Post by davidhr on Feb 24, 2015 9:39:29 GMT -5
Today marks the release of Lara’s first ever album in Italy, the ‘best of’ compilation ‘ESSENTIAL LARA FABIAN’ from Warner Italy (and Lara’s 9 Productions). It is also available on iTunes – Lara provided a link for that (https://itunes.apple.com/it/album/essential-lara-fabian/id965450572?l=en) [which is useless outside of Italy, as Apple does not allow purchases in a country without a credit card issued by a company in that country. It is not available on iTunes in the U.S.]. The disc can be bought however from amazon.it [http://www.amazon.it/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_0_21?__mk_it_IT=%C3%85M%C3%85%C5%BD%C3%95%C3%91&url=search-alias%3Dpopular&field-keywords=essential%20lara%20fabian&sprefix=Essential+Lara+Fabian%2Caps%2C244], and they do ship outside their country. See also below…
As noted previously, it includes the two songs she performed at Sanremo, in fact two versions of ‘Voce’ (a studio version and presumably the more rhythmic one), as well as ‘Sto Male’ (the Italian version of ‘Je suis malade’). Of the other 14 songs, only one of them is in Italian (‘Toccami’), ten being in French, and three in English. Left out are Lara’s wonderful Italian numbers ‘Perdere l’Amore’ (which actually once won at Sanremo), ‘Caruso’, the Italian version of ‘Adagio’, ‘Lou’, and ‘Une cuore malato’, among others.
To be fair, that proportionality approximately represents Lara’s work, and the songs chosen by and large do show off Lara’s spectacular vocal ability. Nevertheless, there is an old show business saying, “Know your audience”. It makes as little sense to release a primarily French album in Italy, when without too much effort it could have been made much more accessible, as there would be to go to Toronto and give a concert entirely in French (which Lara has also done!). Why Warner Italy agreed to this is hard to fathom; nevertheless, we will see how well the album does. Lara certainly introduced herself to the Italian public, and perhaps that will be sufficient for the disc to garner some attention. One should note that there is now a ‘Lara Fabian Italy’ fanclub site, at:
www.facebook.com/pages/Lara-Fabian-Italy/164644456884508
They provide an expanded list of where the album can be bought on-line in Italy.
Another aspect of this release is that maybe this album is not meant exclusively for the Italian audience, despite the record company behind it. It’s also available as an import from amazon.fr (although currently listed as unavailable) as well as amazon.com (available starting March 3 in the U.S. – for $33). That same date is also listed for when it is available in some other countries (e.g., Germany, Canada, U.K.). Lara herself noted that ‘Voce’ can be heard on ‘Spotify’ (http://spoti.fi/1Ab7wNn) [though despite the link, for some reason I could not get it to play…]. Some effort is therefore being made to allow a wide geographic spectrum of the audience to buy it – for example, in the Czech Republic (http://www.suprshop.cz/?id=19801750), which would explain its more generic content. And perhaps too much is made of the song selection in this new world in which we live; after all, each of Lara’s Italian songs noted above are available for listening on ‘Spotify’ (and these do play). Of course that is also true of almost every song on the ‘Essential’ album.
Sanremo was still in Lara’s rear view window this past week. She left a link to the following (translated) article on her FB site (http://www.closermag.fr/people/people-francais/info-closer-lara-fabian-revient-sur-sa-participation-a-san-remo-c-est-un-g-468554):
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
INFO CLOSER: LARA FABIAN REVISTS HER PARTICIPATION IN SAN REMO: “IT IS A BIG COMPLICATED CONTEST”
After her participation in the Sanremo Music Festival in Italy, there was much talk of Lara Fabian. For Closer.fr, the singer explains the results of the contest on its disposal, the Italian participation in Eurovision, but also on her projects in Italy and France.
