A rich musical agenda coming up in September
August might appear rather lacking in concerts by foreign artists, especially when compared to June and July where the choices seemed endless. September, however, looks very promising. Autumn will kick in strongly with the female voices of Sarah Brightman, Christina Branco and Milva stealing the show away from the men, namely Ian Anderson and the Tiger Lillies. British vocalist Brightman will visit Greece for the first time for two concerts, on September 3 and 4, at Athens’s open-air Lycabettus Theater. The concerts will kick off the European leg of her «Harem» world tour, which promotes her latest album by the same name. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s muse, who has a striking stage presence in both singing and dancing, will perform older hits of hers, but mostly songs from her latest work, an approach to Eastern music. Thirty-two-year-old Branco, who has been described as one of the successors of Amalia Rodriguez (Portuguese fado’s leading lady and one of the greatest female voices of the 20th century) will play the Lycabettus Theater on September 15. Branco not only has an amazing voice, but also the ability to convey the sweet sadness of fados, which she enriches with contemporary elements. One of her most indicative albums is «Sensus,» in which she sings traditional Portuguese poems that have been dressed in jazz, Brazilian and Portuguese beats. She will not perform alone in Athens: Her concert will be dedicated to Rodriguez, one of whose records made her fall in love with fados when she was a little girl. Along with Joana Amendoeira, Alexandra and Celeste Rodriguez, Amalia’s sister, they will present extracts from the great interpreter’s career. Sixty-five-year-old Milva, a diva of Italian music who has received numerous awards, will also perform at the Lycabettus Theater on September 11. Joined by the Tangoseis group, she will perform the «El Tango de Astor Piazzolla» program, consisting of highlights by the king of tango. Just a day earlier, on September 10, Ian Anderson, legendary frontman and composer of Jethro Tull, will visit the Lycabettus Theater and will present his new instrumental project for the first time in Greece. On September 11, he will perform at Thessaloniki’s Gis Theater. He will be accompanied in both concerts by the Thessaloniki Municipality Symphony Orchestra, conducted by John O’Hara. The Tiger Lillies, whom we enjoyed on two previous visits to Greece, will once more blend punk aesthetics, a circus-like atmosphere, theater of the absurd and cabaret in three shows at Thessaloniki’s Lazariston Monastery, on September 17, 18 and 19, where they will present «Circus.» In their appearance at Athens’s Lycabettus Theater on September 21, they will only sing; there will be no dancers or jugglers.
