Szpak and his ”Płonąca Stodoła” – mmopole – 02.06.2012

http://www.mmopole.pl/artykul/szpak-i-jego-plonaca-stodola

Michał Szpak faced Niemen again. Did he manage? I’ve decided to ask people from the audience in Opole.

During the festival in Opole last Friday, Michał Szpak faced the giant of Polish rock again. He sang ‘’Płonąca stodoła’’ by Czesław Niemen. Similarly, as it was in case of Niemen, Szpak often faces criticism aimed at his controversial image. Did Szpak handle this song well? I’ve decided to find out from people in Opole.

Magdalena Kluba from Częstochowa judged Szpak’s performance in terms of his vocal:

– Watching Michał Szpak live is not a novelty to me because I had an opportunity to hear him many times during his concerts, however what I saw in Opole exceeded my all expectations. He was in an amazing vocal form, his strong voice with a mega rock claw filled in the Amphitheatre from the very first row up to the last one.

I have decided to collect more opinions. A lady from Opole, Agata Malinowska, agreed to  say a few words:

-What do you think about the outfit presented by Szpak?

– I love artists from the 1960s, especially Czesław Niemen, of course. I was a bit anxious regarding Szpak’s performance, but I think that he not only managed vocally, but also regarding the image. I head heard that this outfit was his own idea – it was great! It suited perfectly well the atmosphere of ” Płonąca stodoła ” and distinguished him from other performers when it came to costumes.

-Is there anything that Szpak could have done better in his performance?

– When it comes to Szpak I have nothing to complain about.  He did perfectly well regarding his vocal. The only detail that disturbed me were the dancers accompanying Michał – they were a bit distracting. I would prefer to see a rock band instead. It seems to me that it would be more appropriate and compatible with the mood of the song and the image of Szpak.

As we know, the lyrics of Niemen’s work is hard and not easy at all, that is why some people say that Szpak should work more on his diction. And how does Rafał Orłowski from Lublin evaluate the performance when it comes to the pronunciation?

– „Płonąca Stodoła” is a very difficult song. You have to sing it fast, there is no time to take a break. There may have been some minor mistakes, but I did not pay much attention to it. It did not affect the whole performance. I really liked the fact that Michał tried to imitate Niemen’s original accent..

How about an opinion from someone a bit more mature? Teresa Tyszkiewicz-Zajadło, a 54-year-old lady from Gdynia, shared her impression from the first day of the festival:

– The most thrilling performance of the evening was the show of Michał Szpak, who had the opportunity to face the legend – Czesław Niemen – not for the first time. Some journalists who had been watching him during the rehearsals had announced a daring performance. And indeed, Szpak was the ‘’brightest star’’ comparing to other performers. It was definitely  his evening and I think that the audience sitting there in the Amphitheatre could feel it,too. The combination of his rock vocal, his young  – age nonchalance and the message –  full expression and emotions –  all ‘’sprinkled with’’ the spectacular stage look, pulled me violently into Szpak’s musical world, where the barn from the song by Niemen was no longer on fire –  but it was a huge conflagration. Michał not only did a great job with the song, but thanks to his charisma and talent it was all very unique. There is something magical in a way that Niemen’s spirit accompanies this young singer on his difficult path. The analogy between the two men is hugely visible. I believe that this colourful and strong individualist and his courage will  triumph one day, in spite of Polish people being reluctant to open to this type of original, exuberant artistic patterns.

As we can see, Szpak did his task perfectly well, and what’s more, he put the hearts of the audience on fire.

The materials were collected by Zuzanna Wójcik, an author of this article. People mentioned in the text had agreed to publish their opinion.

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