The Ottawa Citizen from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada • 65

Section Editor: Lynn McAuley, 596-3673 Artsthecitizen.southam.ca THE OTTAWA CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MARCH 18, 1999 a shines on Ottawa Superstar makes up for past snub with a boisterous, bubbling show Shani AM) ''Av hi i A 1 I ft wjmx Lor" city, Winnipeg, has two shows booked. It was a fitting welcome for the native of Timmins who is the biggest-selling country female singer in history. Twain has sold some 15 million copies of her breakthrough second album, The Woman In Me, and eight million of 1997 disc, Come On Over. With such record breaking numbers, it's obvious Twain has reached an audience beyond traditional country music fans. Her catchy tunes, punchy pop-rock instrumentation and slick production make her music as appealing to the pop fan as the country 1 On one song, Shania was joined by 16-year-old high school student Stephanie Jackson, who beat more than 200 other contestants to earn the chance to sing on stage.

Students from the music programs at local high schools were also part of the show, providing the angelic background vocals for the spiritual song, God Bless the Child. They were also scheduled to play marching drums on the country rock number (If You're Not In It For Love) I'm Outta Here, which traditionally closes her show. Stephanie Jackson admitted to a bad case of nerves before the show. "I'm generally nervous in front of people, any amount of people, but I'm getting more used to it," she said. The packed Corel Centre gig was quite a change from the occasional karaoke outings Jackson has been doing with her parents.

"I'm scared out of my mind." Since she learned on Monday that she had won the contest put on by Y105, Jackson said she has practised singing Twain's first hit, What Made You Say That? almost endlessly. She said she was nervous she might go through a bit of a letdown after the whirlwind activity of the last week. "I'm afraid I'm going to be sort of depressed when it's over," she said. A reminder that it was St. Patrick's Day came upon hearing the Celtic-drenched strains of opening act Leahy, the Peterborough-area family band.

The eight brothers and sisters gave a rousing performance, making good use of Twain's vast stage with her step dancing and pumping the mix of three fiddles, drums, bass and keyboards through the stadium sound system. Their efforts won an enthusiastic burst of noise from the audience, and drew many in the floor seats to their feet for a spontaneous standing ovation. Twain performs again tonight. Tickets ($39.50 and $49.50) are expected to be available through TicketMaster, 755-1111. The show starts at 8 p.m.

With files from Colin Grey ByLynnSaxberg If Ottawans felt snubbed by Shania Twain last year, there was no sign of it at the Corel Centre last night. The country music superstar made up for missing Ottawa on last year's swing through Canada by putting on a show that bubbled with personality. In the first of two nights at the Kana-ta hockey arena, the singer turned on the charm, making even those in the upper reaches of the stadium feel welcome. She waved in all directions, she touched hands with fans at the front and she smiled and winked at their children. Thanks to the big video screen flanking the stage, it was difficult to miss a move.

Some 17,000 fans flocked to see Twain's first appearance, and another 17,000 are expected tonight. Only fellow country mega-star Garth Brooks had sold more tickets to Ottawa area fans when he played two shows at the Corel Centre in 1996. Looking more Spice Girls than country crooner in her platform sneakers, formfitting black pants, tight white shirt and black vinyl vest Shania kicked off the show with her latest hit Man! I Feel Like a a song that sounds like a raunchy horn-laden anthem. You had to chuckle at the men in the front row mouthing the words. Was it country? Well, there were plenty of fiddles during the show, a bit of pedal steel and the slightest twang in Twain's voice.

But there were also electric guitar licks, big drums and a full-blown stage show, complete with pyrotechnics, banks of speakers and the volume to match. Whatever it was, it was entertaining. Shania rocked her way through a hit-packed set, including Honey I'm Home, Who's Bed have Your Boots Been Love Gets Me Every Time, and That Don't Impress Me Much. She slowed the pace a few times, perching on a stool with a 12-string guitar at one point to sing the moving Still the One. That was a more successful attempt at emotion than her other efforts when she merged several songs into a medley.

Still, Twain had the audience in her the palm of her hand, especially when she did things like bring people from the top level down to the front and then up on stage. No doubt about it, she is a seasoned entertainer who genuinely seems to have a soft spot for her fans. Probably because of the pent-up demand for Shania, more people have bought tickets for the Ottawa shows than any other stop on the current leg of her cross-Canada tour. Just one other MMThMl'' ir "i TjTTTTTiiniriMMWiiirrMnri Pop-country mega-star Shania Twain rocked the Corel Centre non-stop shows. Some tickets are still available for tonight's performance.

Giant movie screen a highlight of NAC pops concert Unusual orchestra program honours quality, but low-profile, scores of classic movies JOHN MAJOR, THE OTTAWA CITIZEN last night in the first of two nights of emy Awards for their efforts. There will be several scenes from each film. Clips from the Wizard, for example, will include Dorothy's return to Kansas, Toto's escape, the cyclone scene and a rarely seen clip that was not included in the final print of the 1939 musical: an extended comic dance routine by Ray Bolger, who played the scarecrow. The orchestra and guest conductor William Eddins will also perform a few pieces without film footage: the instantly recognizable 20th-century Fox overture; Maurice Jarre's Lawrence of Arabia overture and Nino Rota's The Godfather: Suite for Orchestra. A classic scene from the 1951 Gene Kelly musical An American in Paris will be presented with its original soundtrack.

In it, pianist Oscar Levant, who plays a struggling concert pianist in the film, has a dream in which he performs George Gershwin's Concerto in in a concert hall. Special effects add a surprise comic twist to the scene that will be familiar to anyone who has seen the movie. See MOVIES on page F2 By Steven mazey Dorothy returning to Kansas, clicking her ruby slippers and softly repeating the words that will carry her back to Aunty Em: "There's no place like home." The burning of Atlanta, and Scarlett O'Hara's famous vow: "I'll never be hungry again." The chariot parade and the cross-ing-the-desert scenes from Ben Hur. The opening of Citizen Kane, when a dying man whispers "Rosebud," and the perfect, heart-stopping ending that finally reveals what rosebud was. The ambush, the archery contest and the escape from the gallows in The Adventures of Robin Hood, the eye-popping technicolour film from 1938 that featured Errol Flynn in peak swashbuckling form.

They're scenes that are remembered fondly by movie buffs everywhere, and for a few days, they will be back on the big screen, the way they were meant to be seen. Tonight through Saturday, the enor jfiM0 mous (and too rarely used) movie screen of the National Arts Centre Opera will be back in business when the NAC Orchestra presents A Night at the Oscars, an evening of movie clips from some of Hollywood's best-loved films. As clips are shown from each film, the orchestra, in a slightly lowered pit, will perform the original scores. Audiences will hear live performances of some of the superb film music written by composers who had fled the wartime troubles of Europe to settle in Los Angeles. Before Hollywood, many of them had also composed symphonies, chamber music and operas, giving a depth to their music that few of today's film composers can match.

Among the composers whose work is featured are Max Steiner (Gone with the Wind); Erich Korngold (Robin Hood); Miklos Rosza (Ben Hur); Bernard Herrmann (Citizen Kane); and Herbert Stothart (The Wizard of Oz). Several of the composers won Acad ft The NAC Orchestra pops concerts beginning tonight feature clips and the often under-appreciated scores from some of Hollywood's best-loved films. Included is a rarely seen movie clip that was not part of the final print of The Wizard of Oz in 1939: an extended comic dance routine by Ray Bolger, who played the scarecrow (shown above with Judy Garland). 0 terns ihm mt- 0..