Rhyl Pavilion 1st March 2012

[Martin]

Hi All
One more Paradiso UK tour concert is available to book. It is at the Rhyl Pavilion on Thursday 1st March but has NOT yet been confirmed by Bandana.

Booking online is HERE

Martin

7 Sep 2011 EDIT by Dave: This concert is now confirmed by the official website.

[grant]

Thanks Martin

Just booked A19 i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gif

Best wishes
Grant

[mattmonteith]

Hi Grant,

So I'm seriously thinking about taking a trip over to the UK in the spring to see a concert and travel around a bit. Would this be a good one to go to, or will there be better venues that will be announced later on? I noticed that there are still good seats available for this concert, so I was considering it. I've never been over there, so I'm pretty unknowledgeable about such things. If this is not an appropriate thread to discuss this, if you could either point me towards the right one, or you can send me a message too. I appreciate whatever help you, or anyone else reading this, can provide.

Thanks,

Matt

[grant]

Hi Matt

Sept 4, 2011 7:18:56 GMT @mattmonteith said:

Hi Grant,

So I'm seriously thinking about taking a trip over to the UK in the spring to see a concert and travel around a bit. Would this be a good one to go to, or will there be better venues that will be announced later on? I noticed that there are still good seats available for this concert, so I was considering it. I've never been over there, so I'm pretty unknowledgeable about such things. If this is not an appropriate thread to discuss this, if you could either point me towards the right one, or you can send me a message too. I appreciate whatever help you, or anyone else reading this, can provide.

Thanks,

Matt

First, it is important to remember that this concert is as yet unconfirmed, so making travel plans at the moment would be unwise. Second; This concert and the Northampton one will be part of a concert tour so there are likely to be lots of other venues to choose from.

Having said that, a concert tour in March would give you the opportunity to see Hayley more than once should you wish to BUT bear in mind it is likely to be cold in the UK, certainly in the early part of the month.

I have never actually been to the Rhyl Pavillion, (nor Rhyl for some years either) it is a seaside town on the North Wales coast although it is likely to be quiet at that time of year. There are some beautiful parts of the country within easy reach of Rhyl, however, which can be breathtaking at any time of year.

Hope that helps.

Best wishes
Grant

[postscript]

Hi Matt, Grant and everyone.

I fully concur with Grant's post on touring UK as part and parcel of seeing a Hayley concert or two but waiting to see the whole schedule would be best to see how much you can pack in in as short a space of time as you might have. Also, do you intend hiring a car? If you feel comfortable driving on what to you will be the wrong side of the road then fine but concentrating on driving reduces the relaxed air of seeing scenery. Having said that, in a hire car you will be of course in the right position for driving which helps enormously making the change easily adaptable. I've done both. Hired in the States and driven in the wrong driving position in France and Germany by taking my own car over. There is much diverse scenery to see in this country driving between concerts and allowing time to divert.

I would suggest:
1. See her schedule when published--supposedly intended to be a planned announcement;
2. Confirm your tickets by assessing travel time between locations and where those locations are regarding what scenery to see or other locations to visit;
3. Then decide modus operandi and hotel booking. I suggest you arrange for tickets to be collected at the box office but take telephone numbers with you, then in the event of a problem they are on location for a resale.

At that time of the year you will be out of season. If happy to orientate city centre to city centre much can be done easily with a 'visitor's ticket' by rail. Being out of season especially if using public transport may be disappointing as some seaside resorts can be pretty dead end affairs at that time but with a car you can then of course explore the scenery outside of the town.

However, I have just checked and Easter is early in 2012 around 8th April--prices will rise considerably and resorts will be open early.

Hopefully helpful.

Peter S.

[Dave]

Hi everyone,

This concert is now confirmed by the official website.

Tickets as above in the thread or from Ticketline.

Cheers, Dave

[mattmonteith]

Hi Grant and Peter,

Thanks for the info! I notice that today they posted the confirmed shows, so that should give me a firmer target to shoot for.

As far as my travels go, I would most likely be doing quite a bit of sightseeing around the UK, and possibly hop over to Italy for a few days too. I've heard that traveling by rail is the way to go if going from country to country.

Still in the planning stages, but I will keep you all posted.

Matt

[postscript]

Yes, Matt.

A lot can be done by the euroexpress which links with several key hub terminii the other side of the channel. You will be venturing where I have not yet got round to venturing (at least by rail) so good luck. You won't have much chance to enjoy travelling if you try and see all her concerts so select in relation to what parts of the country you want to see but I would advise making those decision quickly an get your concerts confirmed before finalising your travel but look up the details of 'roaming tickets'. I'm already booked for Northampton but may make the last one as my other concert.

Peter S.

[Ross]

i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gif Samuel Evans, a freelance journalist, has tweeted he will be interviewing Hayley about the Rhyl Pavilion concert tomorrow. Hopefully the article will appear in his website here:-

www.sdevans.com/

[Jillian]

Hi Ross,

I saw that he's also asking for questions to put to Hayley. I submitted one or two myself, so I wonder if he will ask one of mine? I guess we'll see i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gif

@sdevans88 is his twitter name if anyone would like to send him a question

Cheers,
Jillian

[Richard]

Hello folks!