The participation of Lara Fabian in music competition organized during the Festival of San Remo in Italy has received a lot of attention in France. The singer, eliminated after three nights of competition, gave her impressions to Closer.fr on her participation in the Festival, where she presented two titles, ‘Voce’, a song co-written with Fio Zanotti, and ‘Sto Male’, the Italian version the song ‘Je suis malade’. A means for the singer, Sicilian by her mother, to take up again with the Italian public: "I was happy to reconnect with my Italian roots and return to the Italian public, in Italy as well as throughout the world, by presenting two new songs. "
In France, the media have mainly talked about the participation of Lara Fabian in San Remo as a way to represent Italy in the Eurovision contest. Which caused confusion, since the singer had already participated in the competition representing Luxembourg in 1988 and finishing fourth: "To represent at Eurovision, this privilege is offered solely and exclusively to the winners of Sanremo and therefore this year it is the group Il Volo ". But nothing requires the contest winner to accept this mission, as Lara stated, "We will all know in a few weeks if they agree or not."
SAN REMO, UNAVAILABLE FOR FOREIGN ARTISTS?
In Italy, the elimination of Lara Fabian has created a stir, especially among admirers of the singer. Many articles in the press have also noted that if she had been eliminated, it is because she shares both Belgian and Italian nationalities. The singer had moreover also published a long message on Facebook the day after her elimination, today confirms to Closer.fr that San Remo is a "big complicated contest": "The last international artist there was crowned in 1985. Some journalists want greater opening of the festival, they actually wrote. Me, I came to Italy to sing for the Italian public, with no other ambition than to provide them with songs. "
But if Lara Fabian did not win the contest, she is conscious of the curiosity created by her participation in San Remo, and confirms new projects in our transalpine countries. "With the house of Warner discs Italy, directed by Marco Alboni, we decided together to release a compilation, Essential Lara Fabian, which incorporates the titles sung in San Remo, but also other songs in my repertoire that will allow the Italian public to become better acquainted with my songs." Indeed, why not an album entirely in Italian: "I have no doubt that in the future with Warner and Marco Alboni other opportunities will arise, Italy remains present in my thoughts."
BACK IN FRANCE BEFORE THE SUMMER
But the French public is reassured by Lara Fabian that she does not forget them. A year after canceling her tour Le Secret and inner ear problems, the singer is better, and confirmed the upcoming release of a new album, "I should come back in June with a single followed towards the end of the year by a new album. " If Lara Fabian gives neither title nor other information on this project, she promises more details in the coming weeks. A beautiful 2015 then is emerging for Lara, who wishes for the coming months, "only happiness, quite simply."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Actually, Lara told ‘Charts in France’, she never intended to represent Italy in the Eurovision contest (http://www.chartsinfrance.net/Lara-Fabian/news-95935.html#w0muvb1jV2QoLjVx.01). Here’s the translation:
------------------------------------------------------------
Eurovision: Lara Fabian explains. “it was never a question of representing Italy”.
Did she really want to represent Italy at the Eurovision in May? According to her staff, Lara Fabian never intended, despite her participation in the Sanremo Festival, an Italian competition following which is traditionally designated the artist who sings there each year.
Since Monday, Lara Fabian is in the headlines following her elimination at the Festival of San Remo, with our transalpine neighbors. The singer was in the running to win this competition which takes place every year and whose winner has the opportunity to represent Italy at the Eurovision.
Part of the audience was offended by her defeat putting the blame on her dual Belgian and Italian nationality. "The last international artist was crowned there in 1985. Journalists want greater opening of the festival" reported the singer to “Closer”, and at the same time responding to hurtful criticism and trying to calm the ardor of her disappointed fans. But the bad news spread like wildfire on the canvas, confusing the real intentions of Lara Fabian.
First participation in 1988
According to a new post on behalf of the singer, it was never intended for her to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 to be held in Vienna, Austria, on 23 May. "Rumors about Lara's participation in Eurovision are a perfect journalistic invention. There was never any way for Lara Fabian to qualify for Eurovision from Italy" explains her staff, trying to clarify the situation. "Fifteen days before the start of the San Remo festival, the management of Lara Fabian had moreover declined in writing to the organizers of the competition of the possibility of Lara to represent Italy in the Eurovision contest in case of victory," he said, recalling that the singer had the sole ambition to sing for the Italian public, to whom she will offer a best-of in the coming weeks.
