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I had to keep telling myself the day of the concert to
breathe in…breathe out…breathe in…breathe out…. All that
I could keep my mind on was being able to see André and
the JSO again, everything else was a chore, including
breathing.
On the day of the Portland concert I met up with Sally
Chaney, Marilyn Smith and her friend Terry and Chris
Tromburg from Idaho and her friends. Gerda came in later
with her friend Suzan, I enjoyed seeing Gerda again and
it was very nice to meet Suzan. It was a whole lot of
fun seeing everyone and it added to the excitement of
the day.
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Maestro Rieu |
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Talking to the Crowd |
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The Platinum Tenors |
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Gary, Bela & Thomas |
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André Rieu |
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& his Johann Strauss Ochestra |
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Blurry, but ya gotta love it! |
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My brother and I arrived at the
Rose Garden early because that’s my way; early is always
best, besides I’m too anxious to wait. I proceeded
directly to the promotion desk and bought a program and
quickly scanned the insert to see which songs would be
played.
I then met Sally again who was with Marilyn Bas, her
daughters, her darling great-grand-daughter and Vernice,
it was a pleasure meeting all of you!
Not knowing exactly which seat I
would be in, We proceeded to our seats and I was
ecstatic as it was a perfect seat for me…third row
center aisle. I just closed my eyes and said "thank
you". Knowing that André would be so close as he passed
by with the JSO. My brother got a picture of André when
he came by, but it was blurry, unfortunately.
It was a fabulous concert. With André, the JSO, the
music, the gowns the humor and the settings, I could not
have envisioned anything as beautiful or rewarding as
being at these two wonderful concerts held in Portland
and Seattle for two glorious days!
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Torna a Surriento, awesome! |
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The Tenors, Sopranos and our Maestro |
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André and The Platin Tenors |
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André and the JSO entered with "76
Trombones"; it’s great entrance music! I was only a
couple of feet away from André as they marched up the
aisle, which was exciting for me. I was able to get a
close up look at the gowns…and they are more beautiful
than I could have ever imagined from far away.
Frederic Jenniges was fantastic and humorous. He plays
an incredible Zither. I love "Tales from the Vienna
Woods" and as André and the JSO play this song, Frederic
sits there with his arms folded and waits for his moment
on the Zither.
Mirusia sang "Wishing You Were
Somehow Here Again"…The feeling and emotion she puts
into this song is easily shared by all. Mirusia got the
standing ovation she deserved, and I can still see the
emotion that André felt as well.
Her beautiful gown was perfect for such a beautiful lady
and as Suzan sang "I Belong to Me" you could feel the
actual events that this song is dedicated to. I could
only imagine that Sissi was standing up there on stage
as Suzan sang this touching song.
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André performing solo. :-) |
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Laura Engels "Besame Mucho" |
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Gary, Bela, Thomas |
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& Andre Rieu! |
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The Beautiful Blue Danube |
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Beautiful colors and Beautiful music. |
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Laura Engels sang "Besame Mucho"; I
loved her powerful voice. I had heard of her but this
was the first time that I had heard her sing…I was quite
impressed with her and hope to hear her again soon.
The voices of the Platin Tenors were impressive, as
always, aren’t they just absolutely wonderful? The songs
they sang "Torna a Surriento" is always a favorite of
mine, as is "Amigos para siempre", the song they sing
with the Sopranos. It was fun watching Bela come out
with the pot of goulash and later the sausages. It was
humorous watching André throw them out into the crowd,
one has to wonder if they are real, :)
The final song, after 6 encores,
was "Lullaby" of course. I love this song, but am always
sad to hear it because it’s always the end of a
beautiful concert filled with beautiful music.
I wish that I could
do a re-wind every month and keep this week in my life
forever. Would I want to do that? We have to progress of
course...but I loved the "moment" that this week
brought. I loved being within a few feet of André and
the JSO…I loved meeting some of the orchestra. It was a
fun moment and I will be up in those clouds for a long
time.
The next day, Sally, my brother and I drove to Seattle
for the concert up there. We had a comfortable drive…all
the while wondering what the weather was going to be
like; hoping for clear weather, but expecting a lot of
rain, according to the weather report. But I had a long
talk with Clara and the weather was almost perfect. No
rain except one time on the way up.
