Product Description

At the beginning of the 21st century, two prodigious young female talents hogged the limelight in the contemporary classical music scene. Charlotte Church set an early sales record, but this was quashed by Hayley Westenra, who usurped Church with her best-selling album PURE. Here, Westenra performsin her native New Zealand, working her way through a stunningly mature set which is a remarkable achievement for a 17 year old.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #16390 in DVD
• Released on: 2005-04-11
• Rating: Exempt
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Colour, Dolby, Surround Sound, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 70 minutes

Customer Reviews

Phenomenal
Wonderful, excellant, beautiful, gorgeous, 100% pure Hayley! I'd need a thesaurus to find more words describe it! This is an absolutely phenominal DVD. Having seen Hayley live, I wanted something to remember the concert by, so I bought this, and it exactly the kind of thing I wanted. I play it regularly. Hayley is not only fantastic to listen to, but she looks wonderful on stage to. She has a wide variety of accompaniment, from a full orchestra, choirs, a gospel chorus and New Zealand tenor, Teddy Tahu Rhodes. There are 18 songs, mainly from her 'Pure' album, with a few from the new 'Odyssey' album and one or two which are not on any album. The filming was done at St. James Theatre, Wellington in New Zealand, and she has a fantastic stage to sing on - the theme being that of a ship - presumably taken from the story behind 'Pokarekare Ana'. There is a fair amount of New Zealand talent on show too, which really does show the origins of some of the songs. I was particularly pleased to see Fiona Pears make an appearance - she plays a violin solo on one of the songs. My favourites are 'Pokarekare Ana', 'River of Dreams', 'Accross the Universe of Time', 'May It Be', 'Who Painted the Moon Black?', 'Down to the River', 'Amazing Grace', 'Mary Did You Know?' and 'Both Sides Now' (if I can have that many favourites!). There is absolutely nothing I can fault with any of the songs, and Hayley has nearly as many outfits as Kylie! The bonus features were interesting, particularly the one on Hayley's background. I'm thrilled with mine. Buy it and see for yourself.

Just lovely!
I bought "Odyssey" and "Pure", the former being my favourite CD, because of reading Amazon's reviewers' comments. They were right. I then saw Hayley's DVD and thought I would definitely buy it after reading the reviews again. I am not disappointed and so glad I did purchase this DVD. What can I say about this brilliant singer that hasn't already been mentioned by the other reviewers? I absolutely agree with everyone - a sensational classical singer who can sing all types of songs. The video on "May It Be" is so good too. I am watching the DVD now and it's great - see other reviewers' comments - they are absolutely right! I know I will play this DVD as well as the two CDs many times. A very good buy!

Wonderful! A performance that belies her age.
I first saw Hayley Westenra on the Frank Skinner show in 2003 and she came across as a very nice young lady. I was so impressed, I then bought 'Pure' to find out what her singing was like and I enjoyed listening to it - different styles of music sung with charisma.

After deciding against seeing her in Manchester in 2004, I was glad to hear a DVD of Hayley performing live was going on sale, as I was interested to see what she was like. Her performance was one of maturity, maturity that I would have expected someone much older than Hayley. She was excellent - calm, clear, composed and genuine, to me she is made for live performing. The crowd provided a warm atmosphere and it is the sort of performance that I could watch if I just want to relax after a hard day at work, such is the nature of it.

The only track I'm not fussed on is 'Ana'. Not because of the performance quality but because it is just a theme with cello player and Hayley adding her voice to it. There are no lyrics and I don't find music like this very inspiring. Everything else however, is at least good. My favourite tracks are 'Who Painted the Moon Black', 'Amazing Grace' and 'Beat of Your Heart' which are of the highest order. Her covers of 'May It Be' and 'Wuthering Heights' deserve a mention as I think these are very good.

Overall, I am glad I bought this DVD. It has increased my admiration for this talented young lady and if I had the chance, I would see her live.