Conductor: John Mario Di Costanza
Orchestra: Local Musicians (Pickup)
Fox Theatre set list:
1. Orchestra: Cavalleria Rusticana
2. When You Wish Upon A Star
3. Some Enchanted Evening
4. Ombra Mai Fu
5. Orchestra: Pirates Of The Caribbean
6. What A Wonderful World
7. Angel
8. The Lords Prayer
Intermission
9. Lovers
10. My Heart Will Go On
11. Imaginer
12. Orchestra: Theme From Jurassic Park
13. Can You Feel The Love Tonight
14. Impossible Dream
15. Encore 1: O Mio Babbino Caro
16. Encore 2: Music Of The Night
From Sandra over on the new JEFC:
"The hour is late (or early) and I am just now getting to bed. What a day! What a night! Our little girl with the big voice is now a poised, sophisticated soprano that can hold her own with any soprano alive in my opinion.
I last heard Jackie in concert in November, 2013. In the intervening months she has continued to mature vocally and in her stage presence and persona. Jackie has increased vocal power and richness of tone. She appeared fully in control of her instrument tonight pulling and pushing musical phrases like warm carmel toffee. Frequent gracious smiles directed at audience members expressed gratitude for the applause and cheers. As the concert unfolded, the slightly more reserved Jackie seemed to settle into a Jackie more at ease with herself and the audience, perhaps finding her "stage legs" again after a brief hiatus from performing in concert.
I loved every single song. I continue to marvel at how Jackie transforms everything she sings into a masterpiece. This is not coming from a crazed fan but from someone who can be mighty picky where quality of vocal performance is concerned. I recognized the absolutely gorgeous timbre of her voice with a slightly warmer quality than characterized her singing over the past couple years. I thrilled to the reverberation of sound in the theater amplifying the resonance of her highest notes. Truly this majestic Fox Theatre, the crown jewel of Detroit, was a most fitting venue for the golden voice of Jacqueline Marie Evancho.
Was Jackie's performance perfect? No. She is human after all. Her diction could have been more crisp. Someone who was not familiar with the songs would not have understood some of the words. However, if I had to chose between vocal beauty and perfect diction I would cast my lot for the beauty of her voice hands down! There may have been a couple of extended notes where her pitch was ever so slightly flat, and I mean SLIGHTLY, but Jackie corrected this in a matter of seconds. The balance between Jackie and the orchestra was off on one of the numbers only. I believe it was on "Music of the Night", though to be fair I am not positive that was the piece where this was the case.
In short, I do believe ANY music critic would have to beat the bushes pretty hard to find fault with tonight's performance. But, they say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and as a Jackie fan, I certainly cannot claim full objectivity. I am certian there are jaundiced reviewers out there that would find other failings, but I really do think it would be a scramble for them to do so.
Jackie did us proud tonight. Her spontaneous reactions to the cheers and the "I love you Jackie!" tell me she still loves her fans and connects with her audience just as she always has. We are not going anywhere soon dear Jackie. Please come back and sing to Detroit again"
From hiturbine over on the new JEFC:"Jackie, as she surveys her realm, having the look of one who commands respect; who knows what she is about, and whose very certain presence dominates the stage completely ... Jackie Evancho is the consummate professional - and she is only 14! Let the totality of that statement sink in for a moment.
Visually stunning, vocally jaw-dropping, emotionally incomprehensible ... To experience Jackie Evancho, live and up close, is to experience nirvana ... And even while she commands the full attention of all mortal beings by her mere presence upon the stage, yet she does not realize the impact her "totality" makes upon souls!"
From Thomas Paulson over on Jackie's Facebook page:
Just got home from Jackie's concert at the Fox Theater in Detroit. To say Jackie was terrific would be an understatement. The tough Detroit crowd took a couple of songs to warm up, but once they did, it was like they were cheering the Red Wings in the playoffs. Jackie started out wearing a deep red gown that just glowed. She then changed into a white gown with sequins that looked as though it was electrified. The crowd gave some oohs and ahhs over that. She sang a lot of her standards, and her "last" song was Impossible Dream which she dedicated to her Mom. After that, some people got up to leave and I told them "she's not done yet". She reappeared and did an encore of O Mio Babino Caro. People started to leave again and I said to a few, "She didn't do Music of the Night yet". A few moments she reappeared and did just that. Jackie is going to have a long, magical career. I envy all of you who are going to be around long enough to witness it.
