Post by davidhr on Mar 17, 2015 8:16:37 GMT -5
This week Lara starts her first ever tour of the United States and widespread sections of Canada, abbreviated as it may be. It must be exciting for her – with some trepidation as well, concerning their ultimate attendance. All indications are that the audiences will be respectable, if not absolutely full.
Here’s the situation so far:
3/21: 59 tickets available for Atlantic City…
3/26: 79 in Toronto
3/28: 129 for Hollywood Florida
3/31: 114 for Beverly Hills
4/2: several hundred for Richmond, B.C.
Given that, for example, the Event Center in Atlantic City has a nominal seating capacity of 2400 seats, that is a very good showing…
It’s not clear how many tickets are available for the concert in Montreal on 3/23. Several sites indicated they had none, but the ‘Place des Arts’ box office still appears to be selling them. [They are, however, very secretive, and won’t provide any information until after you’ve attempted to purchase them…]
Advertisements for Lara’s concerts seem primarily placed in Russian and French publications that appear in the States. One such French one is ‘Le Courrier’, in Florida, seen at:
www.facebook.com/246805652001644/photos/pcb.1037055129643355/1037053779643490/
This upcoming tour of North America, and in general her ‘world appeal’, is getting Lara some play in the general French press. An article in ‘French Morning’ (http://frenchmorning.com/les-etats-unis-lara-fabian-y-croit-encore/?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=FrenchMorningNY&utm_content=Les+Etats-Unis%2C+Lara+Fabian+y+croit+encore) illustrates that; here’s the translation:
---------------------------------------------------------------
The United States, Lara Fabian still believes
The Barclays Center of Brooklyn is full to bursting on this frigid Saturday evening in January. Sixteen thousand Russians of New York have come to attend a great gala concert of the composer Igor Krutoi. This last, at the piano, had invited some of his star friends to sing on stage. Names unknown to the French except one: Lara Fabian. The singer of ‘Je t’aime’, special invitee of the evening, has lined up songs in French, Italian, English and even Russian before a public in fur coats, under her charm.
This concert, which could have taken place in Moscow, says something about Lara Fabian. With over 20 million albums sold worldwide, she is part of the exclusive club of French singers (with Celine Dion and Edith Piaf) capable of producing as well in the Kremlin in Moscow as at Carnegie Hall in New York through the Stade de France with Johnny. A singer without borders, in addition, composes and sings (without accent) in the language of her audience: the Belgian become Canadian is a master of Italian, French, English and Spanish. "This is my birth of Belgian and Italian parents, of American grandparents, who enabled it. I'm very grateful for that because it was an accident. Thanks to my multiculturalism, it was very simple, very natural to write and to export myself in multiple languages", she said.
Her first album in English dates from 1999. At the time, she hit in Quebec and wants to start to attack the United States. "Lara Fabian" is written with the help of Rick Allison, Dave Pickell, Walter Afanasieff (who has worked with Mariah Carey) and Glen Ballard and Patrick Leonard (who has worked with Madonna). It includes the hit "I will love again." "English is extraordinary in that it allows elastic sounds that fly higher," she slips in. Lara Fabian does not spare herself. She toured the late night shows and sings during Miss USA 2001.
But despite these efforts, most of the 2.5 million CDs sold are…in Francophone countries. Sony reduces the marketing wing. It refocuses on Francophone and Lusophone markets (Brazil and Portugal).
However, she sings in front of a galaxy of stars (including Michael Jackson) at Madison Square Garden in "Miracle on 34th Street," a musical rendezvous broadcast on radio WTKU, and lends her voice in 2002 to the soundtrack of the Spielberg movie "AI". But without implanting herself firmly in the American musical landscape, she is eclipsed according to some by another French star, Celine Dion. "The opportunities are not always presented to play more in the United States. In time, it aligns now. That's just fine”, she puts in perspective. “There is no supremacy of the US market over the others. "
After a year, Lara Fabian, recovered from her inner ear problem, returns to the United States, where some of her family still lives. End of 2013, she was offered the prestigious Carnegie Hall in New York. And in March, she will do six dates in North America, three of them in the USA (see box above). "It's part of a great trip”, she said. “For Europeans, the United States has a dream connotation, something that, when touched, puts us in tune with the child in us. Singing around the world, it's a childhood dream. Playing in the United States is a portion of that dream."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lara is covering a lot of non-Francophone places, as she has at times in the past. What the article doesn’t make clear, however, is how shallow this coverage is. Except for her sojourns to Russia, she doesn’t return often enough to make a lasting impact on the music scene in these various locales. She may gain a respectable audience from local fans with these ‘one-off’ concerts, but in order to sell a substantial amount of discs and become a known quantity, she would need to maintain a presence in all these places, which it would certainly be exhausting to do. Contrast that with big-name stars whose fame alone guarantees interest – look at all the American artists high up on the French charts who rarely come to France at all. Lara is an international performer due to her language abilities and great singing talent, without the reknown and promotional machinery that would smooth her path.
