CONVERSATION PIECES

 CONVERSATION PIECES

a poem by Malcolm Norton

Loved lady from the Netherlands,

Whenever we’re together and

We talk after I’ve heard you sing

A further pleasure is listening

To you, as charmingly you speak

As sweetly as you sing. You pique

My interest constantly. Respect

For wisdom, insight, intellect

In one who is so very young

Imposes silence on my tongue.

*

{If I committed an absurdity

As if she hadn’t heard it, she

Is too polite, kind and well-bred

To suggest that I am off my head.}

*

Conversing with a maiden wise

As you are, you can still surprise

And keep me awed and in suspense

Lest somehow I offend you. Hence

I’m in a state bordering on fear;

I might be moved to shed a tear

As anyone may who understands

The loved lady from the Netherlands.

The author in conversation with Amira at Groot Constantia Wine Estate after her
Proms-Lite concert in Cape Town.

Poem reproduced by permission of the author.

Two Dutch Masters

Two great dutch artists, separated by 400 years. Rembrandt van Rijn of Leiden and Amira Willighagen of Nijmegen. I couldn't help notice a similiarity in their laughing smiles.

Above, Amira stands before a reproduction of "The Night Watch" by the great 17th century Dutch master Rembrandt.

Although Amira is now a citizen of South Africa where she imigrated in 2018, she maintains strong ties with her native Netherlands. Here she is at a Dutch museum with several close members of her team. Incidentally, Amira speaks Dutch, English, and Afrikaans fluently.

"On My Own"

Amira's "On My Own" birthday streaming concert was, as all of her fans expected, a fabulous work of art and entertainment. The concert was a mix of classical arias, musical numbers, and ballads. Her rendition (in Italian) of "I Will Always Love You" was especially moving. And her finale, "Ebben Ne Andro Lontana," from the 1892 opera "La Wally," which she described as her favorite aria of all time, brought down the house. A fan named Mari wrote this touching poem about Amira's rendition of it. 

Singing Beauty Into Reality
Sensory overload of Amira singing “La Wally” by Catalani
destroying heart and soul, the sad minor melody weeping
The beauty of your voice expressing the sorrow & longing
crying for all the wrong in the world & the pain in my mind
The last rising notes becoming a series of shards piercing
my heart making me cry, and I’m crying still, oh Amira -
You have mastered the art of destroying everything else
in life until there is only you singing beauty into reality

This was Amira's third streaming concert. It was also her first concert before a live audience since Covid. She has announced that she will be doing a world tour starting in December, including coming to America. One can be sure I will be there.

Is Amira an Opera Singer?

What’s In a Name?
(Should we be referring to Amira as an “Opera singer”?)

by Dafydd Llewellyn
Reproduced with permission.

Opera started over 400 years ago; and by the time of Georg Friderick Handel, it was very popular. You may recall that Amira sang an aria from one of Handel’s operas for her first album (Ombra Mai Fu).

However, the vacuum valve was not invented until the 20th century; and its Triode form made the amplification of weak radio signals possible. The microphone was invented in a very crude form about the same time; but it was not until the latter half of the 20th century that anything approaching “High Fidelity” recording was possible.

So for most of that 400 years, opera singers had to find ways to be heard over an orchestra without amplification. They did so by two means – firstly, by singing as loudly as possible; and secondly, by the use of “Squillo” (the Italian word) or “Singer’s Formant” (English). The most successful opera singers used both.

If you have never heard a “traditional” opera singer in a live performance, you would be astonished by the volume of sound they can produce. I had the privilege in 2015 of hearing Judit Molnar singing the Vilja song, from Lehar “The Merry Widow” (www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYJ2iUqRrlA) in a small (400 seat) auditorium, with no microphone – she shook the spiders out of the ceiling; despite my damaged hearing, I had to hold my hands over my ears. This requires a lot of training, to be able to do it without damage to one’s vocal apparatus; and even then, traditional opera singers were prone to developing nodes (calluses) on their vocal cords – and most wore out their voices by the time they were middle-aged.

Squillo is more subtle; it depends on a singer’s ability to generate overtones in their voice around the range 2500 ~ 5000 Hz. Amira has this ability, and I think we saw that when Patrizio rubbed his arm; and others have referred to goosebumps, etc. But it is, it would seem, poorly understood (or completely ignored) by many musicians.

