You might remember back in October when I attended a classical concert at Perth's concert hall and I mentioned that I wasn't a fan of classical music.
I have seen Andre Rieu's concerts on TV and always thought they were great fun, so when I read he was coming for a single concert in Perth I bought tickets.
And I loved it!! He's a great entertainer and connects with his audience from the first minute until the end. We are free to sing and dance to his wonderful music too, which makes his concerts so much fun.
Perth Arena holds 15,500 people and the venue was almost full, so he's certainly very popular in Australia.
I must say most of the concert goers were a bit older than my husband and I, and that could be seen from the dozens of walking frames and wheelchairs lining up at the back of the hall.
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Perth Arena, the almost full hall inside, the 3 tenors, Andre Rieu and the 3 sopranos -
The tenors were English, Hungarian and French and the sopranos were Dutch, Australian and Brazilian.
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| Playing with a background of Perth as seen from the river |
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| The Dutch-Australian soprano Mirusia Louwerse who sang a couple of popular Australian songs |
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| An Australian background to an Australian song |
The concerts I've watched on TV seem to be on flat surfaces, where everybody dances while at Perth Arena the fact that most of us were sitting up there in the sky meant we couldn't dance, but I think a lot of the crowd was singing and swaying to his songs.
Towards the end Andre played "Blue Danube" and mentioned that the audience usually dances to this song. A few couples near the stage certainly danced away on the aisles.
How I wished I too could dance, but I was sitting up, up, up near the top...
I filmed parts of his songs including the Blue Danube but was unable to upload the video, so here is a video of his from Youtube. Enjoy it!
I'll leave you with some flowers blooming in my garden right now - the 3 different roses at the bottom smell great, and at the top there are red and pink poppies.
I didn't even know pink poppies existed, but a friend gave me this one and he says he has a yellow one too and will give me one soon. Isn't it pretty?
The video sure is very lovely with all the dancing couples, as is the music, though actually I´m not so much into classic. Apart from Pavarotti maybe and (Freddie Mercury and) Monserrat Caballe and the Piaf.
ReplyDeleteLove also the backgrounds.
The flowers are beautiful, too.
I'm not a fan of classical music either, but his style of playing it makes it sound so much better and fun.
DeleteI haven't been to a concert of him in person, but I have seen him on television. He is a phenomenon and there are people here who like him or think it is awfull what he does with all the pomp and ceremony. I like him with his enthousiasm and traveling around the world with this enormous circus. It makes you very cheerful.
ReplyDeleteI agree Marianne, he's very charismatic and very popular and I really think he makes classical music a lot of fun.
DeleteWell Sami, my ignorance is showing. I've never heard of Rieu until I read your post.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I noticed was your photos looked like they were taken from the rafters, even before you mentioned it. I've never been to a venue that large before, and would probably feel overwhelmed, at least at first. Thank for introducing me to a new artist.
I'm sure I haven't heard of many other artists too... Andre Rieu is very popular in Australia that's why I know him. Yes, we were sitting up there in the rafters, I felt dizzy just climbing up that high!
DeleteOh nice!! Just the other day we were exchanging comments about Andre Rieu and now you got to see live one of his concerts! Too bad you couldn't dance but still a great experience. Have a nice weekend Sami :)
ReplyDeleteAs soon as I heard he was going to play in Perth I bought tickets, I really wanted to experience one of his amazing concerts. Have a lovely weekend too Sara.
DeleteI haven't seen any of his concerts Sami, I have seen snippets on TV. It would have been a good night, but yes, there would have been no dancing for you if you were high up ☺ the chairs are at quite a steep angle don't you think?
ReplyDeleteThey are very steep Grace, I felt dizzy climbing up all the way...the last concert I went I sat in front of the stage, just one level up which was just ideal, but for Andre's concert I could only find tickets at this higher level...I'll have to but my tickets earlier next time!
DeleteWow, lucky you, I would love to see Andre Rieu! We always seem to get tickets up in the rafters too to these sort of concerts. I agree not dancing at a concert always seems a bit like "oh my, I think we're getting old and/or I wish we'd splashed out on more expensive tickets!!" We went to Robbie Williams at the Rod Laver Arena and it was the same! Your flowers are lovely, perhaps like in Melbourne they have enjoyed a wetter Spring than usual?
ReplyDeleteWren x
I think I left it too late to buy the tickets, so the only ones left were up there. Our spring was cold and wet, not that many hot days.
Deletein my youth i did enjoy some concerts of my favorite singers .it was fun and sensational event .
ReplyDeleteyou captured it so well and thank you for bringing up the memories dear.
Thank you Baili.
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