Andre Rieu At The Local Cinema
Photo. . . . AR.com
Beam Me Out Scotty!!
ANDRÉ AT THE CINEMA IN ADELAIDE. - SUNDAY JULY 18
This morning,cinemas throughout Australia and New Zealand beamed in the live feed from the Maastricht concert. Rob and I attended the Mitcham cinema, which was almost full, which was heartening, as there has been very little advertising for it.
At a cost of $40 a ticket, we certainly had the best 'seats in the house'. To watch André, orchestra and vocalists up close and personal, on the big screen and with Dolby surround sound, gave us the best viewing possible. Obviously, it would never come close to being in Maastricht in person, with the atmosphere, excitement and anticipation, but on the plus side, with subtitles,we, at least, knew what was being said.
As the countdown clock ran down,the Cinema Live announcer took us for a quick look at Maastricht, both on foot around the cobble stoned streets and on the cruise boat on the Maas, stopping at the Rieu castle. She then interviewed Mirusia, as she was putting on her makeup before the show, Finally she introduced the upcoming concert, showing André and Pierre walking down the street, picking up the JSO on the way, just as the strains of "76 Trombones" began
The first half gave us our first look at the stunning African soprano, Kimmy. I hope she comes out to Australia. When she sang "Ave Maria", with the gorgeous backdrop of stained glass windows, we were transported to another world. She brought tears to the eyes and even the Great Man had a tear or two on his cheeks. Dressed in a jewel encrusted white satin gown and her glowing dark skin and svelt figure, her beauty matched her voice.
A good part of the first half was African influenced. 2 African children choirs and a small instrumental childrens' group, firstly sang or played with the orchestra and then the choir was joined by Mirusia and Carmen, singing a Michael Jackson song, which was just so lovely and very moving.
By interval, I was hearing from many that they thought it was the best concert they'd seen. It was so good seeing a concert that had different music to the usual fare we normally seem to get these days.
What was disappointing to me was the lack of involvement in the cinema. I was clapping after each item and singing which is the norm with me, but found it so unusual that no-one else was. Standing in the line for the ladies at interval, a few people came up to me saying that they were doing the same thing on their own, couldn't I do something to change it. So yep, big mouth did.
Cinema re-filling nearing the end of intermission
I stood up in the front, with the countdown clock showing 11/2 mins to the commencement of the 2nd half, asked them for their attention and said that for the most of us, this would be the closest we'd ever get to going to a Maastricht concert, so why are they sitting quietly, without any enthusiasm, doing the very thing that the Maestro hates? They should be clapping, swaying, singing etc, so please, get involved and really enjoy the concert. Yea, most agreed, with most clapping my suggestions.
The 2nd half started, so did the silence in the cinema. Oh brother! Then came the"Danube". Under no way was this little piggy going to sit down during my beloved "Danube", so the poor long suffering Robert was cajoled and shrugged to the front of the cinema and there we danced. We we so delighted when half way through the song, 2 teenage girls come down to join us. At music's end I went up to them and said 'well done girls' and they said, "same to you". As we climbed the steps to our seats, I noticed everyone was clapping. Now whether they were clapping AR & the JSO, or us, for making a spectacle of ourselves, I don't know, but my ego says that hopefully it was 50/50.
After that, the clapping and humming etc. became much more prevalent, which made such a difference. I don't think people from Europe in particular and possibly even fans from the US or Canada would understand the apathy of Australians. We don't have the passion other countries have. We are such a laid backed nation, yet we are afraid to do things that may make us look like fools. I think this is most obvious during the singing of the National Anthem. To watch Europeans, Americans and Canadians, with hand over heart, singing their anthems with such heart and gusto, puts us to shame, as there are many in this country who don't even know the words of our Anthem, let alone singing it.
singing of the anthem
The audience both inside the concert square and out in the restaurant area, were singing along with all the songs and there was such a lot of dancing outside in the restaurant strip, with tears flowing during the playing of the Maastricht Anthem, after which the girls, as usual pulled their dresses open to show the flag, except poor Mirusia who couldn't get the bottom of the dress to part and you could hear André saying "come on, come on".
flag girls
For the males in the audience both at the concert or in the cinema had eyeballs popping, when Carmen came out in a bright red,thigh high split gown, her sultry looks melting the hearts of all men alike, very much the seductress, in both voice and looks.