As a result, the opera traditionalists (I think they merit the description “snobs”) have come to value singers who can dispense with microphones; and they consider the term “opera singer” to imply this capability. Perhaps fortunately, traditional opera is a dying art, because no matter how loudly a singer manages to sing, they cannot be heard in a large venue – so traditional opera houses usually seat around 2500. (NY Met is an exception, with 4000 seats). So when Andre Rieu and his son managed to get acceptable sound quality to audiences ten times this size, the writing was on the wall for traditional opera live performances.

Amira has, very wisely, avoided the trap of trying to produce more sound than is safe for her developing voice; but when she sang, in all innocence, with Andre Rieu, she unwittingly challenged the opera traditionalists; and we saw in her early days, all sorts of ridiculous criticism of her from them.

Covid 19 did a number of things to the music world, and it also gave Amira two quiet years for her voice to develop past the critical stages of adolescence and to complete her schooling.

Firstly, it prevented large-audience live performances, which stopped Andre Rieu - and it put Coleske Artists – who did a great deal to establish Amira, via her performances with them on You Tube and her third album - on the back shelf.

Secondly, it stopped all traditional opera performance and put opera companies into recession. As a by-product, there are now swarms of “Soubrettes” – young women of around Amira’s age or a couple of years older, who have undergone traditional opera training, but now find themselves unable to get a job. Their parents must be wondering whether they made the right decision.

So all these people are understandably jealous of their status as “opera singers”; and we still see hostile comments towards Amira, even though she was capable of singing with a microphone half a metre from her face by the end of 2020; who knows what she is capable of to-day? She has already awoken countless people to the beauties that exist in the opera repertoire, and she will undoubtedly help to keep that genre alive in its modern form. What she is doing is unique; I do not think “Classical Crossover” adequately describes it.

The World is changing, and as always, the traditionalists resist change. Amira represents, to these people, a change that they resent. And her performances, such as “La Vergine degli Angeli” are of such a quality that these people see them as a challenge.

So I think that we do NOT do Amira a service by calling her an “Opera singer”; in the sense these people understand that description, she is not an “opera singer”. What she IS, is a superb lyrical soprano, and she may - if she chooses - develop into a “spinto soprano”.

Dafydd Llewellyn is a retired mechanical & aeronautical engineer living in Australia. He has written several technical articles about Amira Willighagen's voice.

Amira's Birthday Concert

The Willighagen family gathers for a photo at Atterbury Theater in Pretoria on March 20, 2022. Amira had arrived for her "On My Own" birthday concert. The show will be streamed worldwide on March 27.

Amira's was the only sold-out show at the theater.

Some trivia: This concert was in celebration of Amira's 18th birthday. All costs were paid for by her fans. Amira is a senior in High School and graduates the end of this year. After graduation, Amira plans to tour in Australia and the United States. This birthday concert may be the first full length classical concert in history where the lead singer had braces.

Jordie Lane - Black Diamond

Another video shared with me by my groovy daughter Megan.

Megan is finding a lot of great new folk singers. Jordie is from Australia.

Megan with JJ in Fayetteville, Arkansas, taking in all the fresh air and vitamin D.

A bard describes the evening's delight

Amira performs somewhere in South Africa nearly every day at the moment, building up to her Pretoria performance on the 20th -- which we will get a streaming online glimpse of on the 27th. Amira has her own bard, a poet fan who occasionally thrills us with his ballads about Amira's performances. This he submitted to us fans just today, about a performance he attended in Cape Town last night. I thought it was so good I wanted to share it. Sorry, we have no pictures of the event.

SOME ENCHANTED EVENING!: CAPE TOWN, 17 MARCH 2022

by Malcolm Norton

*

Please note: what follows may resemble the proverbial curate’s egg [not too bad in parts], and a scrambled egg at that, owing to my confused state of mind ensuing from an out of mind and body experience. If it ever happens to you, you will understand and perhaps forgive all errors and omissions.   

*

How is it possible that anyone so very down to earth can make you believe, when she sings that she could have spread her wings and done a thousand things, you would feel no surprise if she took flight and soared as high as her incomparable voice? This I have said before: there is a point where a gift transcends mere talent and becomes genius, and that of a very rare order.  Later I tried to tell my most admired artist so, but her modesty matching her incredible artistry she politely smiled and suppressed her incredulity. Her talent is infinite; her vanity is not only in inverse proportion but invisible. 

