.HAPPY NEW YEAR!
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Here where I am now, in Koh Samui, Thailand, on New Year's Eve people go on the beach, lit up lanterns and let them fly. They're made of light paper and have a sort of heating system. You have to make a wish and if the lantern flies, the wish will come true. My wish?... Shhh... that's a secret
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.See the dots in the sky? They are lanters. Hundreds of them lit up on the entire beach. That was one of the most beautiful things I've seen so far.
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What a beautiful way to start the new year, with the songs Angela sung at the National Theatre in Bucharest. All four of them. Plus a high quality video with Brindisi, and videos with the other songs.
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But first of all, the special report I got from my friend Daniela. Thanks for thinking of me!
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As I left London having seen Angela in Adriana Lecouvreur, I thought to myself “This great feeling should last for a few good months, as there’s nothing planned for me until Tosca next July”.
Little did I know that a concert was being prepared for Bucharest . When I saw how many artists are lined up to sing for Angela, I knew she wasn’t going to be on stage that long. But her magnetic presence made up for the few songs/arias she sang.
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During the first part of the concert she was in the audience, enjoying her friends’ singing. At the end of the first part, she sang the beautiful “Les chemins de l’amour” by Poulenc, accompanied by Dan Grigore. This was just a teaser, as after the intermission we had to wait for a few good arias until Angela came back on stage again.
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“Ebben? Ne andro lontana” was so intense that at the end I had tears in my eyes. I had heard Angela sing it live before, but never in such a powerful interpretation. For me it was the highlight of the evening, even though the ‘collective’ Granada was very nice too. Angela enjoyed every minute of it, singing, dancing, smiling. As she did in Brindisi from La Traviata. I thought she was really into it, enjoying her friends’ company very much.
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A very nice touch was the messages that were played on the big screen, to congratulate her and give her best wishes, from Virginia Zeani, Placido Domingo and the new manager of the Vienna Opera, Peter Gelb, Jose Carreras, Jonas Kaufmann, Vittorio Grigolo, James Valenti.
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Backstage, after the concert, she was, as always, extremely kind with everyone who wanted to take photos of her, with her or simply talk to her.
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What I noticed is that the “Angela effect” is the same even if you’ve seen her many times before or if you see her for the first time. I took two friends with me who had never seen her live before and they were completely mesmerized by her presence, singing, by her personality. As were my two friends who saw her last year in Bucharest and they are determined to go abroad and see her in an opera. Two more people converted for the Tosca group. Happy New Year to you all Angela fans and have a great year with many significant musical events!
.
Little did I know that a concert was being prepared for Bucharest . When I saw how many artists are lined up to sing for Angela, I knew she wasn’t going to be on stage that long. But her magnetic presence made up for the few songs/arias she sang.
.
During the first part of the concert she was in the audience, enjoying her friends’ singing. At the end of the first part, she sang the beautiful “Les chemins de l’amour” by Poulenc, accompanied by Dan Grigore. This was just a teaser, as after the intermission we had to wait for a few good arias until Angela came back on stage again.
.
“Ebben? Ne andro lontana” was so intense that at the end I had tears in my eyes. I had heard Angela sing it live before, but never in such a powerful interpretation. For me it was the highlight of the evening, even though the ‘collective’ Granada was very nice too. Angela enjoyed every minute of it, singing, dancing, smiling. As she did in Brindisi from La Traviata. I thought she was really into it, enjoying her friends’ company very much.
.
A very nice touch was the messages that were played on the big screen, to congratulate her and give her best wishes, from Virginia Zeani, Placido Domingo and the new manager of the Vienna Opera, Peter Gelb, Jose Carreras, Jonas Kaufmann, Vittorio Grigolo, James Valenti.
.
Backstage, after the concert, she was, as always, extremely kind with everyone who wanted to take photos of her, with her or simply talk to her.
.
What I noticed is that the “Angela effect” is the same even if you’ve seen her many times before or if you see her for the first time. I took two friends with me who had never seen her live before and they were completely mesmerized by her presence, singing, by her personality. As were my two friends who saw her last year in Bucharest and they are determined to go abroad and see her in an opera. Two more people converted for the Tosca group. Happy New Year to you all Angela fans and have a great year with many significant musical events!
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