, and perhaps put out an album (or at least a single) during this time period?
A: Lara said she would be working on new songs; her piano probably doesn’t qualify as ‘loud sounds’. And the way records are produced today, Lara could sing onto a track and have the musical tracks added later around her, as we know her vocals haven’t been affected. Whether she would want to do it that way, if it isn’t her normal procedure, is another question. Igor Krutoi had said that the new album with Lara was ‘done’, but we don’t know if he meant that literally.
Q: Will there continue to be any promotion of ‘Le Secret’ (possibly enabled by the visibility associated with her health)?
A: Probably not by Lara personally, although if there are any press interviews, she might bring it up. But it would make a type of macabre sense to push the album now, under these circumstances of sympathetic publicity. [I can already hear voices suggesting this is all a marketing ploy – refer to the financial discussion in the answer to a previous question!
).Q: If she recovers, will the ‘Le Secret’ tour resume?
A: Given the likely time-frame of recovery, it would probably be too late, especially if there is a new album with Krutoi to promote in the ‘countries to the east’ in 2015. Furthermore, fans have now been ‘jerked around’ twice – once when the original schedule of ‘Le Secret’ concerts had to be revised due to her need for intervening rest, and now this complete cancellation. Would Lara’s people, or Lara’s fans, really want to make a third try at it?
If indeed the concert in Toronto on 1-13-14 was the last ‘Le Secret’ concert (and as suggested in the other thread, that would provide perhaps the only justification for giving a French concert in that city), we are fortunate to have a recording of it. ‘Smoothlara’ provided the mp3 file, and with permission, I’ve done a little work on it (emphasizing the high frequencies, breaking the songs apart, while keeping the continuity). The only other change was substituting “I Will Love Again’ from the available video for the version in ‘Smoothlara’s’ recording that was somewhat noisy. The audio from the video isn’t perfect either, as it has a few small skips, but the sound is better. [I’d like to emphasize that Smoothlara’s recording was itself quite good, and we should all be very grateful that it was made available!]. The revised recording can be downloaded for the next week (through January 28) at:
www.hightail.com/download/elNJek9peFVubHpFdzhUQw
(The time of availability can be extended upon request).
And Thierry Palomares reposted a complete concert video of one of Lara’s first ‘Le Secret’ shows, from Brussels on 9/20/13, at:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVpNZvfykfo&feature=youtu.be
So there you have it – 4 months of what was to have been more than a year of shows…for the ‘groundbreaking album that she was so proud of…
Lara’s fan sites are offering her support, in the form of pictures, cards, etc. e.g.,
www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=787744004574470&set=a.247913198557556.83420.246805652001644&type=1&theater
www.dromadaire.com/dromacarte/view/?p=eyJ0eGlkIjoiVUwtMTM5MDAyMzIyMDc1MzkiLCJyX2VtYWlsIjoiZS1tYWlsQGxhcmFmYWJpYW53ZWIuY29tIn0%3D&utm_source=sent_conf&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=mail_destinataire
Thierry Palomares has set up a special website for fans to express one’s thoughts for Lara concerning this. It’s at:
www.facebook.com/lesecrettour
Since it looks like there won’t be any new Lara videos for quite some time, the fan sites have been choosing some old ones to show. Assuming nothing changes in the next week, we will do the same here, but with a twist. More about that next week…
Lara’s fans are now in a new era, with a largely absentee performer, and will have to adjust their sites/sights accordingly. Professionally, she may not suffer too greatly - she has been so prevalent in the French media this past year that one imagines she will not drop out of the people’s consciousness even with an extended absence, especially one that is health-related. Of more concern is whether/when she really will get well. There may not be any news about this for quite some time. But Lara has indicated that she will be putting together the fans’ videos of the ‘Le Secret’ tour and will make it available in the near future - that may well be our next contact from her. At least she has a burden off her shoulders, not having to perform while worried about her hearing. Hopefully, she’s feeling better already!
David
