Andre Rieu At The Metro Radio Arena
Renowned musician Andre Rieu started his debut UK Arena tour in Newcastle last night. Tracy Jefferies was there and found the concert to be a night to remember.
WHILE the UK waits for the impending wedding of the year, royalty was in residence in the North East last night – musical royalty that is.
Andre Rieu arrived at the Metro Radio Arena amidst all the pomp and circumstance of a regal procession, walking through the audience to meet and greet his adoring public.
There's no doubt that this is a man with impeccable musical credentials who not only is a maestro in his own right but also has the knack of discovering and bringing together talent from across the globe.
There are not many artistes who can pull together an evening's entertainment from so many diverse areas of music and yet turn them all into an absolute spectacle.
From the opening bars of Strauss's Voices of Spring through to his tribute to Michael Jackson with an utterly haunting version of Ben, this was a spellbinding evening which few of us attending are ever likely to forget.
It was something like a trip through musical styles; one minute this amazing orchestra playing a tango, the next the Viennese waltzes with the female musicians dressed in stunning crinolines.
Rieu has brought together performers from around the world, with musicians and singers from Hungary, Australia and South Africa and all points in between, sharing his love and his passion.
We were transported to a Rio carnival – complete with balloons falling from the roof – to the Skater's Waltz where so much artificial snow fell that the front rows of the audience were covered.
We were enchanted by the cellist's rendition of The Swan and felt both patriotic and emotional as the sound of We'll Meet Again rang out across the auditorium.
This was a night when those present shared this musical genius's wit and wisdom, laughing as he told us that Newcastle was his favourite place in the world.
At the same time you could see many people wiping away tears as the sheer perfection of the music sometimes became too overwhelming to bear.
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