The Humourous Berlin Quartet were extremely good and very talented.
girls during"Hallelujah Chorus"
The highlight for me I think was the singing of the"Hallelujah Chorus" with all the vocalists involved. Again with the stained glass window backdrop, to say it moved me to tears would be doing it a disservice and the applause in our little cinema was prevalent. Tanja's playing of "The Swan" was also magnificent.
ensemble during "Hallelujah Chorus"
Even though it was supposed to be a 'live feed', I can't help feel that there was a bit cut out of it. I understood that DJ Otzi was appearing in the encore, but that wasn't the case and as the orchestra prepared to leave the stage, Manoe picked up her bagpipes, yet she never played them. The encore didn't seem to be as long as normal.
On the subject of Manoe, I was shocked by her appearance. I hope to God that I'm wrong, but I thought she looked very ill. As soon as I saw her, I whispered my fears to Rob and I said that I hoped the cancer she'd recovered from years ago hadn't come back. She did a clarinet solo, but there was no usual spark. Also, when André introduced her, he mentioned that she had had suffered from and beaten breast cancer, which I thought a little strange, as he's never made any mention of this in past concerts. Naturally, these are only my thoughts. She may have just had an off day.
Overall, I was very impressed with the concert. Beaming this concert into the cinema was a successful innovation. It will never replace the joy of being in Maastricht in person, but it is the next best thing. All it really needed was more atmosphere in the theatre. Hopefully, the concert will be released on DVD. It seems like an eternity, since the last DVD hit the stores..The Maastricht concerts always have a special feel to them. If this live feed of concerts are going to continue, I know we will most certainly go to them. I think it's an excellent conception.
What is necessary and I am only speaking about South Australia now, is a more successful avenue of advertising, I know one of our bookstore chains had a flier and I believe one of the radio stations had a competition to win tickets, but it needs to get out there into the printed media. I tried to get an announcement in our daily paper, with no luck, so I put it online with our free CBD and suburban paper, but that doesn't help people who don't have the internet. Rob and I went to a Christmas in July lunch after leaving the cinema, so didn't get home until late afternoon, only to find a number of inquiries on our answering machine. It turned out that "The Sunday Mail" had picked up my piece in the "Messenger" and put a tiny notification in the bottom corner of one of the back pages, which included my phone number for those wanting to buy tickets. Pity I wasn't consulted first, as these poor people ended up missing out, because we had left home by 9.15 this morning and it was way too late for them to go to the repeated 3.30 session, by the time I got their messages and rung them back. Not only that, I didn't have anything to do with ticket sales anyway.
As for the Great Man. Once again he controlled the weather conditions. There was lightning flashing all around the stage, but there was no inclemency. He looked very relaxed, yet there were times when he seemed to become emotional. As he left the stage, he was interviewed by the Aussie announcer, who asked him about playing in his home town and the upcoming Oct. concerts in Australia and he had such a grin on his sweat-covered face when he spoke of his bringing the "Seekers" out of retirement for the Aussie tour. I did cringe though when she asked him if he was coming back to Australia and when. Why don't these people do some homework before doing these interviews? She did know about his speedy from home to studio car trips. He offered to take her for a spin the next morning, which she accepted with glee, especially after he said that the day of Mirusia's first performance for him, he drove her back to her hotel room, at such a speed, that she put her hands on either side of her head and yelled "what a great way to get a face lift". Wonder if it happened!
after show interview
Last words. It was a fabulous way to start a Sunday morning.
