Post by davidhr on Jan 31, 2023 7:22:39 GMT -5
Lara was back in France last week, in particular at La Seine Musicale “a music and performing arts center located on Île Seguin an island on the Seine river between Boulogne-Billancourt and Sèvres, in the western suburbs of Paris, France”. She was there to witness a new production of Starmania, as explained in conjunction with a post on her Instagram site,
Her accompanying texts read:
-------------------------
Last night I had the pleasure of attending, alongside the benevolent @jphilippedion, one of the most beautiful shows I've ever seen...
@starmania in this new grind is simply a masterpiece....
Also, I had the privilege of finding @william_cloutier a little heart already grown big...
Bravo Wonderful William you are stunning!!!
I also crossed into my @lavoixtva finalist again... the one and only @mane_miriam!
What an exceptional artist …
Well done to all the artists and craftsmen who make this show, a superb show!
the staging and lights are.... to take your breath away... Congratulations again
--------------------------------------------
And.. “Thank you my dear Jean Philippe.. What a joy to have you in my life...”
Jean Philippe Dion was the executive producer of the Star Academie shows for which Lara was director. He also was responsible for the wonderful 2020 documentary 'Lara', which she described as being able to do because she had complete trust in him.
And as she indicated, Lara also experienced a “beautiful reunion” with William Cloutier, as shown in Lara’s second Instagram post (with a number of pictures), at
In response to Lara saying how proud she was of him, he responded, “Thank you so much. Can't wait to see you again.”
You may remember that William Cloutier was the winner of the 2021 Star Academie. Other information about him (from Wikipedia):
---------------
During his run on Star Académie, he was granted permission to be temporarily absent from the competition when his wife, Sara Dagenais, went into labor and gave birth to their son Éloi.
He released his debut album On ira in 2022, and supported the album with a concert tour alongside Lunou Zucchini, another Star Académie finalist. On ira received a Félix Award nomination for Pop Album of the Year at the 44th Félix Awards.
------------------------
And as to why he was there: that’s explained in the following article (hence somewhat off topic) (https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2022/11/05/de-star-academie-a-starmania):
----------------------------
From Star Academie to Starmania
William Cloutier makes his debut in France
PARIS | William Cloutier as a gangster? Why not ? The singer steps away from his usual cast, sullying his clean image by lending his features to tough guy Johnny Rockfort in the new version of the rock opera Starmania .
William Cloutier is the first to admit it, the character of Johny Rockfort is far from where his Quebec fans would expect him. But France is the ideal place to get out of your comfort zone and your usual register at this point. Until now unknown to this public, he holds in his hand a blank page that he can color as he sees fit, without coming up against any a priori.
“I am often imagined in the roles of a young, first, of a sensitive boy. I understand it very well, that's what people know about me. But it's fun to be able to get away from who I am, to have a composition role like that of Johnny Rockfort. Every evening I have a virgin audience of 3,800 new spectators to win over,” says the singer, met by Le Journal at the musical Seine, a performance hall where Starmania is settling in for three months of performances.
He is not the only one to take on this role; he shares it with Lucien Carreau, dit Côme, for the duration of the tour. If he "officially" has the title of understudy, William Cloutier is not a simple substitute or a snack on which to fall back in need. Indeed, he puts on the clothes of Johnny Rockfort every week – sometimes for several performances – in addition to being on stage for all the shows. Because when Côme takes the lead, the Quebecer becomes part of the choir, both vocally and physically.
“It's a very formative experience; I discover my dancing skills and I have the chance to interpret the most difficult songs that I have had to sing in my entire life”, he explains.
A "beautiful vertigo"
For William Cloutier, the Starmania adventure represents a "beautiful vertigo", he who is now in the City of Light without his spouse of the last 10 years and their sons Éloi and Liam, aged 20 months and 6 years respectively. It goes without saying that the distance weighs on his father's heart.
“I am far from my people, far from my bearings. My son celebrated his six years anniversary without his father last month”, he says sheepishly.
“But at the same time, I'm connected like never before to what I love. It's an extremely stimulating challenge and it's an incredible human experience to be able to work with such talented and passionate artists,” continues William Cloutier.
Hesitation
He doesn't hide it all the same; this opportunity may well be that of a lifetime, he hesitated before packing up and settling in Paris, leaving his routine in Quebec.
But his experience at Star Académie – where he was separated from his family for several weeks – gave him the confidence to take the leap.
