Hello everyone.
As promised, here is my review of Jackie Evancho’s 2019 April 6th concert in Waukegan, IL . Jackie Evancho fan Glenn Triller, who is also a fan of my music & Tre Principesse’s, kindly bought my family and I tickets to the show. Before the show, my parents and I met up with Glenn and another Jackie fan, David Klein, and we went out for dinner at Louie’s. An Italian restaurant near the theater. We talked for several hours about Jackie, music history in general, and my own career, and it was a fun time had by all. Glenn and David quickly learned that I am quite the spitfire. If you ever meet me in person, you’ll see what I mean. ;) Overall, it was a good performance from Jackie Evancho. Very solid. Here is the set list from Waukegan 2019. 1. Lovers 2. The Way We Were 3. Think of Me 4. Medley: O Mio Babbino Caro Con Te Partiro Somewhere When You Wish Upon a Star The Prayer 5. Once Upon a December 6. The Impossible Dream Intermission 7. Burn 8. Vincent (Starry, Starry Night) 9. Somewhere Over the Rainbow 10. Your Love 11. How Great Thou Art 12. Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again 13. Music of the Night 14. Nessun Dorma (Encore) There were two full standing ovations. One came after How Great Thou Art and the other came after Music of the Night. Her voice has a whole has gotten a bit meatier since 2017, but with the same signature tone and sound that the audience recognizes her by. As a Soprano, Jackie’s range is much higher than my own, whereas my range as a Contralto is much lower than hers, and due to this, our tessituras land in different places. Jackie’s middle range is definitely getting bigger in sound, however her high notes are still as clear and airy as ever. Unfortunately, from the looks of things, the attendance in the Hall wasn’t even at 50% capacity. Due to the close proximity of the theater to a big city like Chicago, I didn’t think that would be the case. But that’s the loss of the folks that didn’t have tickets and attend the concert. The first song that struck me was... well... the first song. Lovers. I really enjoyed the drums and other percussion instruments in the song. However, it would have been even more amazing had there been actual drums onstage. In concert, Jackie sings with several live string instruments that play along with a backing track which holds the main instrumentation the audience hears. Her musical director, Peter K., then adds his piano mastery, and 6 to 8 other instrumentalists local to the town she is performing in, add their strings to the arrangement. The song Lovers, is a perfect song to start concerts with due to the introduction. It gets the audience excited and gives Jackie enough time to make her entrance onstage. For the record, she also wears high heels much better than I do. I practically break an ankle every time I wear any length of heel. That night, my heels were 3 inches and I was struggling. Jackie? I think her heels were 6 inches, yet she had no problem whatsoever and she walked in with the gait of a super model. So 10 extra points for the skilled performance in dangerous footwear. Ha ha! After singing Lovers, Jackie began introducing her new CD. She said her new album “Two Hearts” would be coming out in a few days. When she said that, the audience started giggling a bit. Jackie had accidentally said the name of a previously released album. Peter K., her musical director, then pointed out from the side that her new album is called “The Debut”. Jackie then quickly apologized stating that she had just woken up from a two hour nap so she was still half asleep. That part of the show definitely showed her human side. Her Personal Signature Medley containing small parts of some of her signature songs, was definitely well done. She had her statements thought out well in advance with perfect timing between each segment of the medley. It’s obvious that Jackie & her Team and Peter worked very hard in crafting this Medley. Once Upon A December, was the next song that I enjoyed. It’s one of the main songs from my favorite movie as well as Jackie’s growing up. Anastasia. It’s the 1997 animated classic that is based on the lore surrounding the late Grand Duchess Anastasia Romanov. My namesake. When she said the name of the song and the title of the film and Broadway musical it came from, quite a few audience members turned around to smile at me. You see, Classical Crossover or popera is still a niche genre for now, so everybody knows everybody. And even with several hundred people in the audience, many of them know me for my own musical career. So when she said the name Anastasia several people quipped that I should go onstage to join her in a duet of the song. The next song that struck a chord for me was Vincent. Starry, Starry Night. By Don McLean. The song is very well written and it’s something that isn’t often seen in music. An artist, Don McLean, paying tribute to another different kind of artist, Vincent Van Gogh. The song is a very tender one and Jackie really brought that tenderness across to the audience. I also thought the background lighting was very clever. With splashes of dark and light blue along with yellow/gold spotlights, the stage looked like Vincent’s famous painting of the same name as the song. How Great Thou Art. That song was, in my opinion, the best song of the night. And judging by the audience’s reaction of a standing ovation? They obviously agreed with me. She poured her heart into this song and she dedicated it to her late great grandmother. It was truly superb. Even my father was moved, and believe me... he’s tough to impress. In fact, he was perhaps the first to stand for the ovation. Music of the Night. In the past, O Mio Babbino Caro has always been considered to be Jackie’s signature song. It’s what made her famous on America ’s Got Talent in 2010. She performed it most often in concert. Etc. But now? I believe Music of the Night has become her signature song. It was a very solid performance and again the audience was very impressed. Jackie then ended the evening with an encore of her own version of Nessun Dorma. Sung in a much lower key than the original, yet with a wild high note at the end, the audience was pleased. A couple of notes. The microphone and sound were really struggling several times. At five different points in the performance, the microphone started squealing and giving off feedback which kind