*

A pop song of 1972 has a certain relevance here, as I hope to show: ‘I went to a garden party; Everyone was there;… There was magic in the air.’ Assuredly magic WAS present at the historic scenic venue of Groot Constantia, and went as readily to my head [ahem!] as the wine that was flowing in torrents as, mercifully, the rain I had feared wasn’t.

*

How and where to begin?  Arriving two hours prematurely, we were greeted by sound waves issuing from a vocal wizard’s wand.  Now, hours later, memory starts the electrical sensation sparking to make my spine prickle again.  Other than ethereal I can think of no word that might aptly describe the effect; almost as if distance were lending enchantment to hearing.  Magic indeed!  I expected the audience of trees, birds and squirrels to weep, if they did not applaud.  For the sake of brevity and self-restraint suffice to say that Nella Fantasia and Nearer My God To Thee may never again sound as they did then.  

*

The four or five numbers she was rehearsing with the orchestra are included in the list below.  It is said of the most revered artist in a different field that once he had sung a song he owned it, having redefined how it might be sung; and if this is not equally true of Amira’s singing then my lifetime of musical appreciation has been entirely wasted.  With a simple alteration of costume and a prop or two she redefined Maria Von Trapp and Eliza Doolittle, unforgettably; and somehow her tiny and nimble feet more than filled the much larger shoes of Julie Andrews.                      

*

When a gloriously full and beautiful moon rose beyond the screening trees it was appropriately a brilliant orange, a silent tribute to the little Dutch luminary radiating light in the otherwise starless {until later} night.  Little?  Yes, despite her colossal talent and charismatic stage presence this miniature Titan is the same petite pixie she was at 14, if a little taller.  Although cameras love her {so much that I suggested to the cameraman on the spot, the superman for all seasons and crises Steve Sherman, that she turns every camera into a cAmIra} – they do lie!  Even the late actress Audrey Hepburn, similarly fawn-like and famously petite, was a sumo wrestler compared with Amira.  {The only exaggeration I will permit myself here.}  And unlike so many stars famed for their beauty, when divested of cosmetics and special lighting she is even prettier if possible.  And it is!

*

Under the direction of conductor and master of ceremonies the ever-delightful and humorous Richard Cock, the small but very competent orchestra swept through a wide-ranging musical menu ranging from a Strauss polka to pop songs by the recently deceased oddly-named Meatloaf {formerly Mince, according to the maestro}, Maroon 5 {whoever they are}, and Billie Eyelash.  All these pieces I suspect were considerably enhanced by the orchestral treatment; but the soloist is what concerns us here, and deservedly so.

*

Need I mention the grace, poise, and growing freedom of movement in little dance steps augmenting the stunning impact of the magnificence of notes that lifted not only one’s hair but threatened to slice the scalp like topping a boiled breakfast egg?  The absolute control not only of her voice but of the audience?  The sheer overwhelming power and splendor of the fairy figure that seemed to tower above the tall trees and shake the leaves before the fall?  Probably not, but as a close encounter of the most thrilling kind it can only be described as – well, elemental as well as celestial.  If you think this is also an exaggeration, well, you weren’t there.            

*

If her apparent robustness in photographs is an illusion, her stellar status is not!  She belongs on the stages and in the hearts of the world, rather than on the greensward of an old Cape Dutch homestead, however lovely it is.  Her voice is an Archimedean lever with which she can move the world to more than tears, and if this modestly majestic and humbly aristocratic supreme artist has not made herself the most famous name on the planet before she turns twenty-one {as did the late King}, then the fault must be ascribed not to her but to a world which does not deserve a phenomenon the like of which may never be seen again.

*

Before ending this necessarily abbreviated and superficial account I must briefly mention the additional pleasure afforded by meeting and spending time with the wonderful fans visiting from abroad, Amira’s indispensable Girl Friday Rosa Kleyn and her husband Ben, and most of all, as an artist in her own right, Amira’s mother Frieda, who is quite as admirable, likable and lovable as her extraordinary daughter; there can be no higher praise than that.  The kindness of this most gracious lady has no equal in my experience.  If every child had such a mother, problem children would be an extinct species.

*

THE BILL OF FARE:

*

Passing over the musical introduction [theme from Star Wars] and interludes including Pirates of the Caribbean [whatever became of Penzance?] and selections from the works of Henry Mancini and Andrew Lloyd Webber to the main course and dessert:

*

1, OMBC

2, Voi Che Sapete 

3, All I Want Is A Room Somewhere inadvertently omitted - pardon! 