Indicative of this, Lara’s “Essential” release in Italy has dropped out of the top 100 Album sales after one week. It didn’t help that she wasn’t there to promote it (or that it had few songs in Italian on it).
Concerning other releases: as of this writing, we still haven’t heard anything more detailing the five remixes on Odacity’s second CD, part of their ‘Lara Fabian Selections’ CD. Interested fans outside of Turkey also need to find out how they may be able to order it, presumably with the help of the Lara Fabian Turkey FB site. Since the release is due this month, we should expect all this information shortly. The Lara Fabian–PHQ site has collected the various songs listed as being on ‘CD #1’ for you to hear from their original sources (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lara-Fabian-PHQ/353946178085395).
We have, however, heard more about Lara’s contribution to the French CD release “Les Stars font leur cinema”, that will become available April 27th. As one can see on the tracklist:
www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10205281739714451&set=gm.949744241736355&type=1&theater
Lara’s contribution will be ‘Unchained Melody’, which was used in the movie ‘Ghost’, as can be seen at:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZoEwR9_Sy_M
A wonderful song, Lara could really do justice to it – something to look forward to!
In other news, Lara put the following message (in translation) on her website today:
---------------------------------------------------------
“My choreographer friend of always will make you live emotions tender and pure...
bit.ly/1LmQrFx
See you at the Royal Circus on May 3!
Lov. L
----------------------------------------------------------
The link above is for the promotional video of a show called ‘La folle journée de Valentin’ (The Crazy Valentine’s Day) by Lara’s ‘choreographer friend’ Joelle Morane; a poster can be seen at:
www.facebook.com/larafabianofficial/photos/a.215378125170359.50343.201065806601591/869012569806908/
A further explanation is given at (http://www.ticketmaster.be/event/la-folle-journee-de-valentin-tickets/5197) (in translation):
----------------------------------------------------------
After the triumph of Gavroches Music Hall, ballet Joelle Morane returns for our greatest pleasure with "The Fabulous [sic] Valentine's Day" a crazy musical where you will live vibrating moments around an original work with the participation of 80 children, dancers, singers and actors who are matched only by the size of their talents.
A family show to see for a guaranteed enchantment that will make you clap and from the heart. Do not miss this May 3 at Royal Circus ...
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
To learn more about the ballet, their FB site is at
www.facebook.com/joelle.morane
The ‘Gavorches’ performance referred to above can be seen at:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=jenDPrpVrzA
Of course, the ‘Ballet Joelle Morane’ did a wonderful performance to Lara’s ‘Dance’, at:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_qi9nAKJHA
The proceeds from the event go to the ‘Make A Wish’ foundation, helping children with life-threatening medical conditions.
A new (to us) fan site for Lara, from Vietnam:
www.facebook.com/larafabianvietnam
(thanks to the Lara Fabian et Emmanuel Moire: LE duo site for the information).
Interesting photo(s) of the week – the set from ‘Lara Fabian in Ukrainian Hearts” of Lara’s hair being ‘put together’, at:
www.facebook.com/larafabianinukrainianhearts/photos/pcb.599815490149153/599814736815895/
and from Lara Fabian Mexico:
www.facebook.com/LaraFabianfromMexico/photos/a.556367684417296.1073741826.556364357750962/815462455174483/
By this time next week Lara will have given two of her North American shows, in Atlantic City and Montreal. One can expect the best from her – she’s been in good voice, she knows the songs very well, and she should be highly motivated. Fans who have not previously had a chance to see her live (primarily in the US) are in for a treat! It’s long been said that watching videos of Lara is even better than hearing her music, but the best of all is seeing her live. This is especially true when seeing her for the first time. May that be so for those who go this time as well!
