Royal Variety Performance 2011 - ITV1 Dec 14th

[Dave]

Dec 15, 2011 2:25:04 GMT Jillian said:

Hi Dave!

Oh I cannot wait to watch this!

Thank you so much for all your efforts with the videos and staying up late to edit and upload them! What would we do without you!?

I know how hard it is - particularly after all the dramas I had trying to edit and send you a few short videos from Hayley's Australia promo trip earlier this year!

So thanks so much, Dave! i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gif

Cheers,
Jillian

Hi Jillian,

OK, you talked me into it!

Four random screen captures and that's all, folks!









Cheers, Dave :

[Jillian]

Thanks Dave!

Wow! Looks incredible!

Cheers,
Jillian

[Ross]

i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gif i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gif i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gif Thanks Dave for the video. Hayley was in excellent voice. Great chemistry with Rolando and the high note at the end of Tonight was magic.

[stevemacdonald]

Re "Tonight":I don't think Rolando needed a microphone with all that volume he was putting out. I had a hard time hearing Hayley over him in a few spots. She was brilliant throughout her performance, just a tad drowned out.

[Joe]

Thank you very much Dave for your efforts on Wednesday! I'll have a proper go at videos after I get home after work.

Thanks Graeme for the screen caps. HRH The Princess Royal and Adm. Sir Timothy Laurence really enjoyed Hayley's singing!

Great stuff

[Simba]

All i can say is WOW! AMAZING! Almost like part of a musical, it was absolutely stunning, and i was specifically gonna mention Hayley's dash to the balcony but dave already did, that was amazing. I saw Leona's video too, and lemme tell y'all something, only hayley can walk so amazingly in long gowns like that XD.....she was absolutely gorgeous, and that full gown for the national anthem was a dream too! 3 songs in the RVP! That's like amazing! And the start of Tonight the moment she stepped on the balcony was amazing!, every part of the performance was amazing! (except for Rolando's voice being a little loud at places XD), this has to be the best performance of Whispers in a dream too! It was all so amazing, as she stepped on the mini balcony, the backdrop changed and all of it XD....the mirror effect, the ppl doing her hair, wow just wow.

[Libby]

Thanks, Graeme, for the stills of Hayley and Princess Anne's exchange. Princess Anne's face looks so sweet and kind, you can tell she really appreciated Hayley. The Queen must have the whole family liking her now! How many royals is that now for Hayley? Is there a record for how many members of the Royal family a person has performed for? Is there anybody who has performed for more of them than Hayley?

As for the performances... Whispers in a Dream was too short for me. The part at the beginning with the ladies around her in bright-colored outfits, looking at her in such artificial wonder... it was a bit silly and didn't fit at all with the song. Hayley seemed a little soft and shaky at the beginning. Like she was nervous or a little stressed out from all the troubles they were having during the filming of the show. So, none of any of that was her fault, but I would not call it her best performance of the song overall, especially since it was truncated.

I watched twice, and I could not see Hayley dashing at all. I saw her starting to turn, but then the camera moved away from her, and I didn't see her again until she was walking... not dashing, walking, behind the stairs. She seemed quite calm on the way up, too. I must say, I was rather disappointed that I didn't see her dash. i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gif I don't understand how you all saw it, but I missed it.

Tonight was really good, especially at the beginning, I thought. But half the time Rolando looked like he was going to take a bite out of her, the way he kept moving his head. LOL He was really over-doing the drama. And, yes, he also drowned her out quite a bit. I could hear her if I really concentrated on her, but there was one high note that I really wanted to hear, but it was completely over-powered by Rolando. Sorry, I don't mean to sound mean to Rolando; he has a really powerful operatic voice, and that's nice, but it did not work so well with Hayley, in my opinion. I also thought at the end Hayley's effort to compete with Rolando really showed, and her acting began to look more strained and false, but she was doing the best she could, so I don't blame Hayley at all for any of what I just said.
Now I know some of you have claimed that Josh Groban would drown her out, too, when I used to say how I wanted him to sing with her (and I still do). But Josh Groban's voice isn't quite that loud. It's powerful, yes, but his tone is gentler and not as harsh-sounding. And since he's not really an opera singer, he doesn't sound loud and powerful in every single note. And with Hayley's voice more powerful than it used to be, I'm sure she could compete very well with Josh's voice. If she could manage with Rhydian, Chase, and Jonathan A (whose tone is harsh like Rolando's, but pales in comparison), then she could manage just fine with Josh.

[postscript]

Dec 15, 2011 2:46:24 GMT Jillian said:

Dec 14, 2011 22:56:55 GMT postscript said:

Take your time Dave.