4, The Rain in Spain [My Fair Lady]

5, I Could Have Danced all Night [MFL]

6, Nearer My God To Thee

7, Nella Fantasia

8, My Favourite Things [Sound of Music]

9, I Have Confidence in Me [SOM]

10, I Could Have Danced All Night MFL, reprised]

___________________________

Ma T'har

Just wonderful ..... I'm so happy for you.

Thank you so much for letting us share your great experience, described in wonderful words.

Since I also had the honor and great pleasure of meeting Amira in person, I know you absolutely did not exaggerate. Amira is unique in her own way and hard to describe with words.

Groot Constantia Wine Estate

Colter Wall - Sleeping on the Blacktop

My daughter Megan sent me this video this morning. She said she loves this guy and says he sings like Johnny Cash. I think he's better than Johnny Cash -- and cuter too.

I haven't talked about my daughter in a long time. She was a genius singer before I ever heard of Amira Willighagen. Megan is 26. She lives in Arkansas. My grandson is named JJ.

Amira does a radio interview

Yesterday Amira did an interview on Ontbytsake (Breakfast Business Matters) Radio. The interview was in Afrikaans.

Looking through the photos from the session, I was especially struck by the picture below. Amira has transformed from an adorable little girl that shocked people with her talent to a mature well-spoken lady to be taken seriously.

A viewer watching the interview commented that Amira's Afrikaans is more polished than that of most South Africans. Amira recently legally emigrated to South Africa as a full citizen. She was born in the Netherlands.

---

Update: A video of the interview was uploaded to YouTube on March 19. The parts with Amira are assembled together. It is in Afrikaans but you can still see Amira's delightful personality.

Sold Out Shows

I became an Amira fan almost three years ago, in May 2019. However, I did not discover her official Facebook club until September. I was officially accepted as a member on Sept. 3, 2019. At the time there was much commotion and excitement on the site about an upcoming fan event being planned for late November in Turnhout, Belgium. I nearly cried when I learned it was already sold out. I came along just a little too late. That fan reception and concert in Turnhout was the last chance Amira's fans would have to meet Amira in person before Covid struck the world and international travel became too difficult, though none of us could have known that then.

Fans from around the world meeting Amira for the first time in Turnhout, Belgium in November 2019. 

So today, when I saw this notice that Amira's first live concert since Covid is already sold out, those feelings returned to me.

The recording of the show will, of course, be livestreamed. However, one day I hope to be free to travel and see Amira perform in person.

Amira in Cape Town

Amira appears as part of an ensemble during the recent Opera in the Quarry concert in Cape Town.

From what I gather, Amira will also perform in another concert in Cape Town, 'Proms-Lite on the Lawns,' on March 17 and 18, as well as her highly publicized solo streaming concert, 'On My Own,' in Pretoria on March 20.

Tickets now available

This is a streaming concert. You do not need to fly to South Africa to see it. Buy tickets online anytime from today and view online starting March 27. The actual live recording will be in the Atterbury Theatre in Pretoria on May 20 before a live audience and is already SOLD OUT.

This is one's last chance to see Amira perform as a pre-adult, as she turns 18 on the day of streaming.

Amira will be accompanied by The Phoenix Co Orchestra, conducted by Richard Cock.

Purchase tickets at OPTOG! Cost is 150 RSD ($9.00 USD).

Amira streaming concerts are usually about an hour, have about ten songs, and have lots of surprises. Amira is a consummate entertainer. Purchase price includes ability to view the concert as many times as you like for 3 days after starting first viewing.

Jonathan Antoine - Winter Wonderland

I know this is out of season, but I can't believe I missed this charming performance by the incomparable Jonathan Antoine. Amira has named Antoine as the best male tenor of her own generation.

By the way, Amira has admitted taking significant inspiration from several male tenors, including Luciano Pavarotti, Paul Potts, and Andrea Bocelli. The stories of each are as follows: When Amira was seven years old, on a trip to London with her family, she heard on the radio Pavarotti singing 'Nessun Dorma.' She said it was the most beautiful thing she had ever heard, and names this moment as the original spark of her interest in opera. Amira was only 3 when Paul Potts won the first season of Britain's Got Talent in 2007. However, later as a little girl she owned a CD of his, and played 'Nessun Dorma' over and over and practiced from it. 'Nessun Dorma' was the song Amira sang at her final in the Holland's Got Talent contest that led to her winning. Amira also later admitted to spending hours studying YouTube videos of Andrea Bocelli.