Lyndall and Robert Freeman
Adelaide Sth Australia
Great report Lyndall. We found the cinema live experience fantastic too. To answer your question - we heard an interview with Mirusia a few years ago, where she told the same story about the face lift in Andre's speedy car. Also in a magazine report, Andre's wife was said to have asked the journalist if she had life insurance after she climbed into Andre's car!! LOL
Lyndall, Andre did mention Manoe's fight
with breast cancer at the Chicago concert. We were surprised and saddened
to hear that but Manoe is a trooper and
still manages some clowning around. Wish
her the best always.
Hi Gary
Was it your understanding that the cancer had returned? I pray it hasn't.
Lyndall
I agree, great report, the European showing of this 'live feed' is tonight (Tuesday 20th) of which I am going with my wife and friends, very much looking forward to it
also looking forward to Andre's 'First' concert in the UK on in September at the 02 in London !
and then we are ready for Koln Jan 2011 and Vienna July 2011 ! Yay !!
Hi Steve
London, Koln and Vienna. Greeeen with envy.
Hope you enjoy your cinema experience.
Lyndall
Yes London, Koln and Vienna, BUT all I have to do is..... stacks of overtime to pay for it all, but well, well worth it
Well, the concert was at the local cinema last night, a little bit of mis-selling as it obviously was not live for Maastracht! I had worked that pne out but the actula concert dates, but quitea few had not in the cinema!
What could have been brilliant was let down by poor prsentation, and as it went out liove in 27 countries, if anyone else saw this I'd be interested to see if they had the same issues!
Out of Sync for 30 nmins by as mauch as 6 seconds! French subs not English, and the 2nd half have no sound at all for about 10 mins, then stopped and went back to the start of the 2nd half again! (errr live ?
apart from that, it was EXCELLENT, I cannot beleive that after the very recent African tour, and the discovery of all that talent, he managed to get them all to Holland in such a short time and get them and everyone to perform as though they had been rehearsing for months on end! Brill !
A very good if not excellent night let down by a poor prsentation
As I say this went out in 27 countries, would love to know if anyone else who went UK / Europe had the same problems
Fabulous Report Lyndall !!
How great of you to help get the other fans involved and active. You are right, Andre would have loved to see you clapping, singing and dancing, but he would have been hurt to see others not enjoying his music as much as you. Good job of helping everyone!
LOVE LOVE LOVE the photos!
Lyndall,excellent report & great photos too.Good for you for showing your enthusiasim!Probably people tend to be a little more subdued in a theatre setting.
Great report, Lyndall. Congratulations!
I was there, in Maastricht, last Saturday and I promised to Jeanine Anne to send my own report and pictures (I have a lot) in a few days when I get back home, but I'd like to say that you wrote your report as if you were there with me, watching everything LIVE. Congrats again!
About Manoe: I was very near of her before the concert and she looked really good. She has her hair very very short now, more than other times, but she was OK, with her usual good sense of humor and very smiling, very nice with everybody, and didn't look tired or if like something wrong is going on with her health. This is my own impression, I can't tell you for sure that she's completely fine but seeing her in person and at a very short distance, she didn't give the sensation of being ill at all.
I'll tell you everything about this superb concert and you're right, Lindall, when you write that Andre can control the weather conditions, LOL! I always say the same thing!
Last Saturday was grey, cloudy and rainy until the afternoon. About 3 hours before the concert all that changed: the sky was suddenly absolutely blue and the sun shining.
And yes, I was by his side until 10 minutes before the concert, and Andre was sooo relaxed, so calm, a little tired maybe but that vanished when the concert was about to begin. 3 hours later he was singing, dancing and jumping all over the stage as a 20 years old man ... Well, he's 20 years old in soul & spirit. And he will always be that way.
You're also right that the "Ave Maria" sang by Kimmy, the African soprano, was very touching. Last Saturday night the entire Vritjhof Square gave her an standing ovation very well deserved.
And I won't say anything else. Just wait a little for my report and my pics. It's a pleasure to share them with you all.
