The Sydney Concerts

Nana was rewarded with one of her dearest wishes and that was to return to one of the great houses of the world, the Sydney Opera House where she has appeared before but not for many years. It is certainly one of the most impressive pieces of architecture anywhere and it sits so prominently close to the Sydney harbour bridge with magnificent views across the water. This was Nana's weekend and she did not disappoint, each of the concerts was a delight and well received, especially the matinee which was sold out to a very appreciative and lively audience. Nana sang a similar program to the New Zealand concerts ending the first half with another beautiful rendition of "Le ciel est Noir". She had previously sung the Australian signature tune of Banjo Paterson's "Waltzing Matilda" during the tour of 2001 and sang it again at this concert very nicely but unfortunately Nana did not sing it in the evening.

The evening concerts were played out to almost capacity houses, in fact if the second evening concert had not been held, many would have been disappointed at missing out. The second evening for me was more emotional as near the end Nana sang "Hartino To Fengaraki", I felt that this was a very special tribute to the composers and sung at that moment to commemorate her appearance at the Opera House, as a personal memory perhaps. For whatever the reason Nana chose to sing this beautiful song just then, it was delivered with such beauty and perfection that for me time stood still and it could have been the first time Nana has sung it. So appropriate for this last occasion at the Opera House.

The Twin Towns Concert

Such a contrast to Sydney in it's venue, this concert in Queensland was held at the Twin Towns Services Club which is situated on the state border between Queensland and New South Wales. It is a holiday area on the coast and the Club is adjacent to the Twin Towns resort hotel so a relaxed and laid back environment. The club has hosted many visiting entertainers from all parts of the universe and boasts a theatre with excellent facilities and acoustics. And so it was in this setting a few steps from the white sands of the Gold Coast beaches that Nana appeared before another capacity house. For this evening in the second half Nana wore a glorious ensemble of tropical colours which matched the colours of Queensland. This was a very happy night and the audience was enthusiastic and upbeat. They were not slow in calling out their requests.

The concert seemed to go so fast, it moved along at a fast pace and was over too soon although it ran over time. Or maybe it was because I was near the front and we were drawn into every song and clapped out every beat that we did not notice the time. The friendly Queenslanders gave Nana a standing ovation and she returned for at least three encores. It has to be said that at every concert I attended the audience would have kept her on stage all night but alas they eventually had to let her go.

The Toowoomba Concert

To me, this concert was very special for a number of reasons. It was in a smaller city of 86,000 people and Toowoomba is a very pretty city with gorgeous gardens. The theatre was quite lovely, it was an older art deco style building and the acoustics and view to the stage were superb. The people were friendly and many had travelled long distances from outlying farming areas to be there. Nana was in top form from the start, there was a wonderful rapport with the audience and a real connection. At one point someone called out "White rose of Athens" and Nana said, «We have already done that one, did you not notice? Okay, we'll do it again!». And they did and Nana had the ladies singing and then the men but seemed only one man, so she said to him, «Bravo!», looked around and said «Anyone else?». It was very amusing and a lot of fun.

And then she said that there was one song that she had always wanted to sing but did not feel before that the time was right but that she was now going to sing it tonight and we were thrilled to hear her sing "My Way" for the first time. It was a lovely way to finish the east coast part of the tour and I enjoyed every minute of it, all the concerts, the memories each one has left me with, the joy of seeing and hearing Nana in concert again, sharing them with such lovely people, the new friends made and happy times shared. As one lady said on her way from the theatre in Toowoomba, «Oohhh!!!, It was soooo beautiful!!!» I couldn't have put it better. Nana, your visit to us the last month was beautiful and you are so beautiful. You turned on the sun for us and made us very happy. We cherish your music and we love you.

From a New Zealander friend