of messed up the mood of the slow songs she was singing. Though, that isn’t reflective on her at all. It happens to the best of us. The lighting as well. At several points, it was stunning and very cleverly designed, as I mentioned with the song Starry Starry Night. However, many times, shocking bright white and blue spotlights were shining onto the audience. Especially the front sections. The folks around me, myself included, had to turn away because it was blinding at times. Like many people, I’m headache prone and the lighting alone left me with a migraine. But again... that can’t be blamed on Jackie. The only real complaint I have is the songs that were performed. She performed all the same songs, with 3 new ones, at the previous concerts we have attended. From when she was 16 years old and 17 years old. In just a day, she will be 19 years old. So if anything, we were hoping for more new music. Here were the set lists from the other Jackie Concerts we have attended in the past 3 years. Festa Italiana 2016 1. Pure Imagination 2. Made to Dream 3. Music of the Night 4. The Impossible Dream 5. Your Love 6. What A Wonderful World - Intermission 7. Lovers 8. Ave Maria 9. Nessun Dorma 10. Writing’s On the Wall 11. Safe and Sound 12. O Mio Babbino Caro 13. Think of Me 14. The Lord’s Prayer ——————————— Waukegan 2017 1. The Impossible Dream 2. The Way We Were 3. Medley: O Mio Babbino Caro Con Te Partiro Somewhere When You Wish Upon a Star The Prayer 4 Somewhere Over The Rainbow 5. May It Be 6. All Of the Stars 7. Music of the Night - intermission 8. Caruso 9. Safe and Sound 10. Pedestal 11. How Great Thou Art 12. We’ve Only Just Begun 13. Vincent 14. My Heart Will Go On 15. Lovers 16. Nessun Dorma ——————————— You see what I mean. Overall, it was a very solid performance. Jackie spoke clearly between songs and she was obviously confident in her performance of each and every song. She emoted that confidence very well and she put a lot of emotion into every song. Each song was solid and well done. By the way, Happy 19th Birthday Jackie! An April 9, 2019 review of Jackie Evancho’s April 6 concert at the beautiful Genesee Theater in Waukegan, IL. By fellow professional singer... and amateur music critic... Anastasia Lee.
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The ladies of Tre Principesse were a headlining act at Festa Italiana Rockford this August, performing songs such as "La Donna e Mobile", "Funiculi Funicula", "Can't Help Falling In Love", "My Way", "I'll Get Over You", and many more. Video coming soon!
![]() Anastasia has been performing at Festa Italiana Milwaukee every year since 2012 when she won their Italian Idol competition. This year she was invited back as a special guest performer at the Italian Idol. While there she watched her old friends The Sicilian Tenors and Cory Pesaturo give their shows at the Festa. At the annual and prestigious WAMI (Wisconsin Area Music Industry) Awards, the ladies of Tre Principesse - Anastasia Lee, Tatiana Marie, & Elissa - won both "New Artist of the Year" and "Album of the Year".
Since Agne G. left the vocal trio Tre Principesse, the girls have been one member short, but... that won't remain the case for long as a new young lady will be joining as the next "Principesse". HOWEVER, Anastasia Lee and Tatiana Marie, the older two members of the trio, just returned from Hollywood! Several songs from Tre Principesse's debut album which charted at #2 on the Official Billboard Charts in their respective genres of music, were nominated for several Indie Music Channel Awards! The Indie Music Channel Awards were held on the evening of April 22 at the Hard Rock Cafe - Hollywood and the girls were honored to attend, and then to WIN two major awards. 1. The first award being "Best Soundtrack Artists" for the "Broadway Medley" on their debut CD. 2. The second award was "Best Gospel Producer" which was awarded to our trio's producer Marc Golde (for his work on the song "Three Wooden Crosses" which is also on our debut CD) at Rock Garden Studio in Appleton and we were honored to accept the award for him as he was still in Wisconsin hard at work! Note from Anastasia - "When in California I was also able to see the ocean for the first time and my Dad and I were able to attend the traveling Broadway production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's "The Phantom Returns: Love Never Dies"... so it was a win-win-win-win for me. :)" Tre Principesse was honored to perform at the Salvation Army's "Red Kettle Christmas Spectacular" held in Milwaukee. They performed two solos and one trio. Anastasia Lee performed "O Holy Night" as a solo, Agne G. performed "The Holy City", and as a trio with Tatiana Marie they performed "White Christmas". The crowd was delighted by the three girls in ball gowns. It was a full house at the Neville Public Museum in Green Bay, WI. Anastasia's event was 1.5 hours long with one hour of singing and 30 minutes of a "music-class" led by Anastasia in which the audience asked Anastasia about her career and about the music business in general. One attendee had this to say, "This is the best concert I have been to in almost forty years. It was like attending a classic concert with an amazing singer from decades earlier. Classic voice and amazing stage presence. Absolutely amazing."
Anastasia Lee Headlines "Lights On Broadway" Christmas Lighting Ceremony in Green Bay, Wisconsin12/7/2017 It was a full crowd on Broadway in downtown Green Bay, WI, even in the freezing rain and snow. Anastasia opened up the ceremony and sang Christmas music for three hours straight in a ballgown and a wrap and the crowds braved the weather with her as they rode in the horse drawn wagon, visited with Santa, and ate cookies. It was a beautiful event and event attendees came up to visit with Anastasia as all the little children thought she was a princess (as she was wearing a ballgown!)
Tre Principesse with Anastasia Lee, Tatiana Marie, and Agne G., backed by the string trio "Spirited Strings" performed at the Cup O Joy music venue in Green Bay, WI on November 10, 2017. Prior to the show the ladies held a question and answer session with the fans in the audience, many of which came from over 1,000 miles away. The ladies stayed for two hours after the show to meet all of the attendees and take photos.
Encore #2: "Edelweiss" - TRIO |
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