David
Here’s the situation so far:
3/21: 59 tickets available for Atlantic City…
3/26: 79 in Toronto
3/28: 129 for Hollywood Florida
3/31: 114 for Beverly Hills
4/2: several hundred for Richmond, B.C.
Given that, for example, the Event Center in Atlantic City has a nominal seating capacity of 2400 seats, that is a very good showing…
It’s not clear how many tickets are available for the concert in Montreal on 3/23. Several sites indicated they had none, but the ‘Place des Arts’ box office still appears to be selling them. [They are, however, very secretive, and won’t provide any information until after you’ve attempted to purchase them…]
Advertisements for Lara’s concerts seem primarily placed in Russian and French publications that appear in the States. One such French one is ‘Le Courrier’, in Florida, seen at:
www.facebook.com/246805652001644/photos/pcb.1037055129643355/1037053779643490/
This upcoming tour of North America, and in general her ‘world appeal’, is getting Lara some play in the general French press. An article in ‘French Morning’ (http://frenchmorning.com/les-etats-unis-lara-fabian-y-croit-encore/?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=FrenchMorningNY&utm_content=Les+Etats-Unis%2C+Lara+Fabian+y+croit+encore) illustrates that; here’s the translation:
---------------------------------------------------------------
The United States, Lara Fabian still believes
The Barclays Center of Brooklyn is full to bursting on this frigid Saturday evening in January. Sixteen thousand Russians of New York have come to attend a great gala concert of the composer Igor Krutoi. This last, at the piano, had invited some of his star friends to sing on stage. Names unknown to the French except one: Lara Fabian. The singer of ‘Je t’aime’, special invitee of the evening, has lined up songs in French, Italian, English and even Russian before a public in fur coats, under her charm.
This concert, which could have taken place in Moscow, says something about Lara Fabian. With over 20 million albums sold worldwide, she is part of the exclusive club of French singers (with Celine Dion and Edith Piaf) capable of producing as well in the Kremlin in Moscow as at Carnegie Hall in New York through the Stade de France with Johnny. A singer without borders, in addition, composes and sings (without accent) in the language of her audience: the Belgian become Canadian is a master of Italian, French, English and Spanish. "This is my birth of Belgian and Italian parents, of American grandparents, who enabled it. I'm very grateful for that because it was an accident. Thanks to my multiculturalism, it was very simple, very natural to write and to export myself in multiple languages", she said.
Her first album in English dates from 1999. At the time, she hit in Quebec and wants to start to attack the United States. "Lara Fabian" is written with the help of Rick Allison, Dave Pickell, Walter Afanasieff (who has worked with Mariah Carey) and Glen Ballard and Patrick Leonard (who has worked with Madonna). It includes the hit "I will love again." "English is extraordinary in that it allows elastic sounds that fly higher," she slips in. Lara Fabian does not spare herself. She toured the late night shows and sings during Miss USA 2001.
But despite these efforts, most of the 2.5 million CDs sold are…in Francophone countries. Sony reduces the marketing wing. It refocuses on Francophone and Lusophone markets (Brazil and Portugal).
However, she sings in front of a galaxy of stars (including Michael Jackson) at Madison Square Garden in "Miracle on 34th Street," a musical rendezvous broadcast on radio WTKU, and lends her voice in 2002 to the soundtrack of the Spielberg movie "AI". But without implanting herself firmly in the American musical landscape, she is eclipsed according to some by another French star, Celine Dion. "The opportunities are not always presented to play more in the United States. In time, it aligns now. That's just fine”, she puts in perspective. “There is no supremacy of the US market over the others. "
After a year, Lara Fabian, recovered from her inner ear problem, returns to the United States, where some of her family still lives. End of 2013, she was offered the prestigious Carnegie Hall in New York. And in March, she will do six dates in North America, three of them in the USA (see box above). "It's part of a great trip”, she said. “For Europeans, the United States has a dream connotation, something that, when touched, puts us in tune with the child in us. Singing around the world, it's a childhood dream. Playing in the United States is a portion of that dream."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lara is covering a lot of non-Francophone places, as she has at times in the past. What the article doesn’t make clear, however, is how shallow this coverage is. Except for her sojourns to Russia, she doesn’t return often enough to make a lasting impact on the music scene in these various locales. She may gain a respectable audience from local fans with these ‘one-off’ concerts, but in order to sell a substantial amount of discs and become a known quantity, she would need to maintain a presence in all these places, which it would certainly be exhausting to do. Contrast that with big-name stars whose fame alone guarantees interest – look at all the American artists high up on the French charts who rarely come to France at all. Lara is an international performer due to her language abilities and great singing talent, without the reknown and promotional machinery that would smooth her path.
