Jonas Kaufmann: An Evening With Puccini

 Hello!

Photo: Gregor Hohenberg - The Telegraph

 My parents are huge fans of German tenor Jonas Kaufmann and his concert DVD You Mean the World to Me is often played in our house. Although until a few nights ago I was not too familiar with opera, I could tell his voice was amazing.

 So when last week Arts Alliance asked if I would like to see his new film, An Evening With Puccini, I was of course delighted. It was to be shown at, among many other places, the Odeon in the Printworks, Manchester, which was handy for me.

 Chinese New Year having just gone, Manchester city centre was a sea of red lanterns, setting the scene for an exotic and exciting night. I navigated the maze of escalators in the Odeon and settled down, ready to be enchanted.

 Before the concert we were treated to a brief interview between Kaufmann and Clemency Burton-Hill, in which the tenor explained how he chose to devote an evening to Puccini as the latter was so expert in conjuring up and playing with human emotion. They also hinted at a surprise to come.

 The film proper begins with Jonas striding purposefully through Milan to dramatic music, which could have been very cheesy but somehow works. He arrives at the La Scala opera house and is visually moved by its golden majesty, charged atmosphere and six levels of seating.

 He introduces the conductor, Jochen Rieder. The amiability and mutual respect between the two men is one of the strongest elements of the film. We meet the orchestra, who play a prelude, over which Jonas tells the life of Puccini. His love for the composer is very evident.

 Kaufmann then walks on-stage to rapture from the audience and performs his first aria. His voice is strong and confident, his acting solid and his joy at telling the story, of sharing something he loves, is radiant.

 The show proceeds fairly methodically: the orchestra will perform an instrumental piece, then Kaufmann will take the stage and perform an aria, then there will be another instrumental and another aria. However, methodical as it is, the evening feels very natural and rings with emotion.

 A range of operas are covered, with pieces from Manon Lescaut, Tosca, Madama Butterfly and La fanciulla del West.

 Of course, he has to end with Nessun dorma, which he performs with gusto. Having heard it many times, I was pleasantly surprised that his version made me feel something I hadn't previously. On the last notes of "I will win", I felt such a power and determination coming from his voice, from him, that it filled me with hope and the idea that maybe I could win, too.

 Finally, of course, come the numerous encores including the surprise hinted at earlier. While I won't spoil it, I will say I'm glad that it was left in the film and that instead of putting Kaufmann off as it could well have done, he embraced it and made it work in quite a positive way.

 The film ended quite abruptly but left me feeling like I had been transported to another place and time - to the point where on my way out, I honestly kept having to remind myself I was in Manchester and not Milan.

 It was a unique experience which has inspired me to watch and listen to more opera and to see more event cinema.

 Thanks for reading,

 Liz x

Still following...

 Hello, my dear readers!

 I'm sorry that I haven't been able to post much recently, but I've had a very busy summer with various projects to complete and two wonderful holidays in Wales and Germany.

 I'm looking forward to the start of the new academic year - my second year at Uni! I remember my first post on this blog after I started Uni last year. How time flies! It really doesn't feel like a year ago.

 I wanted to share with you a song that has sort of defined this summer for me - I discovered it in May or June and have been listening to it since.

 It is... Follow You Follow Me by Genesis.

 It stirs up such emotion in me... It's so beautiful. The words, the singing, the music and the production are all brilliant.

 Listening to it now, I've realised just how many memories are now attached to it for me. I think it will always make me happy and remind me of the summer of 2013.

 I hope you enjoyed this post; you can look forward to me posting much more often in the weeks to come.

 Thanks for reading,

 Liz x

Song: Follow You Follow Me - Genesis - 1978

Eurovision 2012 Countdown: The last three Eurovision winners

 Hello! We are now three days away from the grand final of Eurovision 2012!

 Today I am going to analyse the three most recent Eurovision winning songs; "Fairytale" by Alexander Rybak, "Satellite" by Lena and "Running Scared" by Ell/Nikki from respectively, Norway, Germany and Azerbaijan.

 Probably the most obvious thing that jumps out immediately about these three songs is that they are all in English rather than Norwegian, German and Azerbaijani. I have mixed feelings about this: a song being in English, or one of the other languages I speak, means I can understand it, which is a plus for me personally. And a lot of people across Europe speak English as a first, second or third language.

 However, I feel that it is important that people sing in their own tongue because different languages, and the amazing richness and variety of languages we have in Europe, is something to be celebrated and not to be forgotten. We don't want to encourage the belief some people seem to hold which is that English is some sort of universal language. If we accept that it is, we risk other languages dying out, and their associated cultures, stories and songs dying with them, and that would be just terrible.