Lara Fabian has already participated in Eurovision. That was in 1988. She represented Luxembourg, in Dublin, with the song "Croire" and finished fourth out of 21 candidates competing. The same year, Celine Dion triumphed with "Ne partez pas sans moi" for Switzerland. So there will be no revenge in 2015. Lara Fabian is now focused on her next album, due out in September.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Before we leave Sanremo – and Italy – behind, here are some quotes (in translation) that the Lara Fabian Italy site reproduced following Lara’s performance of ‘Sto Male’ at the festival:
**If the Angels had a face, it would be Lara
** Delights the audience with her voice ... causes chills even in the impassive Sanremo public
**Theatrical masterpiece of Serge Lama pulling out all the voice that shows the formidable skills of the interpreter
**Amazes the audience, acute hearing could hear as well in neighboring France. Technically impressive.
As one can read in the first article above, the new French disc (and probably the English one as well) continues to slip in time, now previewed for possibly the end of this year. Given the trend, it may well not occur ‘til next year – and Lara generally releases albums in the spring. And if that timing does play out, there might then not be a tour of Belgium/France until the following fall (i.e., 2016). Given the release of ‘Le Secret’ in 2013, that would be in line with the general spacing she has had for her discs this century.
There is however another release that Lara may be involved with. As noted by Charts in France (http://www.chartsinfrance.net/Tal/news-95984.html#tWVjG47LK8J1uw0J.99), an album will be released on April 27th called “Les Stars font leur cinema” [The Stars do the movies]. Recorded in collaboration with a dozen artists so far, it will celebrate 120 years of music in films. There is a facebook site for it:
www.facebook.com/LesStarsFontLeurCinema
with several extracts from it, ‘Like a Maniac’ (in French by Tenny featuring Maska), and ‘Streets of Philadelphia’ (by Tal and Irma) already available for listening. The ‘Charts in France’ article says that this FB page lists the other artists involved, including Lara (though I couldn’t actually find that). We know Lara is often listed as being involved in projects that she has no intention of joining, but in this case, given her love for movie music, it may well come to pass.
Lara’s next concert is coming up quickly – Saturday night she will be in Tel Aviv. One wonders how much of that audience will be Russian speaking?
It will also be interesting to note whether she performs ‘Voce’, or ‘Make Me Yours Tonight’ (which has been part of her recent ‘best of’ setlist). She may also sing "Horchat Hai Caliptus". The ‘Lara Fabian Connecting People’ site showed a picture of Lara’s standard poster, though with Hebrew lettering, that is now seen in the Israeli town of Netanya:
vk.com/lf_cp?z=photo-121236_359151726%2Fwall-121236_197044
Lara’s following tour focus of course is her North American excursion. ‘DayViệt Nguyễn’, writing on the ‘Lara Fabian Voice of Passion USA FB site’, provided a photo of the big poster for Lara outside the Saban theatre in Los Angeles, California. The charts of available seats (http://www.ticketmaster.com/lara-fabian-beverly-hills-california-03-31-2015/event/0B004D83EFEF370F?brand=saban) indicate that while a number are still available, it is not a bad showing one month in advance of the concert. Hopefully Lara will end up being sufficiently encouraged to make North American a regular part of her touring schedule – and not just for the Russian audience .
Interesting photo(s) of the week, from Lara’s official FB page:
www.facebook.com/larafabianofficial/photos/a.201066899934815.46181.201065806601591/856306227744209/
and, from the official wedding pictures of Lara and Gabriel:
www.elabphotographers.com/laragabriel/_d3s9713-2/
(three photos are shown there, at www.elabphotographers.com/laragabriel/).
