Regina Engel at the Donauschwaben…
…and a surprise! The surprise was Wolf Blecher’s (Wolf
Promotions) introduction, of the opening act, which was his
discovery of 19-year-old Whitney Paget, from Peterborough, a
vivacious young lady with an impressive vocal range. She
entertained with a number of difficult selections to warm up the
audience. Chosen were melodies from various genres such as El
Majo Discreto; My Dear Marquis; Summertime; and Over The
Rainbow. And warm up the audience she did, she even sang Peggy
Lees Fever! I would not have been surprised if she had gotten a
standing ovation. Then it was Matt Lebar’s turn to coax the
guest to the dance floor for an extended period. They eagerly
complied, no coaxing necessary!
 But let’s get to the main event – sponsored by Paul Schmelzer,
the owner of CENTRE HONDA, in downtown Toronto – European
Superstar Regina Engel.
She was twice one of the finalists at the Grand
Prix der Volksmusik and we could see why. Still the super-
entertainer, she
 enthralled the audience with a rich palette of
old and new hits, many that I had not even heard of, but they
were definitely hits, by the reaction of the audience.
The highly energetic level
and quality of her performance was
 pretty much identical to the
last time I had the pleasure of experiencing her talents at the
last German Day in the CNE that Gabi Schick and our own Sybille
Forster-Rentmeister put on (those were the days); and to me she
appeared not to have changed much since then.
 The incomparable Matt Lebar and his band took over for an
extended period of dance music in between sets and judging by
the participation of the guests, it was not an unwelcome
interlude before her next performance.
 Meanwhile Wolf Blecher had set up an area in the foyer where the
guest could purchase some of Regina’s CD’s – that were also
personally autographed while they waited, thus the many guest
that wanted a souvenir to t ake home had a lasting memory. After
the intermission Regina changed into a lovely evening gown for
her second set of more of her rich talents to equal success with
the audience.
 Thanks, Paul Schmelzer, for an unforgettable experience!
Kudos also to Christian Probst – the resident Swiss Chef – for
an excellent Chicken Paprikash.
As always,
Dick Altermann
|
|