“We call each other every day. I feel far away, but I also feel all the support from my lover. This is what is beautiful about our couple; we support each other and we hold each other through everything and we always come out winners,” he says.
The rock opera Starmania is presented in Paris until January 29.
------------------------------------------
So Lara attended shortly before its closing… and it was the sum total of Lara’s public engagement this past week.
Interesting photo(s)/video(s) of the week:
The Lara Fabian The Netherlands FB site posted a link to a picture of Lara with John Phillipe Dion (taken from his Instagram site), at
www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=628073802659347&set=a.147591376786267
His message to her, as that site also quotes, is “Privileged to have this relationship with her. Awesome @larafabianofficial! Parisian reunions that I am not ready to forget! #Starmania #parisfrance #paris”
I wonder if while he’s in France, the producers of the French version of Star Academie might be talking with him concerning Lara, with the next season due at the end of this year…
The Lara Fabian America FB site posted a link to the video of Lara singing ‘Papa Can You Hear Me’ and “A Piece of Sky” (i.e., a Yentl medley) from the televised Pure concert in 1998. It is at
www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwrR9Feb0kg
Lara also did these songs on her ‘Un regard 9’ Live DVD from 2006. These are also available on youtube, at
www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_Bqg9pGPek
Despite the latter video being taken from the DVD, the picture quality is not that different between the two, and, IMHO, Lara does a better job of singing it in the Pure concert – though it is obviously exceptional in both. Another set of songs that one could dream about her reintroducing in future concerts…(these, at least, she did sing on tour).
Lara The Ring Fabian posted the video of Lara singing with a contestant on the 2018 show ‘La voix’. Lara was greatly disappointed that she was unable to ‘turn her chair’ and have the contestant Cherylyn (who did a fine version of Je t’aime) on her team, as it was already full. So to make up for it, she got up and sang a bit of a duet with her. It’s at
www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pHkcOsNTiQ
A truly heart-warming moment!
‘Les anges de Lara Fabian’ FB site has put together several nice tee shirts with pictures of Lara and cogent sayings, as one can see at:
www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=232897312404941&set=gm.3032616186882805&idorvanity=159532797524506
www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=232532309108108&set=gm.3030698780407879&idorvanity=159532797524506
They provide a link from which to order them (this is an FYI, not an endorsement).
Lara continues to pop up in one place or another during this time with no known obligations. We’ll see if there’s an overall ‘arc’ to her activities…Stay safe everybody,
David
http://instagram.com/p/Cn6ZMwQr0Gs
Her accompanying texts read:
-------------------------
Last night I had the pleasure of attending, alongside the benevolent @jphilippedion, one of the most beautiful shows I've ever seen...
@starmania in this new grind is simply a masterpiece....
Also, I had the privilege of finding @william_cloutier a little heart already grown big...
Bravo Wonderful William you are stunning!!!
I also crossed into my @lavoixtva finalist again... the one and only @mane_miriam!
What an exceptional artist …
Well done to all the artists and craftsmen who make this show, a superb show!
the staging and lights are.... to take your breath away... Congratulations again
--------------------------------------------
And.. “Thank you my dear Jean Philippe.. What a joy to have you in my life...”
Jean Philippe Dion was the executive producer of the Star Academie shows for which Lara was director. He also was responsible for the wonderful 2020 documentary 'Lara', which she described as being able to do because she had complete trust in him.
And as she indicated, Lara also experienced a “beautiful reunion” with William Cloutier, as shown in Lara’s second Instagram post (with a number of pictures), at
http://instagram.com/p/Cn5c5U3Ia9R
In response to Lara saying how proud she was of him, he responded, “Thank you so much. Can't wait to see you again.”
You may remember that William Cloutier was the winner of the 2021 Star Academie. Other information about him (from Wikipedia):
---------------
During his run on Star Académie, he was granted permission to be temporarily absent from the competition when his wife, Sara Dagenais, went into labor and gave birth to their son Éloi.
He released his debut album On ira in 2022, and supported the album with a concert tour alongside Lunou Zucchini, another Star Académie finalist. On ira received a Félix Award nomination for Pop Album of the Year at the 44th Félix Awards.
------------------------
And as to why he was there: that’s explained in the following article (hence somewhat off topic) (https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2022/11/05/de-star-academie-a-starmania):
----------------------------
From Star Academie to Starmania
William Cloutier makes his debut in France
PARIS | William Cloutier as a gangster? Why not ? The singer steps away from his usual cast, sullying his clean image by lending his features to tough guy Johnny Rockfort in the new version of the rock opera Starmania .
