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Our German intern
shares her
impressions:
A tall man with
shoulder-length
dark-blond hair and a
fancy black dress coat proudly
appears on stage of
the Key Arena,
Seattle. With one hand
he waves at the huge
crowd of listeners
that have come to see
him this evening. In
the other hand he
holds his violin. He
is closely followed by
a group of people that
wear glamorous ball
gowns and elegant
suits. As they make
their way onto the
stage, they wave,
cheer and dance.
The violinist in the
front of the stage is
Andre Rieu,
accompanied by the
Johann Strauss
Orchestra.
It is December 11,
another rainy Sunday
in Seattle, and it
doesn't feel like
Christmas. I wonder
if Andre Rieu’s
concert can change
that this evening.
The huge concert hall
is full of people.
About 25,000 have come
to see the
Dutch-native violinist
virtuoso and conductor
and his incredible
orchestra. Frankly, I
am pretty surprised by
the size of the crowd
as I have expected to
see just a small group
of Europeans such as
Dutch or Germans.
Instead the audience
is quite mixed, and
indeed a lot of
Americans have come
to see the show.
The concert begins
with popular Christmas
Songs. When Silent
Night is played
the atmosphere in the
concert hall is
solemn. Initially, the song is
only performed by the
orchestra. Then the
audience are asked to
sing the lyrics. And
they sing, as the song
requires them to: very
quietly. It is a very
special moment, and I
have to remind myself
that it’s really
Christmas. To be
honest, I am getting
teary-eyed.
A lot of other
Christmas songs are
played. Mainly songs
that are known all
over the world, such
as Rudolph The
Red-Nosed Reindeer
or Winter
Wonderland. The
more vivid songs make
the audience move, the
slower once make them
lean back, relax and
think.
After the break
classical compositions
are on top of the
agenda. When Second
Waltz is played,
some couples begin to
dance through the
concert hall.
Rieu
also introduces a
female trio
and the
male complement.
Rotationally they
present songs like “Ob
blond, ob braun” and
“I could have danced."
Another special moment
occurs when the three
female solists Kalki
Schrijvers, Suzan
Erens and Carla
Maffioletti present
the song “The Rose," a
sad and deep-going
ballad.
From one moment to the
next hundreds of
colorful balloons are
dropped from the
ceiling and reach the
audience. People are
thrilled and call for
an encore, though it
perhaps drags on a
little too long with
the entire session
lasting over an hour.
However, some of the
visitors just can’t
remain on their seats
and begin to dance
through the Key Arena.
Nothing relates to a
typical stiff
classical concert.
Later I meet Kerstin
Cornelis, Rieu’s
International Director
for Tour and Special
Projects. I tell her I
was surprised about
the easy atmosphere as
I had expected to
experience another
normal course of
concert. I ask her, if
every show looks like
that or if I just saw
a very American one.
She assures that this
is the usual course: a
lot of people of
nearly all ages having
a big party together.
During the Meet and
Greet Kerstin
introduces us to Andre
Rieu. We can take
pictures and chat a
bit in German. Then a
little boy, holding a
small wooden violin in
his arms stands in
front of the door to
the Meet and Greet.
Though he is not
invited he and his
parents are asked to
come in. Rieu is
enthused by the little
guy, kneels down to
him and signs the
wooden instrument.
Another nice moment
that I will keep in
mind.
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2006 All content property of European Weekly unless where otherwise
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