Jazz diva Caro Emerald is promising a night to remember at this year’s Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod as the world famous festival goes Dutch this summer.
The divine Miss E, international star Caroline Esmeralda van der Leeuw, better known as Caro Emerald, is set to take North Wales by storm on the Thursday night of the annual event.
And the Amsterdam-born singing sensation, who wowed last year’s Royal Variety Performance audience with a stunning performance, including her smash hit ‘A Night Like This’, will be making one of her first concert appearances since taking time out to have her first child.
She is one of the headline acts of a sensational week of concerts which will be kick-started on Monday, July 7, by legendary bass-baritone Bryn Terfel in a special all-Welsh performance of Stephen Sondheim’s Broadway smash Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
Eisteddfod Musical Director Eilir Owen Griffiths said: “We’re thrilled to have Caro Emerald here. She is a stunning talent who has made a sensational and deserved rise to international stardom.
“We want a rich diversity of music to be featured at Llangollen and our only proviso is that it must be world class and Caro Emerald certainly fits into that category.”
This year’s Eisteddfod, which runs until Sunday, July 13, will also feature veteran British rockers Status Quo, a world premiere of a new work by composer Karl Jenkins and the Choir of the World competition for the Pavarotti Trophy.
It’s a lineup Caro Emerald is thrilled to be part of and she said: “I have looked at who has been on the bill in the past and there are some really iconic names. I’m really proud and humbled to have been asked to perform and I look forward to finally performing in Wales for the first time.
“I don’t want to give too much away about what will be included in my set list for the concert but what I will say is that the audience, my band and, of course, me are sure to have a good time!”
Emerald’s rapid rise to fame is a truly remarkable story as the former Amsterdam Conservatory trained jazz vocalist helped set up her own record label, Grandmono, to release her first CD.
The move came about after Emerald was invited to sing on a demo track, entitled Back It Up, which looked like sinking without trace until it was posted on Youtube, and took off on the radio.
It prompted Emerald to put together an album of jazzy easy-listening pop songs based on 1940’s and ’50’s tunes with a hint of Latin and based around an infectious beat but there was still no interest from the record labels.
So Emerald and a couple of backers launched Grandmono and the move paid off. Back it Up, which was released as a single in 2009, was an instant hit and she followed it up with the stunning A Night Like This which soon became a Europe-wide hit.
And her sensational debut album, Deleted Scenes From The Cutting Room Floor, spent 30 weeks at the top of the Dutch charts sold over a million worldwide while the follow-up, last year’s The Shocking Miss Emerald, topped the UK charts.
Emerald said: “I knew at the time that forming our own label would allow us to stay much closer to our own views, ideas and our own product but that was it.
“I really had no knowledge of the music industry; I didn’t know what the difference would be between being signed to a major or an independent label. It was a massive gamble.
“Looking back I can see we made the right decision and I’m very proud of what we have accomplished.”
Then came the Royal Variety Performance in front of Prince Charles: “It was incredible.” She said.
“It was such an honour to be asked to perform for the royal family of a country I’m not even a citizen of. It was a fabulous, incredible and memorable night.
“I’m very happy my music has been so well received in Europe and the UK in particular. It’s really exciting especially as I come from a country as small as the Netherlands.
“I’ve been getting so many positive responses from all over the world, including the US. I think there are a lot of people who can appreciate my music and I hope I get an opportunity to play my music for them.
“I’m lucky to have great musicians in my band. They are incredibly talented musicians and great people to have on the road with me. We have a great time both on and off stage.”
And, with her star continuing to rise, UK audiences can expect to see a great deal more of the sultry and curvaceous Caro Emerald.
She has a sell-out 11-date October UK tour, delayed from February due to her pregnancy, which includes London’s O2, Manchester’s Phones 4U and Cardiff’s Motorpoint arena’s.
And more TV appearances are planned too – she has already been on Later with Jools Holland twice as well as Strictly Come Dancing and, of course, The Royal Variety Performance.
As well as Caro Emerald and Bryn Terfel this year’s event will feature a galaxy of international talent, starting straight after Sweeney Todd on Tuesday, July 8, with the Parade and the Carnival of Nations concert showcasing spectacular circus acts from across the globe including Cirque du Soleil’s Bruce Bilodeau, acrobats from the Chinese State Circus and Spellbound, winners of Britain’s Got Talent.
The following night will see the return of Karl Jenkins, the highest selling classical composer alive today, with the world premiere of his latest masterpiece, Adiemus Colores, featuring American tenor Noah Stewart.
Caro Emerald will make her Llangollen debut on Thursday while the Friday night concert, Spirit of Unity, will feature the Cape Town Opera, the Only Kidz Aloud Chorus under the baton of Tim Rhys Evans and British Sinfonietta.
The Choir of the World competition on the Saturday night is the blue riband event of the week-long festival and remains one of the foremost choral competitions in the international choral calendar.
Saturday will also feature a competition to find the dance champions of 2014 and to top the evening off Richard and Adam, who shot to fame on Britain’s Got Talent, will appear as special guests while bringing the house down on Sunday night will be Status Quo, still Rocking All Over The World.
To book tickets and for more information on the 2014 festival go to the website at www.international-eisteddfod.co.uk
