André Rieu At The Telstradome In Melbourne
The Herald Sun Nov. 14. 2008
ANDRE Rieu came, saw and conquered the hearts of Melbourne last night. The flying Dutch musician and his $11 million Stradivarius violin led a dazzling, romantic show.
The flying Dutch musician and his $11 million Stradivarius violin led a dazzling, romantic show that had the thousands of concert-goers who came to Docklands stadium tapping their feet and swaying their bodies together in waltz time.
The biggest travelling set in the world was the centrepiece for the $5.6 million extravaganza.
A giant, life-size reproduction of Vienna's cream and orange Schonbrunn Castle dominated the eastern end of the Dome. Giant candelabras flickered over the heads of Rieu and his Johann Strauss orchestra and chorus.
Rieu billed his show as "a romantic Viennese night" and it was all of this and more. Dancers twirled on two 600m ice rinks and from palace balconies and in a ballroom scene. Fountains cascaded and splashed around classical sculptures on either end of the huge stage.
"What would the world be without music?" asked the conductor at the beginning of the concert. "Music is the most beautiful thing we have -- am I right or not?" "Yes," roared the orchestra.
"Melbourne - you are the most joyful audience in the whole world," Rieu said.
The conductor had promised an evening "where princes and princesses live and you want to stay on forever in that world where everything is possible". And everything was possible in the Dome, with effects like a golden coach drawn by white horses and with an emperor and empress on board.
Rieu's fans began arriving two hours before his music started.
They snapped up souvenirs, DVDs and CDs and queued for $40 T-shirts and $20 programs. The three-hour concert began with Rieu and his players walking through the audience to a rousing rendition of 76 Trombones. Soon the thousands were swaying to the Voices of Spring by Strauss. The popular classics also included music by Mozart and Puccini. But Strauss dominated.
It was the happiest of evenings with an ever-smiling Rieu, dressed in tails, playing his Stradivarius and conducting his orchestra with his bow.
If there was a star of the show, apart from Rieu, it was the violin itself.
Handcrafted in 1667 by the Italian master, the Stradivarius sang across the centuries, bringing romance and love to the Telstradome
.
Here is a link to a short video interviewing people coming out of last nights concert:
►http://player.video.news.com.au/heraldsun/#g00VlfCPOxljz9FjcNyjf5ZGFGEzNVjb
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