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| Las Vegas Rhapsody Las Vegas Rhapsody (The Night They Invented Champagne), produced by Stefan Winter, may be one of Winter & Winter records most unusual projects, but is nonetheless a true musical abduction into the great show stages of Las Vegas. To celebrate 100 years of Las Vegas entertainment, Japanese composer, Fumio Yasuda adapted and orchestrated some of the greatest show tunes including, “Out of My Dreams”, “Chim Chim Cheree”, “Luck be a Lady” and “My Favorite Things” with German-born New York singer Theo Bleckmann in mind. Many have managed to gain eternal fame in Nevada's Sin City, amongst some of the greatest--Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Jerry Lewis, Dean Martin, Elvis Presley, Wayne Newton, Liberace, Siegfried and Roy, and even mafia boss Bugsy Siegel--they all owe their incomparable careers to Las Vegas. No other place has laid the groundwork for the world of entertainment as rigorously as this appallingly kitschy, gloriously neon-lit palace--the greatest show stage and most notorious gambling den in the world! Bleckmann, who sings with a cultivated, pure and deeply personal voice, never emerges as the interpreter of the works: he becomes the song, fusing his persona, the text and the melody into a unity, creating the illusion of being a show-stopping star in Las Vegas. The close artistic understanding between Theo Bleckmann and Fumio Yasuda is palpable in every stage of this production. Bleckmann knows how to concoct a fascinating mix of music and text. With his voice and Yasuda's orchestration, this composition feels completely new, as if one were experiencing the material for the first time - a rediscovery of each composition and its wonderful story. The two protagonists wrote the prologue and epilogue to Las Vegas Rhapsody together. Theo Bleckmann and Fumio Yasuda carry us off with elegance and bravura into a Las Vegas world of dreams: a sonic experience of brittle beauty. write your comments about the article :: © 2006 Jazz News :: home page |