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“Wow,
she is completely different from any other Japanese tango singers
who have come to Argentina” – this is my first impression
of Ms. Saeki, when I listened to her tango at the Tangelia (Tango
Theatre), “Torquato Tasso” in San Telmo district in
Buenos Aires on the night of last February 21st.
It was not really my first time to listen to Ms. Saeki’s
tango songs. In 2001, I listened to her CD Album, “Canto
de Serena”. But this time, it was far more impressive when
I saw her performance on stage. It is not only her beautiful and
powerful voice, but her theatrical skill is also amazing; she
is truly the “Tango Diva” of the world.
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When I commented that she was completely different from any other
Japanese tango singers in the past, some people may misunderstand
thinking that other tango singers don’t sing well. I didn’t
mean that. I was rather impressed by those who have achieved a
fairly high level of ability to sing Argentine tango. However,
most of them could not go beyond imitating. Anna Saeki, on the
other hand, has her original Argentine tango style. She established
her unique style of singing tango --not imitating.
I think this is the reason why she received great acclaim internationally.
She has attained international stature rather than being classified
as an exotic Japanese tango singer, wearing kimono. I was convinced
that this fact reflects credit on her artistic singing career.
This is the main reason why she is completely different from any
other Japanese tango singers. Ms. Saeki has such great acting
talent and theatrical skill coming from her heart and soul, which
are the essence of theatrical artists. And she was supported strongly
by prominent people in the tango world such as Horacio Ferrer,
a top lyricist in Tango world, Leopoldo Federico, and Raul Garello.
They highly praised her originality and artistic quality in her.
Horacio Ferrer said, “ Her voice is like perfume…”
when he heard her songs.
Ms. Saeki says, “It would be great if I could give hope
and courage though my songs beyond the words and an even greater
if my songs could nurture people’s soul.” I was convinced
even more that such her attitude toward her singing touches audience
more than any technique, no matter what.
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Mr. TAKAGI of "LA PLATA hôchi(newspaper)" |
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