First and foremost, Mariza always gives a solid performance. She was backed by 5 instrumentalists and she began and ended the main show with traditional Fado songs sung acoustically. The rest of the show was from her varied career-complete with amplification and Mozambique-influenced styles. Don't expect a traditional Fadista like Amalia Rodrigues, because she has taken Fado into a modern and innovative style. My cousin and I have seen her perform in Newark, NJ and she was magnificent as always.
It seems the event was designed as a fundraiser-which allowed table seating on the ground floor. All the Orchestra Level seats were unavailable. To create a more "intimate" setup, the organizers draped cloth around the seats on the main floor- not even an accessible area. This left the remainder of the seats in the balcony. Note: there was NO indication on the website that this was the layout. I was taking 2 elderly women with me and would have paid a premium price for Accessible Seating-or at least something on the ground floor.
Lowell and the Portuguese communities have always faced issues of Rich vs Poor, the layout brought the differences into stark reality. This event was designed to celebrate both cultures, but instead served as a reminder that nothing has changed, and in fact, today's world is all about reinforcing the differences between the haves and have nots.
The whole show from the balcony was about looking down at the tables who were closest to the performer. Those with opera glasses or binoculars were lucky enough to be able to see her. The rest of us had trouble seeing anything other than a woman in a light blue dress from that distance.
My main disappointment is with the organizers of the event who set expectations and didn't encourage a good experience for any non-sponsors. I will NOT be supporting any future events that U Mass Lowell organizes because of this. I do not begrudge any fundraising efforts which seek to provide an elegant experience for those who sponsor an event. But they went out of their way to disadvantage and alienate the rest of the audience.
4 main issues that showed a clear lack of professionalism in a public event:
- Starting the show 30 minutes late, and then leaving the audience literally in the dark for an additional 5 without ANY explanation or apology
- Parking:difficult, far , unmarked and an additional $10 vs the Sponsor parking across the street which had several volunteers (they told me to take 4 rights to get to the garage across the river, and then there was a 10 minute walk)
- All non-sponsor seats (ranging from $39-$79) were in the BALCONY, no Accessible seating was indicated and the elevator required a LONG walk across the far side of the backstage area. No link for sponsor tickets, no indication that orchestra seating was not available
- Nobody had considered the experience of the rest of the audience, it seemed like the public was allowed in as an afterthought
When the lights were lowered (at 8pm instead of 7:30 as announced), the audience was left in the dark for a full 5 minutes. Someone shouted "Anybody here named Maria?" which got a loud laugh and solid applause from an audience awaiting in eager anticipation. No greeting from the organizers-no apologies, no messaging to the audience about what was planned for and what was an accident.
No reflection on Mariza, it ALL reflected poorly on Lowell Memorial and the Saab Center at UMass Lowell.
