Hey everyone!

I've been to the Royal Christmas Gala with Sarah Brightman and Gregorian and decided to make a (almost two months belated) review of it. Also two days before Christmas I saw Swan Lake danced by Moscow City ballet (so not some Czech ballet, but real Russians who are the world's best ballet dancers!) so I'll write about it in the second half of this chapter for those who are interested. 

Royal Christmas Gala (trailer above):

Place: It was in Tipsport arena in Prague, which is a place where hockey matches take place most of the time. So no padded comfortable chairs, perhaps the people who had the most expensive tickets down there in front of the stage may have had them, but me and my grandma (my mum didn't want to go-her loss, but granny seems interested if it's connected to Webber...maybe it's after I told her that he wrote a song for Elvis Presley hehe) had the cheapest tickets and we were in the highest floor under the roof. When you want to go to a concert, being in my country and in middle class, you can't expect too much luxury. But we saw enough and heard everything, which is more important at a concert than the visual part anyway. 

This was our view by the way:

Yeah, no luxury, but what can you do with so expensive tickets?

Gregorian: So I don't know how many of you know about this group. The main reason I wanted to go to this Gala was, of course, mrs. Exwebber XD. I've heard about this group before and knew briefly what they do, but didn't pay any particular attention to them. It's a german vocal group which sings modern songs in the style of Gregorian chant (old pre-baroque style of singing that was used in churches). They dress as monks and add simple choreographies to their performances. And their soolist is Amelia Brightman, sister of Sarah. 

They took the first part of the concert, and were changing with the quests (Mario Frangoulis, Narcis, Elisa Sadikova, Fernando Varela- about them later) Sarah came in the second part of the Gala. They were really good, I think I'll listen to this group sometime. They were singing mostly from their new album (as they said) "Holy chants", and those little choreographies in the monk robes were just so funny and cute! During one song they all played ukuleles. It was so captivating. I absolutely loved their interactions with Amelia. They're all men so it was like a princess among knights. She even kissed each of them holding a mistletoe! So adorable. Oh, and at the beginning, one of them greeted us in Czech! "Dobrý večer, dámy a pánové." meaning "Good evening ladies and gentlemen." Sure, they probably did this in each country (I saw a clip of Sarah speaking russian), but still, it was such a highlight. 

The special guests:

It said three special guests, and yes, there were three more singers, but I think it should have said 5 or 6. Well six guests and 5 special performances. 

Mario Frangoulis:  

A musical or classical-crossover tenor. I realized I don't really like tenors in operas, those that are always "the pure heroine" is a soprano and "the brave hero" is a tenor. Unless it's a tenor that has something special in his voice, like Luciano Pavarotti, I'm not impressed. 

BUT before you start ramblimg, I said- OPERA tenors. Not musical or classical crossover. I think Mario Frangoulis made me realize it- I saw two operas last year, and I was quite bored by the tenors, but when they said that Mario Frangoulis is a tenor, I thought- "Yeah another characterless voice..." but I was quite impressed by him! He also was really humble and entertaining while he was speaking to introduce himself (compared to Fernando Varela but about that later). He began with this song: 

He then joined Sarah in the second half and sang "The Phantom of the Opera" with her. And that's the only little thing I didn't like about his performance- at the end, he instead of saying shorter phrases like "Sing my angel" or "Sing for me" as most phantoms do, he kept saying "Sing for me my angel of music!" Guys. That phrase is hella long, and it almost dissapeared in Sarah's singing. Guess he just wanted to tell Sarah that she's his Angel of music and to sing for him all at one time. Anyway, I think he's very good and deserves better recognition!

Elisa Sadikova/ Алиса Садикова : 

No, I can't write in russian, I copied it from YouTube. She's a !14! year old harp virtuoso. I feel old. LOL

This is just an illustration video, she didn't play this exact piece. It's awesome! I always wanted to play the harp, but you know what? This instrument is hella expensive, plus you need a big car to bring it to lessons and concerts with you. And the lessons are- I think- also expensive. In short, you need to be rich if you want to play this instrument. 

Narcis: 

Narcis is a 22 year old singer and pianist as I later found out. He's a countertenor (very high voice sounding almost female). Guess what his performance did to me. He's just two years older than me, singer, pianist, and has a carreer. I should dig myself six feet underground 😆 (get the reference?). He was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! 