Finally, in honor of the ‘best of’ release, it can be pointed out that the site ‘Operation Fan Club Lara Fabian (https://www.facebook.com/OperationFanClubLaraFabian) has an old video of Lara performing ‘Je t’aime’, as filmed by France 3 for a local story. That vocal, or its equivalent, could have been included in the album, and probably would have had the desired effect.
By next week Lara will have completed her Israeli concert – hopefully some videos will be available. We’ll also be able to see how well the ‘Essential’ album is selling in Lara’s initial foray into the Italian market.
David
As noted previously, it includes the two songs she performed at Sanremo, in fact two versions of ‘Voce’ (a studio version and presumably the more rhythmic one), as well as ‘Sto Male’ (the Italian version of ‘Je suis malade’). Of the other 14 songs, only one of them is in Italian (‘Toccami’), ten being in French, and three in English. Left out are Lara’s wonderful Italian numbers ‘Perdere l’Amore’ (which actually once won at Sanremo), ‘Caruso’, the Italian version of ‘Adagio’, ‘Lou’, and ‘Une cuore malato’, among others.
To be fair, that proportionality approximately represents Lara’s work, and the songs chosen by and large do show off Lara’s spectacular vocal ability. Nevertheless, there is an old show business saying, “Know your audience”. It makes as little sense to release a primarily French album in Italy, when without too much effort it could have been made much more accessible, as there would be to go to Toronto and give a concert entirely in French (which Lara has also done!). Why Warner Italy agreed to this is hard to fathom; nevertheless, we will see how well the album does. Lara certainly introduced herself to the Italian public, and perhaps that will be sufficient for the disc to garner some attention. One should note that there is now a ‘Lara Fabian Italy’ fanclub site, at:
www.facebook.com/pages/Lara-Fabian-Italy/164644456884508
They provide an expanded list of where the album can be bought on-line in Italy.
Another aspect of this release is that maybe this album is not meant exclusively for the Italian audience, despite the record company behind it. It’s also available as an import from amazon.fr (although currently listed as unavailable) as well as amazon.com (available starting March 3 in the U.S. – for $33). That same date is also listed for when it is available in some other countries (e.g., Germany, Canada, U.K.). Lara herself noted that ‘Voce’ can be heard on ‘Spotify’ (http://spoti.fi/1Ab7wNn) [though despite the link, for some reason I could not get it to play…]. Some effort is therefore being made to allow a wide geographic spectrum of the audience to buy it – for example, in the Czech Republic (http://www.suprshop.cz/?id=19801750), which would explain its more generic content. And perhaps too much is made of the song selection in this new world in which we live; after all, each of Lara’s Italian songs noted above are available for listening on ‘Spotify’ (and these do play). Of course that is also true of almost every song on the ‘Essential’ album.
Sanremo was still in Lara’s rear view window this past week. She left a link to the following (translated) article on her FB site (http://www.closermag.fr/people/people-francais/info-closer-lara-fabian-revient-sur-sa-participation-a-san-remo-c-est-un-g-468554):
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
INFO CLOSER: LARA FABIAN REVISTS HER PARTICIPATION IN SAN REMO: “IT IS A BIG COMPLICATED CONTEST”
After her participation in the Sanremo Music Festival in Italy, there was much talk of Lara Fabian. For Closer.fr, the singer explains the results of the contest on its disposal, the Italian participation in Eurovision, but also on her projects in Italy and France.
The participation of Lara Fabian in music competition organized during the Festival of San Remo in Italy has received a lot of attention in France. The singer, eliminated after three nights of competition, gave her impressions to Closer.fr on her participation in the Festival, where she presented two titles, ‘Voce’, a song co-written with Fio Zanotti, and ‘Sto Male’, the Italian version the song ‘Je suis malade’. A means for the singer, Sicilian by her mother, to take up again with the Italian public: "I was happy to reconnect with my Italian roots and return to the Italian public, in Italy as well as throughout the world, by presenting two new songs. "
In France, the media have mainly talked about the participation of Lara Fabian in San Remo as a way to represent Italy in the Eurovision contest. Which caused confusion, since the singer had already participated in the competition representing Luxembourg in 1988 and finishing fourth: "To represent at Eurovision, this privilege is offered solely and exclusively to the winners of Sanremo and therefore this year it is the group Il Volo ". But nothing requires the contest winner to accept this mission, as Lara stated, "We will all know in a few weeks if they agree or not."
