There was appropriate applause when the evening's black-clad headliner sat down at the piano - and I just love that she delivered an entrance with style. I've seen David Bowie open a concert by playing "Warsaw" for an audience sitting in religiously devout silence, and I've seen Jean Michel Jarre go on stage for a half million people in sync with the airplanes passing over the Eiffel Tower - impressive entrances in a different way. Galas went to the task in shall we say, a more traditional form, but equally impressive, not just because she sang opera Semitic in a shockingly beautiful way and played elegantly on her keyboard, no, she also played directly with major emotions, and it was hard not to feel chills during this introduction.
In an article recently here in GAFFA, Martin Hall recently compared Galas with the legendary opera star Maria Callas, and you would sit out there with certain amazement, and this entrance in the Marble Church probably helped. The overall assessment is that I actually think she peaked at the start, but when you open in such a way, then the battle is already half won!
Since there were no frivolities that followed, no one was in doubt that here was an artist who was truly unique. Galas' distinctive vocal talents sounded perfect for the marble dome, and both voice and piano sounded excellent throughout the concert. There was certainly nothing wrong with the sound. The lighting was generally working fine too, it seemed to be both understated and dramatic at the same time, although there was no shortage of moving lights, lasers, pyrotechnics, and changing bright colors which closed the scene in striking blue, red or green shades. From time to time Galas threw long shadows on the church wall. With her grave voice and Gothic appearance taken into account, it was hard not to give the classic staircase scene from Murnaus masterpiece "Nosferatu" a kind thought.
Galas being in the classic Gothic atmosphere led us on a journey through a dark and romantic musical landscape filled with bare, gnarled trees during a cold, starry sky. As a loved one, as well as deceased sister, buried prematurely in the basement, she sat like a black shadow over her piano, her pale hands like spiders on the keyboard. It is not surprising that it is often Galas' vocal work that primarily attracts attention, but one should not forget that during the best passages she can go so far with her piano playing that at certain times even within the framework of the same number, can pass both a bit Arnold Schoenberg and Fats Waller, Thelonius Monk and Philip Glass, and it's all filtered through a dark and distinctly romantic approach.
It may seem obvious and in some cases also fair enough to compare Galas with other music's great contemporary women such as Kate Bush, Laurie Anderson and Björk, but perhaps vocally the greatest similarity is with Marianne Faithfull, though once again this is only a small comparison that holds a piece of the road. Add to this an amount of classical opera, a strong influence from Greek and Middle Eastern vocal technique, a pinch of punk and a little bit of the madness that is also true of the vocal work of The Residents, and then you are getting close. But even then, Galas is unique in her vocal work.
A hearty applause thanked Galas and also both sound and lighting technicians, as well as Art Freqs (and Sort Sol) Lars Top-Galia - it may well be that the lady is a diva, but she does it in style.
Reviewed by Ras Bolding (translation by Cara Correnti)