William Cloutier is the first to admit it, the character of Johny Rockfort is far from where his Quebec fans would expect him. But France is the ideal place to get out of your comfort zone and your usual register at this point. Until now unknown to this public, he holds in his hand a blank page that he can color as he sees fit, without coming up against any a priori.
“I am often imagined in the roles of a young, first, of a sensitive boy. I understand it very well, that's what people know about me. But it's fun to be able to get away from who I am, to have a composition role like that of Johnny Rockfort. Every evening I have a virgin audience of 3,800 new spectators to win over,” says the singer, met by Le Journal at the musical Seine, a performance hall where Starmania is settling in for three months of performances.
He is not the only one to take on this role; he shares it with Lucien Carreau, dit Côme, for the duration of the tour. If he "officially" has the title of understudy, William Cloutier is not a simple substitute or a snack on which to fall back in need. Indeed, he puts on the clothes of Johnny Rockfort every week – sometimes for several performances – in addition to being on stage for all the shows. Because when Côme takes the lead, the Quebecer becomes part of the choir, both vocally and physically.
“It's a very formative experience; I discover my dancing skills and I have the chance to interpret the most difficult songs that I have had to sing in my entire life”, he explains.
A "beautiful vertigo"
For William Cloutier, the Starmania adventure represents a "beautiful vertigo", he who is now in the City of Light without his spouse of the last 10 years and their sons Éloi and Liam, aged 20 months and 6 years respectively. It goes without saying that the distance weighs on his father's heart.
“I am far from my people, far from my bearings. My son celebrated his six years anniversary without his father last month”, he says sheepishly.
“But at the same time, I'm connected like never before to what I love. It's an extremely stimulating challenge and it's an incredible human experience to be able to work with such talented and passionate artists,” continues William Cloutier.
Hesitation
He doesn't hide it all the same; this opportunity may well be that of a lifetime, he hesitated before packing up and settling in Paris, leaving his routine in Quebec.
But his experience at Star Académie – where he was separated from his family for several weeks – gave him the confidence to take the leap.
“We call each other every day. I feel far away, but I also feel all the support from my lover. This is what is beautiful about our couple; we support each other and we hold each other through everything and we always come out winners,” he says.
The rock opera Starmania is presented in Paris until January 29.
------------------------------------------
So Lara attended shortly before its closing… and it was the sum total of Lara’s public engagement this past week.
Interesting photo(s)/video(s) of the week:
The Lara Fabian The Netherlands FB site posted a link to a picture of Lara with John Phillipe Dion (taken from his Instagram site), at
www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=628073802659347&set=a.147591376786267
His message to her, as that site also quotes, is “Privileged to have this relationship with her. Awesome @larafabianofficial! Parisian reunions that I am not ready to forget! #Starmania #parisfrance #paris”
I wonder if while he’s in France, the producers of the French version of Star Academie might be talking with him concerning Lara, with the next season due at the end of this year…
The Lara Fabian America FB site posted a link to the video of Lara singing ‘Papa Can You Hear Me’ and “A Piece of Sky” (i.e., a Yentl medley) from the televised Pure concert in 1998. It is at
www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwrR9Feb0kg
Lara also did these songs on her ‘Un regard 9’ Live DVD from 2006. These are also available on youtube, at
www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_Bqg9pGPek
Despite the latter video being taken from the DVD, the picture quality is not that different between the two, and, IMHO, Lara does a better job of singing it in the Pure concert – though it is obviously exceptional in both. Another set of songs that one could dream about her reintroducing in future concerts…(these, at least, she did sing on tour).
Lara The Ring Fabian posted the video of Lara singing with a contestant on the 2018 show ‘La voix’. Lara was greatly disappointed that she was unable to ‘turn her chair’ and have the contestant Cherylyn (who did a fine version of Je t’aime) on her team, as it was already full. So to make up for it, she got up and sang a bit of a duet with her. It’s at
www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pHkcOsNTiQ
A truly heart-warming moment!
‘Les anges de Lara Fabian’ FB site has put together several nice tee shirts with pictures of Lara and cogent sayings, as one can see at:
www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=232897312404941&set=gm.3032616186882805&idorvanity=159532797524506
www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=232532309108108&set=gm.3030698780407879&idorvanity=159532797524506
They provide a link from which to order them (this is an FYI, not an endorsement).
Lara continues to pop up in one place or another during this time with no known obligations. We’ll see if there’s an overall ‘arc’ to her activities…Stay safe everybody,
David