SAN REMO, UNAVAILABLE FOR FOREIGN ARTISTS?
In Italy, the elimination of Lara Fabian has created a stir, especially among admirers of the singer. Many articles in the press have also noted that if she had been eliminated, it is because she shares both Belgian and Italian nationalities. The singer had moreover also published a long message on Facebook the day after her elimination, today confirms to Closer.fr that San Remo is a "big complicated contest": "The last international artist there was crowned in 1985. Some journalists want greater opening of the festival, they actually wrote. Me, I came to Italy to sing for the Italian public, with no other ambition than to provide them with songs. "
But if Lara Fabian did not win the contest, she is conscious of the curiosity created by her participation in San Remo, and confirms new projects in our transalpine countries. "With the house of Warner discs Italy, directed by Marco Alboni, we decided together to release a compilation, Essential Lara Fabian, which incorporates the titles sung in San Remo, but also other songs in my repertoire that will allow the Italian public to become better acquainted with my songs." Indeed, why not an album entirely in Italian: "I have no doubt that in the future with Warner and Marco Alboni other opportunities will arise, Italy remains present in my thoughts."
BACK IN FRANCE BEFORE THE SUMMER
But the French public is reassured by Lara Fabian that she does not forget them. A year after canceling her tour Le Secret and inner ear problems, the singer is better, and confirmed the upcoming release of a new album, "I should come back in June with a single followed towards the end of the year by a new album. " If Lara Fabian gives neither title nor other information on this project, she promises more details in the coming weeks. A beautiful 2015 then is emerging for Lara, who wishes for the coming months, "only happiness, quite simply."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Actually, Lara told ‘Charts in France’, she never intended to represent Italy in the Eurovision contest (http://www.chartsinfrance.net/Lara-Fabian/news-95935.html#w0muvb1jV2QoLjVx.01). Here’s the translation:
------------------------------------------------------------
Eurovision: Lara Fabian explains. “it was never a question of representing Italy”.
Did she really want to represent Italy at the Eurovision in May? According to her staff, Lara Fabian never intended, despite her participation in the Sanremo Festival, an Italian competition following which is traditionally designated the artist who sings there each year.
Since Monday, Lara Fabian is in the headlines following her elimination at the Festival of San Remo, with our transalpine neighbors. The singer was in the running to win this competition which takes place every year and whose winner has the opportunity to represent Italy at the Eurovision.
Part of the audience was offended by her defeat putting the blame on her dual Belgian and Italian nationality. "The last international artist was crowned there in 1985. Journalists want greater opening of the festival" reported the singer to “Closer”, and at the same time responding to hurtful criticism and trying to calm the ardor of her disappointed fans. But the bad news spread like wildfire on the canvas, confusing the real intentions of Lara Fabian.
First participation in 1988
According to a new post on behalf of the singer, it was never intended for her to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 to be held in Vienna, Austria, on 23 May. "Rumors about Lara's participation in Eurovision are a perfect journalistic invention. There was never any way for Lara Fabian to qualify for Eurovision from Italy" explains her staff, trying to clarify the situation. "Fifteen days before the start of the San Remo festival, the management of Lara Fabian had moreover declined in writing to the organizers of the competition of the possibility of Lara to represent Italy in the Eurovision contest in case of victory," he said, recalling that the singer had the sole ambition to sing for the Italian public, to whom she will offer a best-of in the coming weeks.
