Hayley
at Hampton Court
Yesterday
evening I went to the Hampton Court Palace Festival
to see Hayley in concert with Jose Carreras and
the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and I met up
with several other members of HWI.
The
British weather was as unpredictable as ever, and
the morning was wet and windy. Happily it was warm
and sunny when Hayley arrived with her manager
Steve Abbott, just before 5pm. They were welcomed
by Keith, Roger and myself, but Hayley told us
she had picked up a chest infection since she returned
from her tour of Japan last week, so she didn't
want to talk too much to save her voice. A few
minutes later Lothar arrived from Berlin, and Emmett
from Dublin. Eventually Dave appeared , then we
all went into Base Court where we met Paul.
The
first half of the concert featured Jose Carreras
singing some of his famous songs and arias, together
with a couple of orchestral pieces. After about
45 minutes there was an interval of 75 minutes,
so we all went out into the gardens and took pictures
of each other, and the lenses survived!
It
was nearly dark after the interval, and Hayley
opened the second half by singing "Pokarekare
Ana"
completely unaccompanied, to everybody's surprise.
She then sang "May It Be" from Lord of
the Rings, followed by "In Trutina"
from Carmina Burana. She completed her solo spot
with "Ave Maria"
by Caccini, and said it will be on her new album
due for release in the autumn. Jose Carreras returned
to sing two more songs, then Hayley joined him to
sing a duet of "All I Ask Of You" from
Phantom of the Opera, and their voices blended perfectly.
The orchestra then played a lively polka by Josef
Strauss before Jose returned to sing the last two
songs in the published programme.
Then
came four encores. Jose sang two songs, then Hayley
joined him again and they repeated the duet of "All
I Ask Of You". It sounded even better the
second time, and the 2,700-strong crowd gave them
both a standing ovation. Jose then sang one more
song and the concert ended just after 11pm.
Hayley
sang with her usual purity and perfection, and
nobody would have guessed that she had a bad chest.
She wore a glittering light grey dress that really
sparkled in the spotlights. Her shoulders were
bare, but there was only a gentle breeze blowing
across the stage and it wasn't too cold.
Base
Court was a truly magnificent setting for such
a wonderful concert, especially after dark when
the famous Hampton Court chimneys were bathed in
red floodlighting. I was sitting in one of the
cheaper seats, but I was in the front row at the
left hand side of the stage, with a marvellous
view of Hayley and Jose. Much better than many
of the seats costing nearly twice as much!
Roger
and Lothar had to dash off after the concert to
catch a train, but the rest of us stayed behind
for about half an hour to meet Hayley. Keith presented
Hayley with a copy of the DVD that Kirsty recorded
of her performance at Olympia in March. We all
had a nice little chat with Hayley and she thanked
us for our support, then we kissed her goodnight
and went our separate ways.
Talking
to Steve during the evening, we now know that Hayley's
new album is going to be titled "Odyssey",
to reflect the fabulous journey that her career
has taken her on during the last couple of years.
It was also announced in the programme that Hayley
is soon to have a starring role in a major West
End musical, and there will be an official announcement
later this year.
Now
I'm really looking forward to Hayley's new album
in the autumn, and I hope to see everybody again
soon.
Richard
Norrington
16th June 2005
