Will Hayley perform in Leipzig, Germany Dec. 18?

[gareth]

Hello all,

I just visited the José Carreras site
(http://www.jcarreras.com/) and checked José Carreras' schedule. One item listed there is:

Dec. 18, Leipzig, Germany: ARD Leukaemia Benefit Gala.

Trying to find more information on this event, I came across a German language site,
www.mdr.de/presse/mdr-im-ersten/833814.html

As most of you probably will have difficulty in understanding this German article, published on July 23, 2003, I'll give you a few highlights:

José Carreras Gala: Top meeting of stars in December

This is already the 9th year, and it has lost nothing of its initial shine and glamour: the José Carreras Gala. On the contrary. This year too, this benefit concert for people suffering from leukaemia will feature the best of the best performers. International top stars have been attracted to support Spanish star tenor Carreras in the battle against this form of blood cancer. ...

It will be on again on December 18. From 20:15, the First German Television Channel ARD will have a live broadcast of the Grand Carreras Gala....

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OK, so what has all this got to do with Hayley Westenra? Simply this: In the Christchurch Press, 12th July 2003, an article was published, called "Eye of the Storm". This article is, as far as I know, not available on line - but there is a scan at my MSN group

groups.msn.com/RussellWatsonHayleyWestenra/

Here is a quote from the article, written by Margaret Agnew: "She'll spend the rest of the year in England and already has a German concert scheduled for December 18 with José Carreras."

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Am I right therefore in concluding that Hayley will be appearing at the Leipzig Leukaemia Benefit Gala Concert hosted by JoséCarreras?
And if that is right, would there be chances she will be performing with José Carreras in other concerts around that time? Here are some dates from the José Carreras schedule from
www.jcarreras.homestead.com/CarrerasSchedule.html

November 21: Wellington, New Zealand - Michael Fowler Centre. Well, how about that? If Hayley is going to appear in concert with José, why not in her own country? There is no evidence on this point yet, so perhaps it is wishful thinking....

November 26: Pamplona, Spain (doesn't seem very likely to me at this stage Hayley will be there...)

December 3: Carnegie Hall, New York (not very likely that Hayley will appear there, as apparently current plans are she will be touring the US in 2004 - although of course she has previously appeared at Carnegie Hall with Russell Watson).

December 7: Munich, Germany, Philharmonie, Gasteig Art Center (hmm, if Hayley appears with José in one concert in Germany, why not in two?)

December 10: London, UK, Royal Albert Hall Christmas Concert (well, wouldn't that be a suitable occasion!)

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Anyway, I think the José Carreras sites should be checked regularly for news about these events. And on December 18th, my videorecorder will be ready, as I can receive the German television channel mentioned ....

Gareth

[gareth]

Hmmm,

I have been checking this event.

Last week I received a link from the José Carreras Homestead site about a German web page listing 'Pur' (German for 'Pure') as a possible participant in the Leipzig concert. The possibility was raised that the Germans had confused the album with the artist.

Unfortunately at that time, when I tried to access the site referred to in the link, I got a message that the website was being redesigned and would be unvailable for a few days. The website came back on air, and I was able to check out the link ...

It turned out the site listed 'PUR' as a confirmed participant (not 'Pur'). Now, I have recently found out that PUR is the name of a German group. I have passed on my findings to Jean Peccei, manager of the José Carreras homesite. On checking the Carreras Homestead tonight, I found that the December 18 entry has been amended to infomr us that Hayley is a possible (not a definite) participant.

I think that this accurately reflects the current status of Hayley's participation in the concert. Already in July, a Christchurch newspaper reported that Hayley would be performing in Germany with José Carreras on December 18. There appears to be no official confirmation about this at this stage - but there hasn't been an official denial either.

Needless to say, although I want to book fo the concert,I am postponing it. I don't want to go travelling for nearly 1000 km, only to find out that the performer I specificallly want to see isn't participating ! I do hope that certainty about this is being provided soon.

I have a personal interest in this matter - if at all possible, I want to attend the first concert in which Hayley participates on the European mainland. But I want to be sure that Hayley is indeed a performer in that concert .....

Gareth

[HWI]

Hi Gareth,

What a pity you hadn't posted this earlier in the day. I have just got back from Llandudno, where Hayley was appearing with Aled Jones. You posted your first message on this thread literally only about two minutes after I parted from Hayley after talking to her and Gerald, her father. Had I known then, I could perhaps have asked.

Never mind, I'm sure we will soon find out.

Cheers,
Keith.

[Belinda]

I received this answer earlier in the week by email from Gerald,
Re Concert,Germany.

No Plans for concerts in Germany/Europe at this stage
as Hayley won't be releasing in Europe until later next year.

[gareth]

Well, today it was December 18 - and I got ultimate proof that Hayley wasn't participating in Leipzig! The broadcast on German TV lasted almost 3 hours - but no sign of Hayley (how could it be, as she returned to New Zealand 3 days ago ?). Still, the show was well worth viewing. It was in aid of Leukaemia research and raised $ US 8,000,000!

Moreover, there were some very good performances, including a duet between Jose Carreras and Luciano Pavarotti, performing Adeste Fidelis (O Come All Ye faithful), as well as Ave Maria. Quite beautiful.

In between, there was also a concert by Helmut Lotti on Dutch TV, so I kept switching channels. I also managed to record a very nice duet of Danny Boy between Helmut Lotti and Sir Cliff Richard! Cliff, by the way, also performed in the Leipzig concert, with Santa's List.

I hope to make some of these performances available before Christmas, in celebration of the season!

Gareth

P.S. to the moderators - is there any way that when people reply, the full title gets included in the Re: .....

[HWI]

"P.S. to the moderators - is there any way that when people reply, the full title gets included in the Re:..."


Only by using short titles methinks.

Let me know when those performances are available, gareth. I would very much like to see them.

Keith