Bournemouth - Pavilion Theatre 8 March 2012

[Jeff]

Hmmm..........Not sure about that.......I think you're right to be cautious Peter. Why would someone sell front seats at a loss IF they're genuine ?

[grant]

Hello everyone

A little bird tells me that they ran out of programmes in Manchester last night. Don't know whether or not that means allocations for later concerts will be reduced or not but maybe an idea to jump in quick if you want one! i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gif

Best wishes
Grant

[Jeff]

They ran out even at £8 a time ? Think I'd better arrive early on Thursday !

[postscript]

Mar 6, 2012 14:03:29 GMT grant said:

Hello everyone

A little bird tells me that they ran out of programmes in Manchester last night. Don't know whether or not that means allocations for later concerts will be reduced or not but maybe an idea to jump in quick if you want one! i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gif

Best wishes
Grant

That is both disturbing and exciting. Disturbing as the run-on print cost would have been small compared with a complete reprint but exciting in the sense of a greater than expected demand which may be due to the numbers lining up to meet her. She hasn't done that formally for awhile which could be how the quantities were miscalculated.

Peter S.

[martindn]

Will be setting off for Bournemouth later today. It's a couple of nights out in the camper van

Martin D

[Jeff]

On a high since I got up this morning. Although I'm on medication seeing Hayley is better than any drug and it's been 3 years since I last spoke to her. Not long to wait now ! The good news is it's a beautiful Spring day down here on the south coast but they say it could cloud over later but staying dry. Ideal for hanging about at the stage door ! See you later. (I'm sorry I won't be joining you at The Moon in the Square or Brasshouse after she arrives but I need to get back. I'm on tea duty but I'll be back hopefully in time to buy a programme ! Some of you may know I look after an 87 year old with Alzheimer's and time off is limited.)

[Richard]

Hello Jeff!

You're in for a real treat tonight. If Hayley hasn't arrived already, she's on her way:

Hayley Westenra ‏ @hayleywestenra
Thank you Southend! You were rather lovely last night.... Now en route to Bournemouth! X

Richard

[John H]

I arrived at the Pavilion at about 12.45 after a relaxing train journey and a short walk from the station. I found Martin D at the stage door and we watched a few musicians arriving.
At 1.30 a big black minibus rolled in, driven by Arnaud with Hayley sitting beside him. Hayley waved back as I waved to her.

Other Martin turned up just at the crucial moment.
A few moments chat and time for a couple of photos before Hayley disappeared inside.





Now booked in at my B&B and looking forward to a wonderful evening.

[Richard]

Thanks John!

I can see the weather is much better in Bournemouth than it was in Southend yesterday!

Here's a short article from Express.co.uk:

HAYLEY WESTENRA FINISHES HER UK TOUR TONIGHT

By Lizzie Catt with Lisa Higgins and Jack Teague



HAYLEY Westenra, who finishes her UK tour at the Pavilion Theatre in Bournemouth tonight, has performed in front of presidents, prime ministers and maestros. But while singing for her musical heroes can give her the jitters, Hayley tells us that she won’t have any nerves when she marries French sound engineer fiancé Arnaud Sabard.

The New Zealand soprano, 24, has been performing tracks from her album Paradiso, written with A Fist Full Of Dollars composer Ennio Morricone around the UK and tells us: “Generally I’m more worried about the people who have a musical ear. If I’m performing in front of prime ministers I’m figuring that their minds are on other things.

“Singing for Ennio for the first time was nerve-racking. But I don’t think I will be nervous at my wedding. We don’t know where or when it will be yet… As long as you’ve got all your friends and family together, however we do it, that’s the main thing.”

Did it really take three people to write that?

Richard

[Jeff]

Well done John on seeing Hayley as she arrived. I reached the Pavilion 2.25pm, just a couple of minutes before Grant and Gordon. Oh well, never mind ! I'll see her tonight anyway. Just 4 hours and 40 minutes to go. I'm just wondering though, Hayley arrives early in big sunglasses, so do we think that since the engagement announcement she wants to avoid attention before an event, especially as she has guaranteed signing sessions after each concert on the tour ?

[Jillian]

Mar 8, 2012 14:51:47 GMT Jeff said:

Well done John on seeing Hayley as she arrived. I reached the Pavilion 2.25pm, just a couple of minutes before Grant and Gordon. Oh well, never mind ! I'll see her tonight anyway. Just 4 hours and 40 minutes to go. I'm just wondering though, Hayley arrives early in big sunglasses, so do we think that since the engagement announcement she wants to avoid attention before an event, especially as she has guaranteed signing sessions after each concert on the tour ?

