Sometimes it is really hard to believe how fast time passes by. The concert in Savonlinna was only yesterday it seems, and now the one in Tampere also belongs to the past already. Anyway, also this time I would like to tell you some of my impressions of Tampere and Tarja´s Xmas concert there.
As a matter of prudence we booked a hotel just across the street from Tamperetalo, which was a quite wise decision considering the weather. Actually I would have expected tons of snow there, but far from it ! Far and wide there was not one single snowflake to be seen. Instead it rained quite much and there was an uncomfortable wind blowing most of the time. But despite this fact we also walked a bit through the town, which is quite nice. I especially liked all the light images in the streets there. That´s very pretty.
The building of Tamperetalo is quite impressive. The lobby and the hall itself is really spacious and beautifully arranged.
While we were waiting on the second floor lobby for the concert to begin, we were put in the right mood for it quite nicely: It was Independence Day in Finland and in downtown Tampere a great firework took place that we could watch through the big windows in the second floor.
Tarja´s concert was absolutely great! It is unbelievable how much power her voice actually has, which you can experience live even better than on CD. Most of all the songs "Ave Maria" and "Quia Respexit" gave us chills. But also with the other songs her performance was just wonderful. And as always she looked absolutely gorgeous, especially in the red dress and with her nice bun hairstyle that fitted her very well. What I also liked was the fact that she communicated with the audience quite much saying a few sentences before almost every song.
I was really impressed and very touched by Tarja´s performance of "You Would Have LovedYou Would Have Loved This". Live this song is just wonderful and the cream of the crop was that Tarja accompanied herself on the piano. She plays the piano nearly as soulfully as she sings and this song was my personal highlight of the concert.
In the beginning the audience was a little bit reserved, but this changed during the concert. Especially during the second half Tarja got a lot of applause after every song and at the end of the concert very long lasting standing ovations. And even though I´ve seen Tarja on stage now for the seventh time, it is every time again a breathtaking and wonderful experience.

by Melanie