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Report of the concert of the 18th November 2011

We went with some fears to Rotterdam. In Antwerp we had already been spoiled with an exceptional good edition with Seal and good Belgian surprise acts, and we were wondering whether Miss Montreal and James Blunt would be the same calibre.

In which other way could 20 years of Night of the Proms in the Netherlands start than with the Ras and the Schele from Discobaar A Moeder? They welcomed Ahoy to their extremely pleasant party music; the audience might not always have understood those Antwerp DJs with their pink flamingo, but around us there was a lot of singing and dancing. They ended their performance with I will survive, which the audience continued singing until both DJs reappeared on stage with Carl Huybrechts. Il Novecente followed with the Franz von Suppé’s Leichte Cavalerie. That’s how the concert began.

Discobaar A Moeder intervened regularly during the concert and definitely contributed to the festive and humorous character of the concert. It challenged Robert Groslot to find a harmony between classical and pop music. And Il Novecento and the Maestro succeeded masterly: they are for the 750th together on a Night of the Proms stage this year and they have never sounded better. Artists have said before that Il Novecento was rock and funk, but this year they have to add ‘soul’. And that to a symphonic orchestra!

The duel between Discobaar A Moeder and Il Novecento was a highlight for many. But not only were the two DJs visually present on stage, same can be said about Fine Fleur. The a capella version of Adele’s Rolling in the Deep moved many, and the artists clearly have found support in the choir.

Patrick De Smet, both a fine musician as a natural entertainer, brought The Typewriter. together with to volunteers. Under his guidance did this 60 year old, but already classical piece, a masterpiece.

The classical pieces were played mostly in the first part, in sound and visual. In Antwerp Jonas Van Geel gave the explanation in true Mozart style, while in Rotterdam Tijl Beckand gave a shorter and severe explanation to Beethoven’s and Mozart’s music and the images from The Shawshank Redemption, Amadeus and The King’s Speech. With this new dimension added, the audience listened and watched intensly.

But the visual absolutely celebrated in this edition. The development of the new NOTP logo during John Miles’s Music remains a masterpiece. Both the classical as modern artists got their own support with light effects and high quality images. Jacqueline De Carpentier made a very special collage with images from The Lion King and Franck van der Heijden’s suite fitted perfectly; it was a triumphant beginning of the second part with again a perfect contribution by backing vocal Liv (it had to be said again) and John Miles.

Because of the stress on the visual people didn’t notice how little the catwalk had been used. Only Angie Stone went to the ends and Div4s sang one song. Can’t they give the audience a bit more?

In the beginning of the concert John Miles already impressed with Amy Whinehouse’s Valerie ; the combination of that song and John’s voice ends up on the German tour cd. John remains a modest man and so he didn’t feel too good to stand with the backing vocals during Mick Hucknall’s Something got me started.

The Div4s brought out their extensive wardrobe and they were more relaxed on stage than in Antwerp. But their performance wasn’t that convincing and we heard some carelessness during the opera medley, which is actually their basic music. With The Prayer and Con Te Partiro they were better. Every day they work on it, like they say themselves.

The Dutch act was Miss Montreal, who was impressed by the sold out Ahoy. Just A Flirt, her big hit in the Netherlands, was okay but not convincing for those who didn’t know the song. On the other hand her performance of Bon Jovi’s Bed of roses was good.

Soul music and a symphonic orchestra: the arrangements of Dominique Vanhaegenberg and Geert Keysers match both perfectly. That’s why a rather unknown song like Angie Stone’s No more rain still attracted the audience. She started quite relaxed in the second part with Wish I didn’t miss and you could see that she was on stage with a lot of pleasure, as well with the Ras’s intervention in I wanna thank ya, still in red training outfit and big sunglasses.

The first part was already over by then; that was closed by James Blunt. He started at the piano with 1973 which was also a visual show. James Blunt might not be the same calibre as Mick Hucknall, but thanks to his special vocal sound and the excellent orchestration the audience sang along with You’re Beautiful. He’s also a sympathetic boy; before Stay the Night specially ascended the stage to further greet the audience. He truly earned applause: James, we hereby invite you to the 2012 concerts in Antwerp and Germany!

And then Angie Stone sang Holding back the years we knew that Mick Hucknall was coming. You have artists and top artists; that difference was again stated here: Mick was the top act of this concert! After the Antwerp concerts he clearly felt comfortable with the choir and the orchestra; he fully gave himself in his own special way with the wired microphone, his exceptional voice and backed by the perfect orchestrations. Fairground started rippling, but developed strongly in a Brazilian rhytm. The entire Ahoy was on their feet with Stars and Something got me started, and the joined singing with If you don’t know me by now was a beautiful ending of a wonderful night. Mick, we off course invite you as well during Night of the proms Antwerp / Germany in 2012!

Rotterdam was very pleased!