Indicative of this, Lara’s “Essential” release in Italy has dropped out of the top 100 Album sales after one week. It didn’t help that she wasn’t there to promote it (or that it had few songs in Italian on it).
Concerning other releases: as of this writing, we still haven’t heard anything more detailing the five remixes on Odacity’s second CD, part of their ‘Lara Fabian Selections’ CD. Interested fans outside of Turkey also need to find out how they may be able to order it, presumably with the help of the Lara Fabian Turkey FB site. Since the release is due this month, we should expect all this information shortly. The Lara Fabian–PHQ site has collected the various songs listed as being on ‘CD #1’ for you to hear from their original sources (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lara-Fabian-PHQ/353946178085395).
We have, however, heard more about Lara’s contribution to the French CD release “Les Stars font leur cinema”, that will become available April 27th. As one can see on the tracklist:
www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10205281739714451&set=gm.949744241736355&type=1&theater
Lara’s contribution will be ‘Unchained Melody’, which was used in the movie ‘Ghost’, as can be seen at:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZoEwR9_Sy_M
A wonderful song, Lara could really do justice to it – something to look forward to!
In other news, Lara put the following message (in translation) on her website today:
---------------------------------------------------------
“My choreographer friend of always will make you live emotions tender and pure...
bit.ly/1LmQrFx
See you at the Royal Circus on May 3!
Lov. L
----------------------------------------------------------
The link above is for the promotional video of a show called ‘La folle journée de Valentin’ (The Crazy Valentine’s Day) by Lara’s ‘choreographer friend’ Joelle Morane; a poster can be seen at:
www.facebook.com/larafabianofficial/photos/a.215378125170359.50343.201065806601591/869012569806908/
A further explanation is given at (http://www.ticketmaster.be/event/la-folle-journee-de-valentin-tickets/5197) (in translation):
----------------------------------------------------------
After the triumph of Gavroches Music Hall, ballet Joelle Morane returns for our greatest pleasure with "The Fabulous [sic] Valentine's Day" a crazy musical where you will live vibrating moments around an original work with the participation of 80 children, dancers, singers and actors who are matched only by the size of their talents.
A family show to see for a guaranteed enchantment that will make you clap and from the heart. Do not miss this May 3 at Royal Circus ...
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
To learn more about the ballet, their FB site is at
www.facebook.com/joelle.morane
The ‘Gavorches’ performance referred to above can be seen at:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=jenDPrpVrzA
Of course, the ‘Ballet Joelle Morane’ did a wonderful performance to Lara’s ‘Dance’, at:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_qi9nAKJHA
The proceeds from the event go to the ‘Make A Wish’ foundation, helping children with life-threatening medical conditions.
A new (to us) fan site for Lara, from Vietnam:
www.facebook.com/larafabianvietnam
(thanks to the Lara Fabian et Emmanuel Moire: LE duo site for the information).
Interesting photo(s) of the week – the set from ‘Lara Fabian in Ukrainian Hearts” of Lara’s hair being ‘put together’, at:
www.facebook.com/larafabianinukrainianhearts/photos/pcb.599815490149153/599814736815895/
and from Lara Fabian Mexico:
www.facebook.com/LaraFabianfromMexico/photos/a.556367684417296.1073741826.556364357750962/815462455174483/
By this time next week Lara will have given two of her North American shows, in Atlantic City and Montreal. One can expect the best from her – she’s been in good voice, she knows the songs very well, and she should be highly motivated. Fans who have not previously had a chance to see her live (primarily in the US) are in for a treat! It’s long been said that watching videos of Lara is even better than hearing her music, but the best of all is seeing her live. This is especially true when seeing her for the first time. May that be so for those who go this time as well!
David