She has said that of all male singers she would like to perform with Bocelli.

What is Amira up to Lately?

Amira turns 18 in March. She is now a senior in High School. The South African school year runs from January to December. There are four holidays: a two-week break in March/April, a three-week holiday in June/July, a one-week break in September/October, and a longer holiday of around five to six weeks in December/January. So Amira does not have official leave but special leave right now for a private event concert in Capetown. Below she is in Capetown where she is currently attending rehearsals. Capetown is on the ocean. Here she is doing her homework on the beach, lovely as ever. By the way, Amira is third in her class academically.

And here she is in full vacation mode while she's there.



Amira is a huge star in South Africa, and while she has not been out of the country in over two years, she continues to do sold-out shows and private events. As she will be on long holiday in March, she will be doing the Promo-Lite concert in Capetown on March 17 and 18 and her streaming concert "On My Own" in Pretoria on March 20. The latter is greatly anticipated by her fans as it will be streamed.

But holidaying and singing to sold-out crowds is not all Amira is up to. Besides school she still opens playgrounds throughout the provinces in South Africa. Amira's future is uncertain. She still has not decided whether to go to conservatory or law school. However, either way, she will undoubtedly continue to be a force for good and one of the bright lights in the world.

Amira has become technically and bonafidely hot

Amira will be 18 next month and a lot of things are changing. For one, as she will at last be an adult she will legally and administratively take full control of the nonprofit foundation she established in Brussels when she was 10 years old. I assume she will become president of the foundation, a position now held by Sardha Gouri. Also, she herself added the above photo to her Instagram page, putting everyone on notice she is not a little girl anymore.

Right when I thought Amira could not be more beautiful she goes on surprising me. These two photos were taken Christmas 2017 and Christmas 2021 respectively, showing her continuing maturation. I want to say a little about this amazing red dress. It was a gift by a group of her fans on Christmas 2020 and was custom made for her by Jose de Canha Couture in South Africa. It has the national flower of Holland, the Tulip, and the national flower of South Africa, the Protea, symbolizing her dual nationalities. Incidentally Amira became a full citizen of South Africa this month.

Amira opening presents from fans Christmas morning 2020.

A detail of the dress weaving.

Amira didn't wear the dress publicly for a long time. But recently she appeared in it in many publicity photos, having since receiving it added spaghetti straps. On Jan. 29, 2022 she wore it to announce publicly that she would be taking the reigns of her foundation as she was turning 18 and to explain her plans for it in the coming years.

Amira's unusual affinity with animals

Amira, an eccentric child

Amira's fans, for the most part, are older and socially conservative. And so you often read their responses to anyone questioning it, that Amira was an ordinary school girl. But this simply is not true. Amira has always been proud of being unique. I'm going to show some pictures to prove this. A year before her television appearance at 9 years old, before the world knew her name, Amira came in first place in the long distance "Seven Hills Run" in Nijmegan, her local city. She was 8 years old. She came in first place again the following year. Ordinary school girls do not have that kind of determination. Look at the determination in her face. Tell me, what is ordinary about that?

Now about her clothes. Here is a picture of Amira with her playmates at school when the press came to interview them. Look at Amira's jacket. She chose it because she believed it made her look like a turtle, her favorite animal.

And here is a shot of her at school right after her original audition on Holland's Got Talent. Don't tell me that jacket is average school girl garb. She looks like a 9 year old Janis Joplin. Amira has brought whole audiences to their knees with laughter at her antics. Here, in front of the entire nation of the Netherlands, she pretended to be a fainted dog.  Amira Willighagen was and is a bona fide eccentric. And she knows it.

Amira at her 17th birthday, dressed as 'the frog princess.'

Amira Willighagen growing up

For anyone who has not seen Amira Willighagen's meteoric rise from obscurity in a park in the Netherlands with her father to international recognition as one of the finest rising sopranos in the world, this video offers a nice encapsulation of that process.

Amira at Proms-lite on the Lawns, Capetown March 17, 18

Amira will appear solo at the Proms-lite on the Lawns concerts at the Groot Constantia Wine Estate on March 17 and 18, accompanied by the Proms Orchestra.

Dinner after at the famous Simon's at Groot Constantia Restaurant. 

The March 18 concert is already sold out.