Love,
Pat
Here is a link to a photo of Manoe that was taken on 8 July 2010. This is the BEST, up close photo I've ever seen of Manoe & she appears radiant
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bc_az/4177087446/in/set-72157622324848263/
Bill. What a fantastic photo of Manoe As you say she looks radiant She did seem to be enjoying herself as usual at the wonderful Maastricht Concert Hugs to her xx
Hi everyone.
My hubby & I attended the concert at a nearby cinema last night. It got off to a shaky start as they had no sound initially and when they did get a connection, the picture and sound were out of sync. for a while. However, once they had sorted that it all went smoothly and was a brilliant evening. I would have loved to have been there in person. I have to say that like Lyndall I was disappointed at the lack of emotion and feeling in the cinema - it seemed to me that only John and I felt the urge to clap and sing along. It must be a thing with the Brits as well - too stiff and starchy and overly critical too I think. I agree that it was a bit annoying at the start but once sorted it didn't detract from the pleasure the whole concert gave. I have noticed that in Germany, France and Holland the people are relaxed and full of joie de vivre - pity they can't send some of their joie de vivre to us!!
We absolutely loved Kimmi and also the Children's choirs and the young lass from the Hout Bay Music Project who sang some African songs was absolutely brilliant - so full of joy and energy. Of course we have seen Carmen & Marusia before and they did not disappoint.
As pensioners we have to watch our pennies and the cost of the concert in UK is out of our league, but I really would like to see AR & JSO live so am hoping that a miracle might happen for us - come on Camelot!!
Best wishes to all AR Fans
Lesley
Hi Lesley,
I too went to the cinema 'concer' although of course it was not live as such ! I see you had issues at the start, how did the second half start? we had problems with that too!
I
steve
Hi Steve, I removed your email address due to spamming. We get a lot of spam and do not want you to get it also. If anyone wants another fan's email just post here and with his/her consent I will send it to you. Please do not post your email, your home address nor your telephone number. Thanks much. Hugs
No problem Steve. I am hoping that all will post here on their cinema experiences. I will give anyone an email address who desires to communicate with another. That is how we make friends. : )
sorry!
was just interested to see if the problems with the 'cinema concert' last night was wide spread, being out of sync for 30 mins by 6 seconds and no sound at all on part 2 for 10 mins, then blank screen, and back to he start of part 2 again, sort of ruined it, and I'm sure Andre would be less than impressed !
Steve
Hi We weren't all in the same cinema then? We were at Basingtoke. It did spoil it a bit People were getting figgety and whistling like Andre does when people are late. I thought Andre would be less than impressed as he is such a perfectionist Like every one else here, in our cinema people wouldn't clap or sing along. In the ladies room at the interval several of us said we were disappointed a bit with the atmosphere and agreed we would all clap to try to get the others going We did They didn't. However I thoroughly loved every minute Yes bits were obviously cut. I saw Manoe pick up her bagpipes and got all excited but that bit had obviously been cut She however looked fine to me Thought it a bit strange though that Andre should mention her illness Wonder why he did that
Just my personal opinion Obviously Andre has to bring something new to Maastricht as they have had the pleasure and joy of Andre for many many years. Unfortunately I haven't and am still on fluffy cloud 9 with Himself so would have liked to have seen more of what Andre was famous for originally He did however treat us to quite a bit of that in the encores and as I said he has to bring in new material for loyal followers.I expect it will be different at London O2 But I will never complain about anything Andre does It is all absolutely Fabulous The African children were really wonderful I haven't come down off that cloud yet I do hope Our Beloved gets a bit of rest now though. I don't suppose he will xx
I saw Andre in Dusseldorf in Jan this year, he did mention Manoe then as well, boy did she get a round of applause, also instead of 'Heal the World' he did the 'Earth Song' with Carmen and the Children, talk about goosebumps!
Looks like we all had the same problems at the start, but did anyone have problems at the start of part 2 ?
Really interested in the cinema feedback.
