Its participants were friends of the popular Latvian singer Laima Vaikule from different countries, including Russia and Ukraine.
Throughout all four days of the concert programme in Jurmala, the reigning atmosphere was that of a real holiday, beauty, friendship and a unity of peoples. This mission was undertaken by Laima Vaikule, who declared at a press conference, “We are artists and musicians, and our business is to unite people.”
For the first time, Laima Vaikule’s “Rendez-vous” Festival was held last year. The programme of the first festival was scheduled for two days. And at that time the long cherished dream was expressed of making this festival an annual event, which, according to Laima, had to unite remarkable performers of popular music from different countries on one stage.
Member of the Council of Rietumu Bank Alexander Gafin noted, “In spite of the fact that a cooling is currently felt in interstate relations, we are very much pleased that our ties in cultural and human areas remain strong. And it is possible, including, due to such bright and fully-fledged projects as the implemented idea of Laima Vaikule. The festival has won the sincere love of Jurmala residents and guests of this Baltic resort, having become one of the most important events that have organically fit into the life of the Dzintari Concert Hall. Its TV auditory was really huge, engaging people worldwide. It has become another factor evidencing the availability of a friendly atmosphere in Latvia and contributing, among other things, to the development of international businesses.”
In the opinion of many spectators and guests, Laima Vaikule’s “Rendez-vous” Festival can be rightly called the key musical event of this summer season. In her interview to one of the Latvian TV channels, the opera diva Hibla Gerzmava said how musical the Latvian language turned out to be, expressing hope that next year, in a duet with Laima, she would sing a song in Latvian.
Musical duets turned out to be original, and the performed compositions were meticulously selected for each artist individually. Unusual performances were prepared for guests of Jurmala and spectators, for instance, in a duet with the Latvian group Musiqq, Laima performed a rap, for the first time trying out the role of a hip-hop artist. The programme of the festival has become a challenge not only for many of the invited participants, but also for Laima, who has changed a number of artistic images during these four days. The high professionalism of Latvian performers has also been demonstrated at the concerts – they had very worthy performances jointly and on the same stage with international stars.
The distinguishing feature and visiting card of the festival was the live sound and own orchestra, consisting of more than twenty professional musicians. Separate orchestra compositions were prepared for each vocalist, with account of the specifics of their voices.
This year the scale of the event could really be called international, as TV viewers from different countries joined spectators of the concerts. Live broadcast was provided on the First Baltic Channel in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, on the Musicbox channel, as well as RTVi, which is broadcasted in the USA, Israel, Germany and other countries.
Every day of the festival concerts was special. Performers of the first day were: Elena Vaenga, Kristina Orbakaite, Intars Busulis, SEREBRO Group, Janis Stibelis, Maria Naumova, Olga Rajecka, Lauris Reiniks, Aija Andrejeva, Musiqq Group. Performers of the second day were: Grigory Leps, VIA GRA Group, Verka Serdyuchka, Alexander Buynov, Emin, Potap and Nastya, Sergey Mazayev, Vremya I Steklo Group, as well as promising young singers Tatyana Shirko and Zlata Ognevich. The third day performers were: the opera diva, a friend of Laima Hibla Gerzmava, Larisa Dolina, Edita Piekha, Stas Piekha, Natalya Podolskaya, Vladimir Presnyakov, MBAND Group, Ilona Bronevitskaya. And on the final day of the festival Maksim Galkin, Soso Pavliashvili, Lolita and Vladimir Vinokur performed on the Dzintari stage. After the concert, the celebration continued at the afterparty in the famous Jurmala restaurant “36. Linija”.
Eleonora Gailisha Mass Media and Public Relations
Phone: +371-67020506
Fax: +371-67020563
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