Do I need to say more? He sang ALW's Pie Jesu with Sarah, but about it later. 

And by the way, the name Narcis - like "Narcissus"- for a countertenor... okay, I'm evil sorry. 😂

Fernando Varela:

Puerto-rican singer, perhaps classically trained, but he didn't really impressed me. Perhaps it was caused by his behaviour, when he was talking. He sang two pop songs, and then started talking. At first he said that we're wonderful audience or something like that, then said he's a big fan of Sarah Brightman and asked if there were any other fans too (I cheered, even thought I wasn't a superfan of her before this concert), and then talked about himself. That he's from Puerto Rico, and if we ever heard about it (well of course, we too have geography at school *rolls eyes*) and that it's the origin of this popular song Despawhatever, (he sang a part of the melody), and then said something like "So I'll be in front of the building to meet you and give you autographs." Like...what? Who cares about your autographs, hun? People are here to see Sarah and Gregorian! That literally ruined my view on him. If someone may not give supermegaimpressive performance, but is talented and acts HUMBLE, you can give your heart to them and become their fan. If someone gives supermegaimpressive performance but atcs like a dick, you ain't gonna ever like him. I would forgive him if he was the main act-that'd be understandable and obvious that he wants to give autographs. But he wasn't. That was Sarah and Gregorian. Also, at the end of his performance, he sang Nessun Dorma by Puccini. Good voice, pretty much classicaly trained, but what I didn't like about it was the RHYTM. You know, pop singers do with the rhytm whatever they want, but this is an operatic aria. A little rhytmic change is allowed, but NOT to sing it with pop song phrasing. He did with the rhytm whatever he wanted. 

Sarah Brightman:

Now to the part most of you will probably skip to before reading the rest. :-D Of course, she was the main act. When the first part ended, there was a twenty minutes break, and then the orchestra (Plzeň philharmonic orchestra in my country- I guess in each country it was a local orchestra that accompanied them along with the Gregorian band) played a whole bunch of famous melodies, starting with Barcarolle, and I was like "Yay! She gonna sing that with her sister!" but no, she didn't. It was just an introduction. Then Mrs Exwebber- sorry I can't help but nicknaming her that, and I DON'T mean it as an insult :-) - entered. She began with Ave Maria. Sorry but I need to put a little criticism here too. Concerning her costume during her first songs. She wore a long white robe, and had a star, halo-like behind her head, and a white veil. During this song, there were those golden ornaments you see in cathedrals behind statues of Saints projected on canvas behind her back. See where am I getting? In short, she dressed as Virgin Mary. To atheists this is no big deal and a nice costume (so in my country nobody cared when I complained about that), but to me...sorry Sarah, but that was a little too much. When I posted it on Facebook, my singing teacher replied that she likes to dress mystically, like Winter queen or vixen. Okay then, she could have dressed like an angel. An angel praising Mary. But dress as her herself? She overdid that... 

Honestly I don't remember the exact order of the songs so I'll be just writing it randomly. 

Still wearing that costume, she sang Silent Night and (something that really pleased us as Czechs) sang the most famous aria from Antonín Dvořák's opera Rusalka- Song to the moon! (orininal: Měsíčku na nebi hlubokém-  Beautiful moon on the deep sky). People started applauding during the intro already, like "Yes! Dvořák!" 😁. Honestly it didn't hit me that it's THAT aria in the first seconds (shame on me for being Czech), I was like :"Hey, that sounds like Rusalka. But no? It can't be...waiiit... she really wants to sing that? Is she serious?" And then I started clapping. But I have to admit that I'm glad she sang it in italian- "La luna". If she sang it in Czech, well... of course we appreciate when someone tries singing in Czech, it's very hard for pronunciation, but... I've heard Pretty Yende singing it. Yes, she sings beautifully, but there is THAT ONE WORD she's trying too hard to pronounce so in the end she pronounces it in MORE COMPLICATED WAY than it ACTUALLY IS. I wouldn't mind if she pronounced it incorrectly but simpler, but when she pronounces it incorrectly and MORE intricate than it is, all you can think about is... "Why does she do that? She just willingly puts obstacles in her singing." Okay, I'll stop complaining about Pretty Yende now. As I said, I'm glad Sarah sang it in italian, because that is a way easier language to pronounce. Anyway I really liked her version, so pure and "cosmic", thought of course I can't imagine her playing Rusalka because she's a classical crossover singer and not opera. By the way I'm pretty sure she put this aria on the programme because Prague was a part of the tour. *so egoistic*