 So, I would personally like a song sung in the native tongue of its country to do well this year! 

 Now, onto the winning songs. Firstly, the 2009 winner, Alexander Rybak of Norway with, "Fairytale." 

 I have to say, I am grateful to this guy for bringing Eurovision to Norway, because they put on one of the best shows I have ever seen; the highlight being their unforgettable flash mob interval act. 

 Here is Alexander's song:

 At first I didn't think that much of this song. However, listening to it again, I've come to quite like it. There is no doubt that he is incredibly talented, both as a singer and on his violin. He also wrote this song... how musically gifted can one person be?! It's extraordinary. I'm jealous!

 Overall, it is quite a catchy song from a talented musician, and I think it merits winning. I'm not sure if it merits receiving the highest number of points ever in Eurovision, which it did do, but I'd rather that accolade go to this than to some other winning song which was rubbish or whose win was due completely to block voting.

 In 2010, the contest was held in Oslo, Norway, as a result of Rybak's success. As I have mentioned many times, I loved his year at Eurovision. There were so many good songs; from Ireland, France, Denmark and Belarus, among others. The winning song was "Satellite," by Lena of Germany.

 Again, I wasn't particularly keen on this at first, but it grew on me. It's certainly very bouncy and you can dance to it. Admittedly some of the lyrics are fairly awful, but otherwise this song isn't bad at all. And I find Lena very likeable as a performer. 

 I would have preferred for Niamh Kavanagh to have won, because I think song she performed that year for Ireland is one of the most beautiful Eurovision songs ever sung. But Lena wasn't the worst in that competition by a long shot. And I love the supposedly impromptu version of Satellite whipped up by the larger-than-life German hosts the next year - almost better than the original!

 The winning song that next year - last year in fact - in Düsseldorf was "Running Scared" by Eldar and Nigar, or Ell/Nikki - the same people but for some reason they seem to operate under two different names. I really like this song, and I'm quite pleased that it won.

 I must admit, I hadn't expected this to win at all - but I'm glad it did. It isn't your typical fast, bouncy Eurovision song, but it is quietly beautiful in a way that you don't see very often. There is real raw emotion in it, and both Ell and Nikki sing with real love and passion.

 I wish maybe, just maybe, the winner could have been Lucía Pérez of Spain, whose song I adored... but Running Scared is a very good song as well so I am not going to complain. Well done Ell and Nikki! 

 I also happened to see Nikki being interviewed during the semi-final last night, and she came across as a nice and amicable person, who was very interesting to listen to. She was clearly very proud and happy to have brought Eurovision to Baku, and so she should be.

 I hope we can enjoy an equally deserving winner this year; there are some good songs in the competition and some not-so-good... we'll just have to see how the people of Europe vote!

 Thanks for reading.

 Liz x

Songs: Fairytale - Alexander Rybak - 2009

Satellite - Lena - 2010

Running Scared - Ell/Nikki - 2011

Eurovision 2012 Countdown: The introduction of yearly slogans and themes - what has it added to the competition?

 Hello! Bonjour! ¡Hola!

 We are now less than a week away from the Eurovision final 2012! Which is a very exciting thought.

 Today I thought I would look into the Eurovision branding, themes and little slogans that are now an important factor in the yearly spectacle, but that were only really introduced in 2002.

 Before then, there had been various logos used, but the themes and slogans only really started to be a big element of the contest in Estonia in 2002, when they introduced their slogan, "A Modern Fairytale," with this logo:
                                                            

 I was eight when this contest took place, and all I can really remember was the female presenter boasting that Estonia was the only country in Europe beginning with an "E". And I remember thinking, what about England? But I suppose politically, and Eurovision-wise, we're in the UK.

 To be honest, "A Modern Fairytale" sounds a bit odd to me, and I don't really see what it has to do with Eurovision. However, this magic, fairytale kind of thing seems quite popular with the Baltic countries, what with Latvia the following year having, 

  

"Magical Rendez-vous"   

               

 Finland in 2007 having, 

"True Fantasy"

 and Russia in 2009 having, 

                                                                      "Fantasy Bird" 

(and it is ironic that this contest was won by a song called, "Fairytale" - from Norway, another Baltic nation!)

 I must admit, though I didn't think much of the bird logo when I first saw it, it has certainly grown on me, and I now think it's quite pretty, and the colours are lovely - they look especially striking against my blog background, which makes a nice effect.

