André Rieu an Entertainment Emperor

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He Came ~ He Saw ~ He Conquered Again!

November 01, 2009
Adelaide Now Matt Byrne Review

HE came, he saw, he conquered again. Flying Dutchman André Rieu is an entertainment emperor. No palaces, ice skating, horse drawn carriages or Trevi Fountains this time, just wonderful music and lots of it.

Even without the full spectacle, a night out with Rieu is still something to celebrate and a great advert for classical music. The costumes, the quality musicians, the pomp and refusal to stand on ceremony, make his concerts a celebration.

And make no mistake. While he is happy to feature his stellar supporting cast, it is André's show. Every note, every gag, every nuance and invitation to waltz comes directly from the consummate showman. Rieu leads the orchestra with his accomplished violin skills and the Platinum Tenors Thomas Gruel, Bela Mavrak and Australia's own Gary Bennett were back to make a marvellous vocal contribution to the evening.

Brazilian beauty Carmen Monarcha was joined by the Australian Girls Choir in several dazzling numbers. But it was Australian soprano Mirusia Louwerse who stole the show with a rendition of Memory which put Elaine Paige's under whelming Sunday night effort at Adelaide Festival Theatre to shame.

It was nice to see Rieu also pay a touching tribute to another global icon, Michael Jackson. The endless finale saw Rieu get the crowd singing along as he rolled out Aussie favourites and invited them all back to his concert next October.