From Pilon Daniels over on Jackie's Facebook page:I was so happy to attend Jackie's concert at the Fox Theatre last night!! I really wanted to hear if she would sound like her CD's. I was not disappointed. Her voice is golden and angelic. I could not believe what was coming out of this 13 year old professional vocalist. Hearing Jackie in a live performance is worth it! She looked beautiful in her red dress with sequins and then a light pink princess looking dress with a sparkle. She sung all my favorites: imagineer, Music of the Night, When you wish upon a star, The Lord's Prayer(beautiful), Impossible Dream, What a Wonderful World and Angel just to name a few. My personal favorite was Imagineer! Additionally, our DSO was excellent and I met a wonderful couple that I had the pleasure of sharing the concert with as well. Thank you Jackie for finally coming to Detroit!
From Rick Olsen over on Amazon: It's a good thing I left for the concert an hour and a half early. There was road construction on I96 and traffic was detoured south to I94. I've never gone into Detroit that way before and there were no signs for Comerica Park. There was a cop sitting in the median watching for speeders so I pulled in and asked him for directions. His directions were perfect and I got to the Fox in fifteen minutes.
Fan Gathering: We had over 50 people for the fan gathering. The restaurant was kind of a sports bar and loud. The food and service were good. We played Jackie music while we ate. We had good conversation and enjoyed each other's company. I met a few people I have known, or known of, for three years. I sat with Sandra Festian and Pastor Jack (pjtowncrier) and Agog (Paul) came over and sat with us for awhile. I met Cynthia Moser and her mother who is 99. Everyone was so nice and friendly to me. We all had a great time. Oh, our group was alone in the upstairs dining room so we didn't bother any other patrons and they didn't bother us. Oh, they wanted me to say a few words, but I'm not good for that, so I got Sandra to do it. Then Pastor Jack said a nice prayer before we ate. It was great to be there.
The Concert: PJ sat next to me. We got there early so I listened to the orchestra warm up. From my seat I could see in the wings backstage. I saw Jackie's manager, and Jackie, and Lisa backstage. Before she came on Lisa gave Jackie a big long hug. Then the concert started.
The set list has been posted so I'll just say that the orchestra played a piece. Then Jackie came out wearing a beautiful red dress. It was form fitting and had a design down the right side of it that looked like diamonds to me. She was radiant. The first song she sang was When You Wish Upon A Star. Then she told us she was singing songs from SFTSS and DWM. Maybe she didn't want us to expect something new.
Jackie's voice was glorious. Her voice was so powerful that the sound system had a hard time handling her highs. Her lows were full and rich and smooth. Jackie had a good orchestra behind her and together with her beautiful voice the result was perfection. I've never heard her sound so good. Some singers sound better in the studio than they do live. Jackie doesn't have this handicap. She was breathtaking all the way through.
After intermission Jackie came out wearing a peach colored sequined gown. With both dresses she was wearing two inch heels. Her first song was Lovers and it was unreal. I wanted to hear Jackie sing three songs last night. Lovers, Imaginer, and Impossible Dream. She sang all three of these plus she sang all three verses of Angel. I was beside myself.
Jackie didn't talk much, but she did dedicate three songs. She dedicated What A Wonderful World to Mike. She dedicated Impossible Dream to Lisa. She dedicated My Heart Will Go On to her fans because she said this is how she loves her fans. Jackie said Music Of the Night is her favorite song to sing and it was the last song she sang. Jackie got two rousing extended Standing Ovations after both encores. We clapped and howled forever. People yelled out, "We love you Jackie!" and we all did and do love her. She didn't come out after the second encore and the concert was over much too soon.
I gave one of my Jackie buttons to Guest Services and they took it back to Jackie. I hope she got it. Every fan needs to see and hear Jackie live. There is no substitute for the live experience. It was perfect!
From Bowser over on Amazon: Wow, last night I finally got to see Jackie in person! That's after four years of watching her on TV through PBS specials (DWMIC & SOTSS), and buying all of her DVDs and CDs. I have to say I was a bit wide-eyed, like a boy at his first major league ball game, which is appropriate since Comerica Park, where the Detroit Tigers play their home games, is right across the street from the venerable, beautifully restored, and very ornate Fox Theater.
