BIRKDALE soprano Mirusia was the centre of attention on Friday as the superstar conductor/violinist Andre Rieu swept into town to promote his series of fairytale concerts at Suncorp Stadium in December.
Mirusia and Andre have released Waltzing Matilda, a tribute album to Australia. It went platinum in Australia in 10 days.
The enigmatic Rieu, dubbed "The King of Waltz" - a Dutch conductor whose concert DVDs last year made up 48 per cent of all the DVDs sold in Australia.
Bayside Bulletin reporter Daniel Hurst spoke to Mirusia during her short visit to Brisbane and his report is in next Tuesday’s Bayside Bulletin.
Rieu will bring a lavish recreation of a Viennese castle to Suncorp Stadium for two big concerts in December.
Taking up one entire side of the stadium, 250 performers will transport the audience to classical Vienna complete with waltz, ice-rinks, ballroom, horse and carriage and giant fountains.
The humble Rieu was surprised to hear that he had sold more concert tickets at Suncorp than superstar acts like "The Police" and "Robbie Williams."
Rieu grew his Australian fan base from concerts broadcast on the Ovation channel on Foxtel and there were plenty of fans who paid up to $2000 for the chance to meet Rieu in the flesh at Suncorp today .
Mirusia is the main singer in Rieu's show and has come a long way from when she initially thought the offer to come and produce music with Rieu was a joke.
"It was just unbelievable, but I couldn't pass up the chance and was in Holland two days later."
The magic of Rieu's "Romantic Night in Vienna" will waltz into Brisbane to play for an estimated 54,000 people on December 3 and 4.
- story source: brisbanetimes.com.au