Here's a long interview from WalesOnline™:

Hayley Westenra prepares for a Welsh date

by Karen Price, Western Mail Feb 24 2012

She made her UK debut at Bryn Terfel’s Faenol Festival, now Hayley Westenra is looking forward to performing in Wales once more. The international soprano chats to Karen Price about wedding bells, Welsh cakes and singing with her heroes.



FOR almost a decade, Hayley Westenra has been the darling of the classical world. She’s topped the charts internationally, pocketed awards and performed with some of her idols – and she’s still only 24.

But while she may be renowned for her beautiful soprano voice and elegant gowns, the New Zealander is thinking of a change in direction.

“I really want to spend a decent amount of time in the recording studio this year experimenting,” she says.

So is she thinking of a move towards pop?

“I have so many ideas in my head and it’s just a matter of getting into the studio and playing around with the ideas and sounds and seeing what gels and what feels natural,” she reveals.

For the time being, Westenra is looking forward to performing her tried and tested repertoire during a short UK tour, which includes a St David’s Day date in Wales.

“It’s a small tour so it’s nice and manageable – I’m really excited about it,” says Westenra who sounds bright and breezy despite a whole day of promotional interviews.

“I’ll be performing songs from my latest album (Paradiso) live in the UK for the first time. More recently I’ve been touring with a band and a string quartet but we’re now expanding with a small orchestra so I can fully take advantage of Ennio Morricone’s beautiful arrangements.”

Morricone is, of course, the Italian film score legend who she worked with on Paradiso, which was recorded in Rome.

“It was really a dream to make the album with Ennio Morricone in his home city with an orchestra in his studio,” she says. “I was given the opportunity to step into his world for a few months. He’s such a musical legend – it was all a little bit over-whelming. We had a lot of fun and a lot of laughs.”

Westenra says she learned a lot from the man who is most famous for his scores for Spaghetti Westerns, including A Fistful Of Dollars (1964), For A Few Dollars More (1965), The Good, The Bad And The Ugly (1966) and Once Upon A Time In The West (1968).

“He really encouraged me to dig deep when it came to every song. A lot of the songs were in Italian and he explained the stories so I could perform the songs with a lot of emotion. He wanted to hear that vulnerability.”

The tour marks a return to work for Westenra following a month’s break when she returned to her home city of Christchurch in New Zealand.

She was devastated when the recent earthquakes tore through the area and says there were some aftershocks during her visit.

“We were in a shopping mall doing some Christmas shopping and it was pretty terrifying,” she says.

On a brighter note, her boyfriend of three years, French sound engineer Arnaud Sabard, took the opportunity to propose to her.

“Yes I have a sparkly ring on my finger,” she smiles. “We were in a beautiful part of the country (when he proposed). There was a sunset and pink champagne and it was very over-whelming. It’s still sinking in.”

So will there be a big wedding soon?

“I’ve no idea! We’ve not really had much time to think about it. There’s no rush.”

Westenra was just 15 when her first album, Pure, topped the classical chart. She says that it was Bryn Terfel’s Faenol Festival which launched her career in the UK.

“I remember stepping out on the stage and getting such a warm reception despite the fact people didn’t even know who I was. I’m very grateful to Bryn for inviting me to take part.”

She’s sad that the North Wales event was pulled in 2010 for financial reasons and even though it will be revived in London this year, she hopes it will eventually return to its natural home.

“It’s a great, great festival and I have faith that it will be back.”

Westenra, who has performed for the Queen, Tony Blair and Princes William and Harry among others, says the highlight of her career so far has been singing with her hero Andrea Bocelli.

“The first time I sang with him was in Christchurch so it was pretty special,” she says. “I opened a show for him and then welcomed him on stage and we sang together. I bought his album when I was 11 and it was the first album I ever bought. I remember going to the listening post in the record store and I just fell in love with his voice.”

With future performances pencilled in her diary for Beijing, Copenhagen and Guernsey, Westenra has a busy few months ahead.

But for now she’s looking forward to heading back on the road and to her St David’s Day date in Wales.

“I only discovered I would be coming to Wales on St David’s Day after the tour was planned so that will be nice,” she says.

She’s particularly looking forward to marking March 1 by tucking into her first Welsh cake.

“What are they like? I’ve never had one but I will certainly be trying one when I’m in Rhyl,” she adds, before it’s time for the busy star to rush off to her next interview.

Hayley Westenra is at Rhyl Pavilion on Thursday. The box office number is 01745 330000.

Richard

[postscript]

The Western Mail is excellent. Now we know why the new set of photographs were shot. They are projecting the grown up woman as many of us had anticipated.

Peter S.

[martindn]

Good article! Thanks for finding it Richard.

Martin D

[grant]

Hey guys

Am I the only one from HWI going to this concert???

[Paddy]

Feb 27, 2012 23:52:18 GMT grant said:

Hey guys
Am I the only one from HWI going to this concert???

Hi Grant,
Isn't it a bit early to be going?

I haven't left Ireland yet.
And then it's quite a long way from Newcastle .........

Paddy