Then the funniest part for me came. "Now the next song, it was written for me many years ago by a composer named Andrew Lloyd Webber." and then-yes you've guessed it- I started clapping, hoping to start an applause, but nobody joined me so I stopped like "aaaawkward". "And it's called Pie Jesu. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome... Narcis." And yes, they were amazing! I knew this song would be there already from the trailer and it was one of those I was looking forward to the most. 

Of course there were other performances that went in between her performing, but I already named all the singers and about others later. 

Mrs. Exwebber *seriously need to stop* also sang few pop songs, to name them- Arrival and I believe in Father Christmas. It took me weeks to found their names LOL.

Now to another popular song, Phantom of the Opera of course. She sang it with Mario Frangoulis as I mentioned before. Except for him saying too long lines in the end, it was amazing of course. And here comes my confusion- you know how this duet is recorded during the show because if they sang it live, their voices would be too weak for the other half of the show? That's why I'm confused. If it wasn't recorded, then ALL GLORY FOR THIS WOMAN because she sang several other songs after that. This is where I remember the order- after POTO, she said "Thank you. And ladies and gentlemen, now it's time to say goodbye."

"Nooooo."

"Ugh."

"Ach jo." (Oh no)

And you've guessed it. It was "Time to say goodbye" the SONG. Not actually saying goodbye. And now I can be finally proud because I started the applause the moment first few notes of the intro this time and people actually joined me. *so egoistic* She sang it by herself, and the English version. after that she went backstage waving at the audience even thought it wasn't the end yet. 

Katrina Lyndon and Tom Broderick: Two ballet dancers of London ballet. They performed somewhere in the middle of the second half of the show, a medley of Tchaikovsky's ballet The Nutcracker. And what I wanted to say? Well, sitting in the highest row I didn't have much view on their dancing... but THE MUSIC. If some of you saw my weird posts of three composers arguing with each other (yeah, EvitaChristine's on crack again), you may uderstand. This little dance included made the whole Gala including 2/3 of my most favorite composers (if only Gregorian sang Conguest of paradise, it would be top notch!) so it was awesome! Only I thought they could have had better costumes. It almost looked like they have arrived into the arena at the last second and couldn't get their whole costumes on. They later joined Sarah while she was singing "I believe in Father Christmas" and wore way better costumes, and I thought "Why didn't they wear this during the ballet?", but anyway, it was such a highlight! The Nutcracker just must get you into the Christmas mood. 

Grand finale: They all gathered together and sang Happy Christmas:

Is someone cutting onions here? Also during this part most people turned on the lights on their phones and started waving.... if anyone will ever see a recording of this from Prague and notice a light turning on in the half of the song to almost the last minute in the highest row of the audience, then that's me. 😅

Summary: It. Was. Awesome! Only I was little scared for my granny, because there we no elevators so to get to our seats we had to go hella long stairs up. But she was okay, and told me that she enjoyed it too. That's something to say with her bad hearing. And also I had absolutely nothing to eat with me and the only food stalls were on the ground floor, and she brought some waffers and bonbons with her. Thanks granny! 2/3 composers plus Dvořák. :D Luxury. 

Moscow City ballet: "Swan Lake" by Pyotr Ilich Tchaikovsky:

I couldn't find a proper trailer. 

Place: Prague's Congress centre (Kongresové centrum), the same place where I've seen West Side Story. We had way better view than on the musical thought. Not much people went to see this ballet, so all the seats starting above us were empty. Also it wasn't nearly as expensive as the musical so we could afford better seat.

Oh, and can you believe that there were three russian ballets last year, and ALL of them with Swan lake? Saint Petersburg, Royal Moscow and this one. I actually thought that THIS was Royal Moscow ballet at first, but then I realized they were there at the beginning of autumn. I wanted to see Royal Moscow, but in the end didn't... well this one was very nice too.
Also the Czech organizers messed up. When we were entering the Congress centre, there was a board above the entrance saying "Royal Moscow ballet". 😅 Guess they thought it's the same as me first LOL.