 

 I can't say for sure, but it looks like it was the 2004 competition, with the above logo, when the standard Eurovision emblem, with "Eurovision" written in script with the country's flag in a heart for the "v", was first used. There wasn't any other individual emblem that year from what I can find, but they did have a motto - "Under The Same Sky," which I think is a lovely idea because it adds to the impression that people all over Europe are united through Eurovision.

 

 The logo of the 2005 competition in Kiev in Ukraine carries on the "Eurovision" and flag theme, and also has a twirly thing which looks like a shell and which may represent the layout of the city (?) but other than that I can't think of any other explanation of it, and I can't find anything on the Internet about it.

 The slogan was, "Awakening," which according to Wikipedia, "symbolised the awakening of the country and city ready to present itself to Europe."

 

 In 2006 we had this logo from Greece - and I must point out that the multicoloured squiggles are meant to be - I presume - the readout on a sound-meter - possibly also a heart monitor - and the resemblance is much more apparent when watching it dynamically on a video clip from the competition. 

 I like it, but I don't think it's the best we've ever had. Their slogan was, "Feel The Rhythm," which sort of goes with the emblem and graphics, and which is a nice idea, but again not awe-inspiring.

 Finland in 2007 I have mentioned - True Fantasy - and I love the way they managed to tie this in with Krisse - an amazing Finnish comedienne who presented some of the Eurovision coverage that year. I have a blog post on her; if you would like to see it look at the blog archive; it's the third Eurovision one from the bottom.

 I don't like the graphics though - a bit psychedelic for my liking - but at least they tried to create their own identity within the wider Eurovision franchise, which I like.  

 They also had their interestingly-shaped stage which according to Wikipedia was supposed to look like a kantele - a traditional Finnish musical instrument. However, I'm sure I remember hearing on the commentary that the large arching thing on the stage was supposed to a whale's bone, or something like that... so I don't know.

 2008 was Belgrade in Serbia, and they had possibly the most interesting logo and tagline of all: 

 I personally don't find the stark red and blue very pleasing on the eye, but I really like the premise behind it all which is that they are linking the contest with the fact that Belgrade lies on the confluence of two rivers, the Danube and the Sava, hence the idea of "Confluence of Sound." 

 Their stage also reflected this, with two graphical "rivers" flowing down onto the stage and then meeting and flowing together; this is a nice concept but again I didn't personally find it very pleasant to look at. However, I applaud Belgrade for coming up with what was easily the most innovative yet logical concept yet.

 Moscow in 2009 and their Fantasy Bird I have mentioned; next was Norway in 2010 which, as I've mentioned before on this blog, was one of my favourite Eurovision years. 

 I've spent a lot of time watching and re-watching videos of songs from this particular competition; therefore I've become very familiar with their "Share the Moment" motto and their little bubbly logos.

 This particular contest was all about sharing and unity; probably best signified by the interval act of the flash mob with people all over Europe taking part; united by music and dance.

 2011, last year, the competition was in Düsseldorf in Germany. I really enjoyed their hosting of Eurovision as a whole, but I was slightly put off by their emblem of a neon heart pulsing rather too graphically and realistically for my liking - and with sound effects. I faint at the sight of blood and a pulsing heart is not the sort of thing I want to see on a regular basis throughout the broadcast of Eurovision.

 Their motto was, "Feel Your Heart Beat!" which kind of fits in with it nicely, but which isn't my favourite Eurovision slogan ever.

 To be honest, I don't know what is my favourite slogan - probably "Under The Same Sky" in Turkey in 2004. But the theme I admire the most has to be Serbia with their "Confluence of Sound," and how far they managed to work with the concept so that it almost defined their hosting of Eurovision. 

 And this year? We are in Baku, Azerbaijan, with the slogan, "Light Your Fire!" and this logo: 

 I think it is very pretty, and I am interested to see how the concept will pan out, and how far they will take it... obviously short of setting the place on fire.

 I do think it is a good theme as a whole, and it reflects the country - the so-called "Land of Fire," and also the Eurovision spirit as a whole; that there will hopefully be something for every individual that will "light their fire" so to speak, and make them feel happy. 

 So overall, I feel that the idea of individual themes, logos and taglines for each year is good because it helps to give each year's competition an identity of its own, as well as reinforcing some of the values of the main Eurovision phenomenon.

 Thanks for reading.

 Bring on Baku! Two days until the first semi-final!

 Liz x