Appearing for the first time ever in Israel, Cologne, Amsterdam and returning to London for the first time in over six years, Barbra Streisand’s 2013 concert tour (titled, simply,
Live) combined a magical evening of timeless hits, her elegant voice, and her charming banter.
Bill Ross conducted a full orchestra and the concerts included special guests Chris Botti, Jason Gould, and Roslyn Kind, all of whom performed in Barbra’s highly successful
2012 North American concert tour.
Barbra‘s tour was announced in March 2013, with additional dates added in April. In all: eight concerts in five cities, all in the month of June 2013.
The 2013 tour of Europe and Israel featured the same guest stars and set as Barbra’s 2012 tour — with the exception of the group Il Volo. They were not available for the eight shows, so Barbra and her co-director Richard Jay-Alexander repurposed the concerts to account for this. Barbra told the press: “I just try to put together a wonderful show for the audience and in this particular instance it’s a delight for me to have my family along... my very gifted son, Jason, and my sister, Rozzie. I also love having a sixty-piece orchestra and a big choir and working again with the amazing, Chris Botti.”
For the first three shows, Roslyn Kind was given the previous spot that Il Volo occupied in the North American tour — first act, after Barbra’s opening set of songs. Roslyn also sang a solo in her spot. Jason kept his spot (after Chris Botti) in the second act, but now sang
two solos. Then, for the second show in Amsterdam, the spots were reversed: Jason moved to the first act, and Roslyn now appeared in act two after “Make Our Garden Grow.”