You know my feeling about this ballet?
Everyone else: Ohh, I wish I could be a ballerina and dance as Odette and Odille in Swan lake!
Me: Guys, I wish I could conduct it.

Yes, I'm serious. I mean, of course I wish I could dance like ballerina, because, who of us Christine or Meg wannabees doesn't? I also like doing ballet because it improves strenght and flexibility AND involves MUSIC.

But really, this music! I could stand in front of the orchestra, feeling every inch if it! It's so haunting, it's dramatic, it's joyful, it's tragic, it's pure, it's wicked, it's... Oh, Tchaikovsky! *faints*

Webber: Hey! I'm here too!
Tchaik: You enjoyed your glory in this book more than enough. I want too!
Vangelis: *sobs* No one likes me...
Me: *wakes up* You three. Outta this book!

Sorry for that. 😆 (evacuate yourselves, EvitaChristine's really on crack). Okay, now to the performance itself. Finally.

This is the most famous melody from the ballet, just for those who don't know.

The music wasn't live, it was recorded. Still, it was  (most probably) a russian orchestra, who played it the way it was written.

I have to say that one of my most favorite parts was this:

The scene accompanied by this music. You'll find several versions of it, one of them even in the Paris Opera. It was danced only by men (pages or Prince Siegfried's friends...?), all this jumps and "soldier" like poses. I also really liked their costumes. I was humming this melody all the way home, thought I have to say that it was better during the performance than the recordings I've found on YouTube. IDK, better orchestra? Also it was a bit faster. 

The dancer who played Siegfried was literally a horde of muscles. It was clearly visible that he was way stronger than all the other male dancers. What he was doing most of the time was either standing aside, watching courtiers dance, or later picking Odette and Odille up or supporting them when they were turning or jumping. However, when his solo finally came, he jumped way higher than other dancers. So good I guess.

Odette/Odille was really good as well. I remember one of her poses  (you can see it in the first video) she did that forward bend with her arms behind her and hands bended, I thought "Yeah, she really is a bird right now." Also, before the entrance of the black swan (Odille), she appeared wearing a tutu that was half black and half white. I was like "What is this..." and remembered me saying "No, there isn't any magpie in Swan lake." a while back at grammar school, and now this looked like one. My mum came with a theory that that was meant to symbolize her deceiving the prince to believe she is Odette.

Speaking of my mum, the reason I talked her into going was that when she was little, she was attending ballet lessons and once she danced Pas de Quatre (Dance of four little swans):

That was funny. When this scene was about to come, she was like "Yay, now it will be Pas de quatre!" Haha. 

About Rothbart, honestly I expected his costume would be better. But on the other hand, at least he could perform better moves. Oh I also remember, when I was at our National Theatre to see an opera for school few months ago, at the photos of various performances, the Swan Lake one had a wrong English translation. They translated it as Red Beard. Like really? National theatre and they don't have money for good translators. 

I have to say that I didn't really like the curtain call. Not all the dancers went to take the bow, only Odette, Siegfried, Rothbart, the jester, and the swans. Honestly it was unfair, there were a lot of good dancers, we recognized one with blonde hair that had several solos and danced in smaller groups as well. They could have at least let the soolists take their bow, they deserved it. 

Oh, and again, I don't have any programme. They didn't sell it! This version had the sad ending, both Odette and Siegfried died. I prefer it over the happy ending, this is the original. They say Tchaikovsky didn't leave any exact scenario for each of the melodies, so it may vary. As I said about my most favorite melody, in this version danced only men, but in the Paris one    they're joined by girls in the middle of the dance. This result in having many different versions of Swan Lake, thought the main love story always stays the same (with tragic or happy ending). Also I need to find a black and white tutu because I want to go around pretending to be the Swan Queen. 

Alright, so that's it, guys! I'm sorry it was so long, I just had a lot of thoughts. Also I'm sorry for being inactive, I hope I will write something before the next semester starts. Oh, and please feel free to correct me if you notice any grammar mistakes. I need it for school. 😂

Until next time! 

EvitaChristine

Also I made this picture... how weird is it? 😆