Text by Patricia C. Figueiredo
UPDATE: After the duo was unable to perform the entire show in Porto Alegre, the Curitiba show was canceled because the health condition of both of them worsened.
After an 18-year wait, former bandmates Tarja Turunen and Marko Hietala finally reunited for a series of shows in Latin America, reliving their time as part of Nightwish with the Living The Dream – The Hits Tour 2024. However, the performance in Porto Alegre on the 9th was marred by the hardship both artists suffered due to a viral infection. The show at Bar Opinião had been sold out weeks in advance.
With a long schedule for the evening, it was Andreas Solrák who took the stage first. The sound of the musician from Rio Grande do Sul features quite poetic and profound lyrics sung in Portuguese, and an intense melody in his compositions. At times it seems we can identify aspects of native music from Rio Grande do Sul, like a darker milonga with the weight of the guitars. The audience's reception was a little cold at the beginning, but shortly after the halfway point of the set many had already surrendered to the band's folk rock.
It didn't take long for the stage to be set up for the second opening act of the night. As in São Paulo, Marko Hietala had an acoustic set of about six songs to give fans a taste of his participation in this tour. He took the stage accompanied by Tuomas Wainola , both equipped only with an acoustic guitar each, but ended up singing only "Stones". The bassist soon announced that he had a virus and was having difficulty singing, got up, spoke briefly with Tuomas and left the stage.
After a few minutes, Marko reappeared to explain that he wouldn't be singing that night because he needed to rest, and, as expected, the audience was quite shocked and disappointed. Before leaving the stage, Marko said he felt bad for having to do this and even decided to tell an old (and particularly unpleasant) story about the day a friend defecated in a woman's bed – with whom he couldn't have sex – while she was sleeping. After this random anecdote, the musician left.
Changes began on stage again, and it seemed Tarja's show was guaranteed. In the audience, many speculated about what the singer's plan would be, since about half of her setlist featured Marko. This soon ceased to be everyone's biggest concern when Paulo Baron, the artist's manager, appeared on stage to announce that Tarja wasn't feeling well either. Despite another shock, Paulo assured everyone that she was ready and that she was counting on the fans' help to put on the show.
Tarja's band members then took the stage and were warmly applauded, followed by Tarja herself, who drew the loudest applause and cheers of the night. At this point, the fans were already committed to being the best audience the artist could have on this tour, a true demonstration of loyalty and admiration.
The first change to the setlist came with the absence of "Eye of the Storm," the song with which Tarja has been starting her shows. Due to her condition, the choice was to go straight to "Demons in You," followed by "Die Alive," "Diva," and "Shadow Play." The singer didn't strain her voice, although she managed to reach some very high notes.
Despite avoiding speaking much and having difficulty with her voice, Tarja was cheered and embraced by the fans who were completely devoted. In a low, restrained voice, she thanked everyone for being there and showed her affection for the audience. At one point she even confided: "Life sucks sometimes."
Next, Marko surprised everyone by returning to the stage, sending the audience into a frenzy, but unfortunately, he was only there to explain that he really couldn't sing the duets with Tarja. The fans felt the bassist's pain and honored him with a chorus of "olê olê olê olá, Marko, Marko," which he said broke his heart but also made him very happy. It wasn't easy to see the musician leave the stage for good, but we know that some things are beyond the control of artists, and we can only accept that not everything always goes right.
The show continued and, to everyone's surprise, Tarja kept the songs that made her so successful with Nightwish in the setlist. "Planet Hell" and "Wish I Had an Angel" featured guitarist Alex Scholpp and delighted longtime fans. The audience also sang along loudly during "I Walk Alone" and "Victim of Ritual".
At this point, Tarja usually leaves the stage for a costume change and returns for the encore, but this time the setlist jumped to "Until My Last Breath," the song with which the show was prematurely ended. We didn't get to hear "Phantom of the Opera," "Over the Hills and Far Away," nor could we hear "Left on Mars," the new song that Tarja and Marko recorded together and which will be released next week.
Between dancing, jumping, and smiles, it was clear that Tarja was tense that night. Although I saw her very serious and worried at various points on stage, she interacted a lot with the audience and gave what she could. Many fans probably left disappointed by Marko's absence, but frustrations aside, it must be admitted that even when Tarja can only give her bare minimum, the singer still puts on a great show.
Our contributor Sophia Velho was at the show and captured the moment. Check out the gallery below.
