Violinist Rieu Delivers A Fun-Filled Show
Photo. . . . Jeanine Ann
Violinist Rieu delivers a fun-filled show
Andre Rieu, dapper violinist and leader of the Johann Strauss Orchestra, was in town on Monday, playing First Niagara Center. He gave us a show to remember.
This was my first time seeing Rieu live, and I will be seeing his smiling face in my dreams. Rieu had fun in Buffalo. You could tell. Buffalonians, so free of vanity, gave him plenty of opportunity for his unique vaudeville humor.
He pretends to scowl at latecomers, who are legion around here. Making my entrance the same time that he did — right on the dot at 7:30 p. m. — I had to elbow past a few people. Rieu stopped and stared. Ha, ha! At least I wasn’t carrying a beer, like a woman the video cameras zoomed in on.
“Is everyone like this in Buffalo?” Rieu asked.
From someone who had caught Rieu’s act in Toronto, I learned that in comparison this show was not extravagant. Toronto had a castle, I heard, and figure skaters. We did not. Perhaps the economy had hit Rieu, or perhaps the limited Monday audience—our crowd was only mid-sized—did not warrant all the bells and whistles.
Still, there were a lot of bells and whistles.
Backdrops were very realistic, taking us to the Tuscan countryside one minute, to an icy mountain the next, and then showing us a sky full of stars. The orchestra members, mostly women, were garbed absurdly but glamorously in gowns like those from “Gone With the Wind.”
There were three wonderful tenors, and three wonderful sopranos. A bank of female singers in the back added their own energy. Through it all, like the blue Danube itself, ran the music of Johann Strauss.
Johann Strauss! Rieu clearly loves saying his name. He introduced him many times. We heard the “Blue Danube,” and “Wiener Blut,” and, as one of the many encores, the “Radetzky March.”
Early on, Rieu played the famous “Skaters’ Waltz,” and that was when the snow fell. It came tumbling down onto the fans on the floor. Like snow, the feathery stuff fell into everything — coats, hair, purses.
At intermission, wandering the arena with snow in my hair, I was a star.
The second set, full of clowning, dragged a bit after the first. It might have been that the first set was just too good, with the snow, then another round of snow, Rieu’s wisecracks, and the tenors singing “Nessun Dorma” with Rieu conducting, clearly feeling every syllable. “Ballade pour Adeline” was a crowd-pleaser, familiar from PBS specials. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Amigos Para Siempre” brought the house down.
Still the second set had great moments. Soprano Kimmi Skota sang “Vilja” from “The Merry Widow.” It was beautiful, even amplified in the arena. Acoustics were not a problem.
“Don’t Cry for Me, Argentina” is not in the same league as that composition, but it, too, was gripping.
Modern numbers aside, this must have been something like what 19th century audiences experienced when some kind of traveling orchestra came to town. The atmosphere was endearingly informal.
A trombonist—later we saw him balancing his trombone on his head — goofed the start of “The Blue Danube,” of all pieces. Nobody cared. Rieu laughs off mistakes. It’s strictly show biz, and it’s fun. The concert ended with a reverent, very competent “Hallelujah Chorus.” It was a powerful statement.
After that, the encores never stopped. We heard the champagne scene from “La Traviata,” and an “Amazing Grace” with a man on piccolo and one of the gowned women on bagpipes. “The Stars and Stripes Forever,” with singers waving pompoms in sync. “America the Beautiful,” with Rieu playing solo violin and all of us singing. And some German number everyone seemed to know but me.
There was even a balloon drop. It was a surreal atmosphere, with Rieu playing “Tales From the Vienna Woods,” balloons popping and feathers in our hair.
“Go home! To SLEEP!” Rieu kept telling us, sternly, in that accented voice. “All good things have to end!”
Do they have to?
Posted by Moderator Jeanine Ann at November 24, 2011 
Categories: ANDRE RIEU, 2011 Concerts, AU Friendship Groups
Categories: ANDRE RIEU, 2011 Concerts, AU Friendship Groups
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS LOVELY REPORT! Seems to me you all had such fun. Love from South Africa xxxx
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I am going to his concert on 11/26 (tomorrow). He is playing on Long Island, a suburb of NY. I hope that he brings an "A" concert because we are a sophisticated lot even though we are not in New York City itself. I know what you mean when he tends to ramble on and not play. Besides Andre, I love the flute player, Teun and also that very cute violinist, Cord and Marcel is not so bad either. All in all I'm looking forward to this concert as I paid very expensively for two tickets.
So Andre, bring your "A" game and don't be too exasperated about people being late. The traffic on Long Island is truely vile and unexpected delays with accidents do happen. I live only 20 minutes away from the venue but intend to start out at 6:30pm for an 8 pm show. We don't intend to be purposefully late, stuff happens. We are not being intentionally rude as has been mentioned on your other concerts.
I love the ladies in their dresses, it adds a lot to the performance and the interaction between his musicians is another added bonus. I see that the tickets are all sold out so here's hoping that we all have a great time.
Sylvia
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Welcome to the blog Sylvia! We are so happy to see you here. I hope you will come back and tell us all about the concert and if you take any photos. We would love to hear from you again. I hope you have a wonderful time! Hugs
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