Review Quotes:
"Hara's Quest is a beautifully conceived, ambitious work that stretches the boundaries of the New Age tradition with its originality and maturity." - New Life Magazine, New York City
"Hara's Quest is a beautifully conceived, ambitious work that stretches the boundaries of the New Age tradition with its originality and maturity." - New Life Magazine, New York City
"This beautiful exotic sound matrix accentuates a great voice and visionary lyrics." - Harry Williams, MP3.com. Review of "Cities" from Hara's Quest
"A quintessential musician...Barbara's music has a very beneficial effect... feeding our inner hungers.” - ALL TURNATIVES - California
"Lewis has the big voice, she drew a spellbinding sense of rapture." - THE CHRONICLE - Halifax, Canada
"Lewis is a gifted singer, but more importantly, a born communicator." - THE GAZETTE - Montreal, Canada
"Barbara is a woman with a special voice... and her recordings are made with a strong personal touch. On her latest CD (Hara's Quest), 11 songs describe a ...deep and fantastic journey...Great energy...special sensitivity and emotional rhythm." - M. Montes - Amazings Reviews
"Two women who have operatic backgrounds and now offer albums that are both romantic and metaphysical are Sarah Brightman and Barbara Lewis. Lewis, who writes her own material, has performed on stage in shows such as Book of Dreams. (Her CD), Hara's Quest tells the story of a woman who searches for her true home and on her way meets spirits, dolphins, ET's and others as she visits both past and future cities. Quite a journey carried by a powerful voice.” - Aquarius, Atlanta
Quotes about the show, “Crossroads”
"Music is Barbara Lewis’s life and she’s got the opera chops to belt it through Club Lambi, down the stairs and into the bustle of St-Laurent. The seasoned performer is heartfelt, sharing tidbits about her youth, living through 9/11 and the loss of her soulmate. The most fun is when she’s a New York agent who proffers a star machine makeover. Crossroads works best, however, when Lewis’s training doesn’t get in the way, letting her drop it down and be natural." - Janis Kirshner, The Montreal Mirror
"There is something about Barbara Lewis's music that immediately touches you and pulls you into its world. It's not explained only by the fact that her voice is hauntingly beautiful, or that the harmonies and poetry are intimate and lyrical. As she describes her journey and her experiences, it is clear that the power of the music lies in the courage it took to write it and in the daring to produce absolutely authentic work - the driving force behind all art." - Kristine Berey, Senior Times
“What’s inspiring about this musical diary is that we see freedom achieved in a
50-minute telling and we go out feeling equally liberated, having gone through a catharsis of our own emotions.” – Heather Solomon, The Canadian Jewish News
50-minute telling and we go out feeling equally liberated, having gone through a catharsis of our own emotions.” – Heather Solomon, The Canadian Jewish News
"Of the 'Fringe For all' snippets... I saw many which rose above the rest...(including) Crossroads - An Astonishing Musical Journey" - Gaetan Charlebois, The Gazette
“Freedom, love, dreams – they may be lofty ideas, but singer/songwriter, Barbara Lewis uses them as inspiration to produce concrete results. She has managed to turn her passion for music and exploring new possibilities into an international career.” - Canada’s Dept. of Foreign Affairs and International Trade
"This was a superb concert, a very courageous artist with an awesome voice, sensitive, powerful, classical yet all encompassing, energetic, profound and very captivating. This show will stay with this writer for some time." - Margaret Carty (Audience member quote on Fringe Buzz/net)
Articles
The Montreal Gazette
by Kathryn Greenaway
Barbara Lewis is a classically trained singer on a quest. She is forever searching for a deeper understanding of her past and of her destiny. Over the years she has expanded her operatic vocals to embrace the texture of world music, the meditative quality of new-age music and the highly creative improvisational quality of jazz.
And now after two years of work with husband Nicholas Regush she presents the latest chapter in her journey of discovery. Hara's Quest, a Cutting Edge Productions, is at the Geordie Space this weekend.
Lewis wrote the music and lyrics and Regush wrote the narrative Lewis uses to tie the story together. She is accompanied onstage by five musicians, backup singers Beverley McGuire and Beth Katz and dancer Marija Scekic.
"In this madcap world we have lost the ability to wonder and remain curious," Lewis said recently. "This show is about a willingness to pursue a dream to understand more about life."
Hara, the story's heroine, is searching for the meaning of a reoccurring dream. In the dream, Hara visits a mysterious island, which she believes to be her true home. And so Hara embarks on a search and discover adventure during which she encounters friendly spirits, demons and dolphins.
The story is inspired by an actual incident. During a Florida vacation, Lewis and Regush were searching for shells along a beach one evening when they spotted a great blue heron staring intently out to sea. Joining in the stare, they focused on a pod of dolphins floating quietly close to shore and realized the animals were staring right back at them. Time froze.
"It seemed they (the dolphins) were as curious about us as us about them," Lewis said. "It was a meeting of the ancient past and future."
Lewis's songs have a decided new age feel to them. She is particularly drawn to the soothing qualities of the musical style. One of the healing songs included in the show's repertoire is Lullaby, written by Lewis following the suicide of her brother two years ago.
"I wrote it for him and for myself to help the healing process after his death," she said. "It's a song that seems to speak to everybody who wants to let go of the things that hurt and move on."
She believes there is an audience out there for her brand of musical journey and denouement.
"In the end, Hara understands the meaning of her dream - it's a surprise ending." Lewis said.
Lewis teaches voice part-time at Concordia University and gives voice workshops and seminars through her company, Cutting Edge Productions.
In 1993 Lewis performed her one-woman experimental show Book of Dreams off-Broadway in New York City. The following year the show's music was released on compact disc.
A CD of Hara's Quest is in the works and a Canadian tour of the show is also in the planning stages.
New Life Magazine, NYC
Hara’s Quest, Barbara Lewis
Cutting Edge Productions CD, 11 Songs
The songs on this imaginative CD are all like threads that weave together to form a story of fantasy and spiritual discovery. To tell the story, Barbara Lewis sings these songs in the persona of an imaginary character named Hara, who lives 26 years into the future.
In the opening song, entitled Journey Home, Hara tells of a recurring dream she has of an enchanted island she believes to be her true spiritual home. She acts upon this belief and searches for the island. The ensuing songs chart her journey. She sails on a ship past ruins of cities all over the world into the unknown. Along the way, she comes upon an extra-terrestrial who expands her visionary powers, demons who try to seduce her into relinquishing her freedom in exchange for the fulfillment of her desires, and magical dolphins who guide her through enchanted waters to ancient times. Eventually, Hara attains her goal of the quest, and in doing so gains insight, joy and fulfillment.
Lewis’s songs are well-crafted, blending elements of new age, folk, classical, jazz and World music. She uses her classically-trained soprano voice artfully to give them depth and nuance. The musical arrangements are superb, and the musicians and backup singers perform them with gusto and skill. Hara’s Quest is a beautifully conceived, ambitious work that stretches the boundaries of the New Age tradition with its originality and maturity.