Lara Fabian has already participated in Eurovision. That was in 1988. She represented Luxembourg, in Dublin, with the song "Croire" and finished fourth out of 21 candidates competing. The same year, Celine Dion triumphed with "Ne partez pas sans moi" for Switzerland. So there will be no revenge in 2015. Lara Fabian is now focused on her next album, due out in September.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Before we leave Sanremo – and Italy – behind, here are some quotes (in translation) that the Lara Fabian Italy site reproduced following Lara’s performance of ‘Sto Male’ at the festival:
**If the Angels had a face, it would be Lara
** Delights the audience with her voice ... causes chills even in the impassive Sanremo public
**Theatrical masterpiece of Serge Lama pulling out all the voice that shows the formidable skills of the interpreter
**Amazes the audience, acute hearing could hear as well in neighboring France. Technically impressive.
As one can read in the first article above, the new French disc (and probably the English one as well) continues to slip in time, now previewed for possibly the end of this year. Given the trend, it may well not occur ‘til next year – and Lara generally releases albums in the spring. And if that timing does play out, there might then not be a tour of Belgium/France until the following fall (i.e., 2016). Given the release of ‘Le Secret’ in 2013, that would be in line with the general spacing she has had for her discs this century.
There is however another release that Lara may be involved with. As noted by Charts in France (http://www.chartsinfrance.net/Tal/news-95984.html#tWVjG47LK8J1uw0J.99), an album will be released on April 27th called “Les Stars font leur cinema” [The Stars do the movies]. Recorded in collaboration with a dozen artists so far, it will celebrate 120 years of music in films. There is a facebook site for it:
www.facebook.com/LesStarsFontLeurCinema
with several extracts from it, ‘Like a Maniac’ (in French by Tenny featuring Maska), and ‘Streets of Philadelphia’ (by Tal and Irma) already available for listening. The ‘Charts in France’ article says that this FB page lists the other artists involved, including Lara (though I couldn’t actually find that). We know Lara is often listed as being involved in projects that she has no intention of joining, but in this case, given her love for movie music, it may well come to pass.
Lara’s next concert is coming up quickly – Saturday night she will be in Tel Aviv. One wonders how much of that audience will be Russian speaking?
It will also be interesting to note whether she performs ‘Voce’, or ‘Make Me Yours Tonight’ (which has been part of her recent ‘best of’ setlist). She may also sing "Horchat Hai Caliptus". The ‘Lara Fabian Connecting People’ site showed a picture of Lara’s standard poster, though with Hebrew lettering, that is now seen in the Israeli town of Netanya: vk.com/lf_cp?z=photo-121236_359151726%2Fwall-121236_197044
Lara’s following tour focus of course is her North American excursion. ‘DayViệt Nguyễn’, writing on the ‘Lara Fabian Voice of Passion USA FB site’, provided a photo of the big poster for Lara outside the Saban theatre in Los Angeles, California. The charts of available seats (http://www.ticketmaster.com/lara-fabian-beverly-hills-california-03-31-2015/event/0B004D83EFEF370F?brand=saban) indicate that while a number are still available, it is not a bad showing one month in advance of the concert. Hopefully Lara will end up being sufficiently encouraged to make North American a regular part of her touring schedule – and not just for the Russian audience
. Interesting photo(s) of the week, from Lara’s official FB page:
www.facebook.com/larafabianofficial/photos/a.201066899934815.46181.201065806601591/856306227744209/
and, from the official wedding pictures of Lara and Gabriel:
www.elabphotographers.com/laragabriel/_d3s9713-2/
(three photos are shown there, at www.elabphotographers.com/laragabriel/).
Finally, in honor of the ‘best of’ release, it can be pointed out that the site ‘Operation Fan Club Lara Fabian (https://www.facebook.com/OperationFanClubLaraFabian) has an old video of Lara performing ‘Je t’aime’, as filmed by France 3 for a local story. That vocal, or its equivalent, could have been included in the album, and probably would have had the desired effect.
By next week Lara will have completed her Israeli concert – hopefully some videos will be available. We’ll also be able to see how well the ‘Essential’ album is selling in Lara’s initial foray into the Italian market.
David