Needless to say, I was excited about seeing a performer whom I had always worshipped from afar, and Jackie was in fine fettle. True, the crowd - though decent - was a bit disappointing, but Jackie gave it her all, the same as she would have, had they been hanging from the rafters (chandelier in this case).
Although she performed admirably, I thought she did the best job on "Imaginer", which was even better (with the vocal maturity that comes with age) than she had in Sarasota at the Ringling concert. I think she's worked some on her French, because the pronunciations were much improved over Sarasota (one would expect that since three years have passed). A few of the songs, however were not as good, primarily because she lacked the supporting cast of the Great Performances TV special. For instance, the Asian drummers and instruments used in "Lovers" added greatly to the DWM concert, as did the chorus which backed her then on numbers like "The Lord's Prayer". I fully understand that they can't afford to bring an entire chorus and a retinue of Asian drummers to every concert. Regardless, she sang beautifully, and I was pleasantly surprised by "Angel", which - like "Imaginer" - she knocked out of the park (It's not normally one of my favorites because of the dark theme).
Jackie looked stunning in her outfits, and brought "Oohs" and "Ahs" from the audience when she returned to the stage after one instrumental number wearing a stunning gown with sequins (or something that sparkled like diamonds) all over it. As others have mentioned in this forum, the fact that Jackie has both an incredible voice (wanted to say "angelic" but perhaps it has become hackneyed over time) and is beautiful to look at certainly will not hurt her career. Her physical beauty is like frosting on the cake! Janice Ian (her hit way back when was "At Seventeen) she is not.
Regarding others' comments about JE needing to add banter to her performance in between her numbers...To an extent it's a valid point, but really, her singing voice sells itself. She did talk somewhat, such as her remarks before "My Heart Will Go On" (theme song from "Titanic") in which she said it's about a love that lasts forever, such as her love for her fans, to whom she then dedicated the number, to much applause. She mentioned that "What a Wonderful World" was her father's favorite (as she did on SOTSS) and joked that he always "teared up" when he heard it, and she found that cute and amusing, which elicited chuckles from the audience. Before "The Impossible Dream" encore she mentioned her mother accompanying her to the concert (as Lisa always does) and said, "I love you mom." Gotta admit that made me tear up, as it did many in the partisan audience.
That said, I attended the Fleetwood Mac concert a few years ago at the Palace of Auburn Hills in suburban Detroit, and the main players (Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham, Mick Fleetwood) did very little talking between numbers - just a little light-hearted banter. They let their music sell itself.
When I saw Cecilia Bartoli perform at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor several years ago, she talked very little. Perhaps it was partly the language barrier, but she obviously can, and did, speak in English. Nonetheless, in Jackie's case it would be nice to hear more about the Evancho family dynamics between songs, such as what she had mentioned in a previous interview about the family typically singing songs while riding in the car. She could talk about what Jacob - who, like Jackie, could have a future career as a singer - is doing these days, as well as her other siblings. She could talk about her animal pets (which evoked audience laughter when she mentioned it on the Jay Leno "Tonight Show" a few years ago). She could talk about her work with Mission: Humane, which encourages children to protect animals (especially Harp Seal pups!). Perhaps this will all come in time as she matures.
I also think to an extent Jackie is a prisoner of her own image, which is of a very unassuming, humble person not affected in the least by her fame - sort of an anti-diva. Really, there would be nothing wrong with her being a little more brassy and self-confident-acting on stage, something which her audiences would embrace. After all, they are her biggest fans. Jackie need not worry; she has a lot of room to go before she would ever be considered a diva!
Her most "operatic" numbers were "O Mio Babino Caro" and "Ombra Mai Fu", both of which she performed flawlessly. I would have preferred more arias, such as "Nessun Dorma", because I think she has a voice which is best suited to arias and other music with the deepest emotional impact, but such was not to be the case. Regardless, it was a nice mixture of songs from her DWMIC and SOTSS shows/DVDs. Reportedly, she is working on her new CD, and perhaps when that comes out, she will add some of those numbers to her repertoire. All in all, it was an "enchanted evening" (not intended as a pun, although she did sing that number)! Jackie, we love you!!!
From varnk over on Proboards:
http://jackieevanchoadmirer.wordpress.com/2014/04/17/my-jackie-concert-experience-at-detroit/
Home
Log in