I attended the concert in a cinema in Colchester in the UK yesterday evening. We too had French sub titles at the start, the 6 second sound delay in the middle of the first half and no sound for the first 5 minutes of the second half. What really spoilt it for me though was the colour throughout. I couldn't decide in the first half, which was mostly in evening light of course, whether the horrible yellow and blue cast we experienced was due to poor colour balance in the transmission or the lighting at the event. In the second half when it was dark, the yellow and blue was even more pronounced and since it changed from time to time I think it was the source lighting but I am not totally sure. I just found the masking of the orchestra in a horrid jaundiced yellow very off putting. It was almost impossible to distinguish the individual dress colours of the female players, other than those that wear yellow in the first place. I gather Carmen Monarca was wearing a bright red dress for one of her numbers. You couldn't tell that from the transmission. In fact I don't think any red was visible for the whole evening even in the audience. I don't think I will risk buying the DVD when it is released in case the effect is inbuilt.
I have the 3 previous Maastricht DVDs and for me, last year's concert is definitely my favourite of all the 12 DVDs I own. I love it when Andre gives members of the orchestra the opportunity to perform solo and Tanja was just terrific last night with her rendition of the "The Swan". I would place the 2010 concert in fourth place for the events at this venue that I have seen on DVD.
I think the "captured live" statement in the publicity was misleading. How else would one capture the concert? I too didn't think there was a live concert on the 20 July and the fact that the second half could be re-wound five minutes to overcome the loss of sound sort of indicates that it wasn't. The third give away was Manoe carrying her bag pipes off the stage with her at the end, having not played them in the transmission.
By no means a disaster but marginal enjoyment for the 80 mile round trip I made to the cinema. Technically way below par, content OK, I thought. I do have tickets for the O2 in London in September and my wife and I are really looking forward to the event.
Hi John
Yes as you may have gathered I was at the Colchester one too, although I had twigged sometime before that it could not be live, even more so when I read the Australian review on here the day before! But there were a few in the cinema that did not know, although they did at the start of part 2!
The colour was also a concern for me too, it was very yellow/blue all through, and a yellow band running down the right hand side of the picture.
overall the concert was very good, as for the ODEON's presentationm, very, very poor, even if it was out of their hands, there was no one around to speak to, or complain to!
for £15 a ticket I am somewhat peeved.
but certainly looking forward to the 02.
Tanja did the solo in Dusseldorf too, stunning! and manoe also palyed the 'pipes' in Dusseldorf too, is there no end to her talents ?
as for placing this fourth, not so sure in my books, last years was a little more 'clasical' maybe, not quite as much energy as this years, but will have to reserve judgement at the mo, depending on what we 'missed' albeit it live !
Hi John I watched in Basingstoke UK we had all the problems with the sound and being out of synch and the French sub titles at the beginning but I didn't notice anything wrong with the colour Carmens dress was most definitely a beautiful red and Manoes was blue so I wouldn't think there would be any problem with the DVD. I am wondering if Andre gets to hear of the problems he will bother to do it again as he does like eveything to be perfect. Hope he does because I did enjoy it despite the problems Shame we didn't get to see Lovely Manoe playing the bagpipes Still I suppose it will be something for us to look forward to in the DVD
Dear Lyndall & Robert,
Thanks you for taking the time to give us all such a detailed concert report.
I have no doubt your observations about Manoe was accurate & not a figment of your imagination & we can only hope she was having an "off" night
Thank you for being specific about the nusical selections of the concert, & for mentioning the performers by "name".
Such detail tells us all that you really "know" the individual musicians & soloists.
In the past year there is a definite trend of concert reports being much more detailed & photos having the names of the musicians that appear in the photos.
I, too, have commented on a lack of audience participation & involvement at Phoenix, Arizona concerts. However, I had a good time, everyone around me knows I was having a good time, & the musicians know I was reacting to & enjoying their music.
I hope & pray, that Manoe was only having an "off" night. She has contributed so much to my enjoyment of so many of Andre DVDs; Manoe is as much a part of Andre DVDs as Andre. I can't imagine a DVD or a concert WITHOUT Manoe.