Earlier this year, Tarja Turunen set off on a tour across the country, inviting tenor Pentti Hietanen to join her. On May 11th, 2023, we had an opportunity to see them at Logomo in Turku.
The concert started slow, with Hietanen singing two classic Finnish songs on his own. After that, he was joined by Tarja and they performed a few more pieces in their native language. The first part of the concert ended with them singing “Time to Say Goodbye,” originally by Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman.
After the intermission, one could say that a more relaxed part of the evening started. First, Tarja sang two songs from musicals, one of which was everyone’s favourite: “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina.” The crowd began to get more and more relaxed, starting to sway along to the music, and a few people began humming along to the music.
After the musical part of the concert came time for some blues, as Pentti Hietanen joyfully announced, showing his bedazzled blue shoes. He sang some songs like WHITESNAKE‘s “Here I Go Again” and Gary Moore‘s “Still Got the Blues.”
The last few songs of the evening, however, were a real out-of-this-world experience, better than what had come before. First, Tarja sang a song from her solo career, “Our Great Divide.” It felt like a really nice personal touch. Then she followed that with “Sleeping Sun,” and that was when the crowd went crazy with cheering and thunderous applause, swaying and singing along. At this point, I was already blown away, because I had just experienced Tarja Turunen singing a NIGHTWISH song, live in 2023. The 12-year-old NIGHTWISH fan in me was truly living through something.
As if that wasn’t enough, Pentti joined Tarja for the next song, which was… ”Over the Hills and Far Away.” At this point, the crowd was fully singing along. That was not all though, because they finished off with doing “The Phantom of the Opera,” the iconic duet from the legendary Andrew Lloyd-Webber musical. That earned them a standing ovation.
The whole evening was a massive success: the variety of repertoire and the sheer joy they both emanated brought the experience to the next level. It’s always amazing to watch people being happy with what they do. Tarja was amazing as always and despite calling their tour Lady and the Tramp, Hietanen was hardly just an addition to her brilliance. His wide vocal range and cheerful personality kept everyone very entertained throughout the whole evening. They created a really great duet.
By the time you’re reading this, the tour has come to an end, but if they ever join forces again and head on tour across Europe, definitely consider going, since the experience is truly worth it.
Photos by Magdalena N.