It took about four hours to get to Seattle because we
made some extra stops. When we arrived we had plenty of
time to have lunch. The place we went to is a favorite
of ours, and we usually go there when we get to Seattle.
We can look out over the sound and watch the ferries
going and coming from the islands. On a clear day you
can see the Olympic Mountains, they are majestic and so
very beautiful. We had fun at Pike’s Place Market and
then it was time to get over to the concert. On the way
we drove by the south side of the Key Arena and I
happened to see the buses! I was so excited…I yelled,
"Stop! Stop! The buses!" My brother stopped the car as
quickly as possible. J I got some pictures. It was fun
seeing them.
We parked and walked towards the arena and Sally saw
Franco. He was just walking around outside and nicely
let me take some pictures of him and Sally sitting on a
large, outside chair thing (don’t know what it’s
called). We also were fortunate enough to see Cord and
Judith, Daniel and Ronald. We were able to meet Hans;
he’s cute, friendly and formidable.
We were at the concert plenty early and the atmosphere
was perfect and exciting. I always enjoy seeing the
people coming in and anticipating a night of André Rieu
and the JSO. I have to say that I haven’t felt the
energy level as high as it was in Seattle this time. I
think everyone was extremely excited. So many people
came up and talked with us.
Our "Denon, André, Ambassador" buttons were popular!
Sally had a most perfect seat…front and center. I wasn’t
so lucky with my seat, but I was close to the aisle and
could see André come down the aisle again. The picture
was again a blur…it’s almost like if you just gotta have
it, then it turns out blurry…why is that?
It was strange at the time, but when the orchestra was
proceeding towards the stage to the music "76
Trombones", towards the end of the line they turned
around and started to head back the way they came. I
thought that it was a little different…they had never
done that before. I wondered why, but then they turned
and headed towards the stage again, and then they came
back again! What is going on, I thought. Then they
turned and headed back to the stage again, this time
with success. Later I had found out from Sally that the
stairs were too large for the area at the stage and they
had to move Sally’s chair to make it fit!
At one point in the beginning, someone came in late and
André stopped everything and said, "You’re late!"
Everyone laughed and then he said that "In Europe we are
on time!" Everyone laughed again. She didn’t have a
chair, so André got her one of the orchestra chairs, by
then she had gotten one from somewhere else.
André and the JSO are always so entertaining. I only
wish that I could do it all over again. The highlights
for me at the concert were André and the JSO of
course…the music … Mirusia, Tenors, Suzan, Laura were
fantastic. They all sing so beautifully. The music
"Bolero" was special; I love watching André conduct this
song. Then they played one of my favorite songs "Song of
the Volga". I closed my eyes and could feel the music.
The interesting, heartfelt story that André told us of
this song is special.
Other highlights were "Torna a Surriento", "Tales from
the Vienna Woods", Amigos para siempre". I’ll always
love the "Emperor’s Waltz" and of course the incredible
"Blue Danube".
The Radetzky March and the balloons are always an event
that I look forward to. I got three balloons this time.
I still have my balloons from last year, one it the size
of a softball now, the other is about the size of a
large grapefruit, I don’t want to touch them as they
would probably fizzle out.
Thank you André and the JSO for a fantastic concert! You
make such a wonderful, exciting and enjoyable evening
for everyone. I cannot wait to see you again! I look
forward to the next time with anticipation.
After the concert we got in the car and drove back to
Portland, it took three hours driving back down but I
was on such a high from the concert that it was like a
blur.
I spent a lot of time with Sally these two days, and it
was a pleasure. I enjoyed it so very much. Thanks Sally
for a wonderful time! You are the material friends are
made of. You are positive, fun, and enjoyable and I hope
we can spend time together again sometime soon.
Sally, you said, "I have never heard André Rieu say a
negative thing nor be rude, and his real fans are the
same way! Always nice, always kind and always friendly.
Is it the Music or the Man that brings out such
goodness? (Both?)."
My answer: I do believe with all my heart, that it’s a
little of both. The Music enters into your heart and
soul and brings you peace, love and happiness. The Man
opens your heart and soul, with his positive, happy
ways, and his love of music, which he shares with
all…and that allows goodness, happiness and positive
natured people to gather around the world and become
friends.
Marlene Warren
Concert Rewind
Portland & Seattle, 2007
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