Hi!

It could also be that with the orchestra, Hayley wants or needs more time to sound check and get everything set up than is needed with a small band?

I've enjoyed all the photos and videos of the tour so far! Fabulous!

Cheers,
Jillian

[Jillian]

Hi all, this article has appeared in the Bournemouth Echo

Hayley Westenra: 'I knew I wanted to be a singer when I was six'



Wednesday 7th March 2012

THE old saying goes that our school days are the happiest of our lives. For New Zealand born Soprano singer, Hayley Westenra, they were also the start of her love of music.

The girl from Christchurch has established herself as one of the most significant and talented crossover performers currently around.

She says: “When I was six, I was chosen to be the singer in the school production of the Christmas Play. I sang the solo number Little Star.

“And that was it, I knew then that I wanted to be a singer, it felt so right and music quickly became a part of me,” laughs Westenra down the phone, as she prepares for a UK tour that includes a show at the Pavilion in Bournemouth this Thursday.

By the age of 11, a veteran of more than 40 stage performances, Westenra was expanding her musical knowledge, and admits that the first album she bought was by Andrea Bocelli – although she adds that the second one was by the Spice Girls.

It’s this appreciation of all styles of the musical spectrum that has seen Westenea become one of the most popular classical/pop crossover artists. Add to this her extraordinary self belief and you can see why the soprano singer, has never doubted her ability or talent.

“I am really a shy person, but for some reason when I start to sing, this air of confidence comes over me. My sister and I used to busk around Christchurch, and we would sell copies of my version of Walking In The Air. Music is such a part of me, it’s who I am” she explains.

Signing to the Decca Records label saw her music reach a much wider audience. Her first major album Pure, a mixture of light pop, classical and traditional songs, topped the British classical charts, even reaching number eight in the pop charts.

“The record deal took everyone by surprise, but Decca really promoted me and soon the album was selling really well. They promoted me to adults and children, I recorded the song for Mulan II, for the end credits, so my audience is quite a mixture of people, and I think the younger ones relate to me because of my age,” she says.

While the young singer likes the atmosphere of the recording studio, it’s the live situation that she feels is “magical” and with her ability to deliver stunning versions of older classical tunes alongside modern day pop tunes, her live performances are guaranteed to appeal to one and all.

www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/leisure/music/9575066.Hayley_Westenra___I_knew_I_wanted_to_be_a_singer_when_I_was_six_/

[Richard]

Hayley's latest tweet:

Veryyy tired, but very content Thank you Bournemouth, thank you everyyyone who came to the shows! Let's do it again sometime, eh? X

All together now...

YESSSSSSSSSS!!! i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gif i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gif i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gif i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gif i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gif

Richard

[Jeff]

Hayleydays - so long anticipated and yet once begun so soon over. Did last night's superb concert really happen or was it just a gorgeous dream ? Well it was nice to see some "old" faces again. I'll leave the review and detailed setlist to a better scribe than me. Frankly it doesn't matter to me what Hayley sings. Just to hear her sing anything is enough, even "Three Blind Mice" would do although she didn't sing "Happy BIrthday" to a member of the audience as they hadn't rehearsed it and it could have gone "horribly wrong !"

The Bournemouth audience were certainly enthusiastic, clapping several songs after the first few notes, even "I dreamed a dream" despite it not being a Hayleyhit (The Subo effect?) "Sonny" is always a poignant moment, made all the more so by the contrast with the usual joke about the shoes, or lack of them ! But for me the highlight was "Wuthering Heights", a song I never used to like but with Hayley giving it everything just in front of me I was completely won over. It took me back to the days of the Pure Tour in 2004 when she again waved goodbye and left the stage to thunderous applause with the band still playing the chorus.

So another unforgettable evening and probably my best Hayley concert ever, although I still cherish that Pure Tour because Sophie and Isaac were with her back then. Hayley spent over an hour with us afterwards and as she left the foyer I heard her thank the theatre staff for staying so late (without overtime pay apparently). That is the mark of the woman. After a night of triumph she thinks of others. No wonder Arnaud had the biggest smile of the evening, as well he might. A smile that befits the luckiest man in the world.

[John H]

I had forgotten quite how powerful an experience a Hayley concert can be.
It also reminded me of how it was Hayley's voice that called me back to music two and a bit years ago.