Just over a year ago, the Romanian city of Cluj-Napoca would see Finnish soprano Tarja Turunen perform after a seven years absence from the heart of Transylvania, with her tried-and-tested rock concert. Now, in 2023, the singer has returned, much to the delight of her Romanian fans, but this time she’s got something else planned for us: a holiday show bearing the name of her most recent studio album, Dark Christmas.
At 7PM, the doors open, and the eight hundred audience members slowly start to fill the room before, one hour later, the raven-haired singer takes to the (still tiny) stage, joined by her backing band. After a quick hello and a “thanks for coming!”, the group kicked things off with The First Noel, and it doesn’t take long before the darkness implied by the tour and album name starts to kick in. The once-cheerful melodies now take on more ominous and eerie overtones, and even some triumphant ones here and there, paving the way for what was sure to be a memorable night.
During the hour-and-a-half the concert lasts for, Tarja takes the audience on a musical journey spanning ‘traditional’ Christmas music staples including Jingle Bell Rock and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, more recent tracks such as Mariah Carey’s chart topper All I Want For Christmas Is You and Paul McCartney’s Wonderful Christmastime, alongside some original tracks written by the soprano herself: Together, along with the namesake for this tour and album, Dark Christmas.
By the time the singer and her band left the stage after the encore, even the sceptical were convinced of the beauty of this concept, which was born after the soprano thought of how the winter holidays may not be ‘the most wonderful time of the year’ for everyone. Three holiday albums later, these reworked songs, especially in a live setting such as this one, turn into a beautiful, if slightly haunting and chilling performance. All the audience members were enthralled from start to finish, cementing the singer’s status as a performer able to easily ensnare the senses of everyone around her. Kiitos, Tarja, we look forward to seeing you again! 10/10
Written by Florin Petrut