You have a very good point on many thinking the actress was Hayley who know her less well than we do and it was clearly intended from the dramatic point of view that this should be so. One therefore ponders, especially with the caption you hihglighted, why on earth wasn't Hayley doing it?

Peter S.

Hi Postscript!

I think they didn't use Hayley because it would have taken too long to get her out of the costume and into her ball gown... as well as redo her hair! It was probably just a timing issue.

Cheers,
Jillian

That's a very good point, Jillian. I hadn't thought of something so simple as basic logistics.

Peter S.

[Richard]

Thanks for the superb videos, Dave!

Hayley's rendition of "God Save The Queen" was the best ever, and I really enjoyed her performance with Rolando too.

I've posted both videos on our Facebook page, together with a link to Graeme's screenshots.

Richard

[Simba]

Libby:Well the few seconds of the turn shows you that it takes an effort to move with that dress and the tallest pointed heels I've ever seen, plus as she's going behind the stairs, it's still dashing for that dress, and the turn before she climbs the stairs has her gown sway to the opposite side which shows she's again taking a lot of effort to move, and the climbing itself seems a little dashed, considering those pointed heels, well she did it perfectly so glad she managed it. It's really awesome coz everyone did their part well, I mean moving the stairs and all that, Hayley the most, I mean the music before she should sing starts while she's walking itself, so by the time she steps on the balcony she has to hit her first note, that was really perfect timing!

And I actually liked all the artificial drama it was cool XD.....and plus Hayley's voice could compete with any voice really, it's just the loudness XD....(as U said), and I always thought Andrea's voice went best with Hayley's

[postscript]

Dave, I don't in any way wish to disagree with you as you have performed as sterling an effort in your own way as Hayley did in hers but are you sure there wasn't a post edit for broadcast?

Apart from the "Singing in the Rain" set, Hayley's set was the most technically complicated part of the show and we know they had horrendous technical problems, causing the actual performance sat through by the audience to go on for over 4 hours.

I suppose, on reflection, it was designed to be that speedy so arguably you are quite right, it was indeed that speedy. So, was it discussed with Hayley? Probably they had a girl in similar outfit to try it out before commitment and simply said to Hayley, "Sorry girl, it's down to you." Save to Hayley they would have actually said "Miss Westenra, please!"

This reminds me of "Hayley Live in New Zealand" when Sophie comes in on one level and you think it is Hayley and then Hayley comes on behind Sophie and you realise what has happened.

By the by. Regarding the singing, this highlights that there is a completely different technique in voice projection between singing into a microphone and singing across an orchestra to an audience unamplified.

There could be several reasons for the imbalance. First one thinks of the sound engineer but to alter on the night on a show of such standard and audience rating is a very dangerous thing to do. Arguably Rolando could be expected to extend the courtesy to adapt to Hayley as others have done in the past and maybe at rehearsal it was perfectly balanced but on the night, Rolando simply lost himself in the performance.

Any thoughts, Dave? Thanks or all the hard work and dedication.

Yet on reviewing several times I'm not sure there is any ground for criticism. Allowing for the 'natural' imbalance of voices of 'boy girl' relationships I generally conclude the collective whole is an actually superb presentation and yes, you do see the shadow of the stand-in pass off-stage in the background as Hayley herself comes on in the foreground. That actress performed very well and was most convincing in her facial expressions. A classic 'silent film' technique.

Peter S.

[Dori]

Thanks guys, can't wait for it to broadcast in NZ! Does anybody know when??

Dori

[comet]

For our younger members who may not be familiar with Smile

Look up Charlie Chaplin and Smile on You Tube

I would imagine as Hayley and Rolando got closer in the Tonight scene,
that the voices would start to pick up in each others microphones.


Edit: I moved Peter's off-topic reply to The Chat Thread - Richard

[Jillian]

WOW!!

I was so impressed by the staging of that performance! My favourite was the duet! I really think that Rolando brought out the best in Hayley. Especially with that last note of Tonight! I think having Rolando up there really brought out Hayley's confidence to go for it in a way that she usually doesn't in solo performances.

And what about Rolando's voice. Can't believe people on Twitter were saying that he was miming! I guess people aren't used to hearing such an incredible voice that they try to explain it away!

Cheers,
Jillian

[comet]

Dec 15, 2011 7:53:23 GMT Libby said:

Tonight was really good, especially at the beginning, I thought. But half the time Rolando looked like he was going to take a bite out of her, the way he kept moving his head.

Thanks for the laugh Libby.

Who could blame him, she looks good enough to eat