NEW YORK, NY (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) —
In the first week of his Australian Tour, violinist André Rieu broke classical concert records when he packed Melbourne’s Telstra Dome with 89,000 of his fans. At the last of his three Melbourne concerts, on November 15th, Rieu sold out the Dome and played for an unprecedented 38,605 classical concertgoers.

Rieu, Violinist and conductor was touched by what he experienced: “We’ve played all over the world, from New York to Seoul and from Tokyo to Paris, but this was different. To be thousands of miles from home and to get such an enormous welcome -from 38,000 people- really made me speechless.”

Rieu and his Johann Strauss Orchestra also appeared on television while in Melbourne, performing on the season finale of the Australian Dancing with the Stars and live on The Today Show. The popularity of Rieu in Australia keeps growing. Rieu currently has 15 albums listed in the music DVD top 40. Except for #6 (Pink) and #7 (AC/DC) Rieu holds all of the top 10 positions.

Rieu’s Australian Tour is showing early signs of record-breaking ticket sales. Vendors have already sold almost 250,000 tickets for the tour’s eleven concerts. The Australian Tour is the final leg of the 2008 World Stadium Tour in which Rieu transported a full-size replica of Vienna’s Schönbrunn Palace around the world. 375 feet wide and 100 feet high, Rieu’s portable castle easily exceeds the size of the largest Rolling Stones’ stage.

After completing his Australian tour and European Christmas concerts, Rieu will have performed for 700,000 fans. With high concert attendance like this, Rieu is well on his way to securing a position among the world’s top fifteen touring acts of 2008.

Tour dates:

11/18 – AAMI Stadium Adelaide AU
11/19 – AAMI Stadium Adelaide AU
11/22 – Perth Subiaco Oval Perth AU
11/27 – ANZ Stadium (formerly Telstra Stadium) Sydney AU
11/28 – ANZ Stadium (formerly Telstra Stadium) Sydney AU
11/29 – ANZ Stadium (formerly Telstra Stadium) Sydney AU
12/03 – corp Stadium Milton Queensland AU
12/ 04 – corp Stadium Milton Queensland AU
12/ 19 – Gelredome Arnhem NL
12/ 20 – Gelredome Arnhem NL
12/ 22 – Ethias Arena Hasselt BE
12/ 23 – Ethias Arena Hasselt BE
01/01 – Lanxess Arena Cologne – Koln DE
01/02 – Lanxess Arena Cologne – Koln DE
01/03 – AWD Dome Bremen DE
01/04 – Sparkassen Arena Kiel DE
01/05 – Color Line Arena / Colorline Arena Hamburg DE
01/06 – Leipzig Arena Leipzig DE
01/10 – ISS Dome Dusseldorf DE
01/16 – O2 World Berlin DE
01/17 – Bordelandhalle Magdeburg DE
01/18 – Tui Arena Hannover DE
01/19 – Arena Chemnitz DE
01/20 – Messehalle Erfurt DE
01/21 – Volkswagenhalle Braunschweig DE
01/24 – Festhalle – Messe Frankfurt DE
01/26 – SAP Arena Mannheim DE
01/27 – Arena Trier DE
01/28 – Westfalenhalle 1 Dortmund DE
01/29 – Konig Pilsener Arena Oberhausen DE
01/31 – Europahalle Karlsruhe DE
02/01 – Olympiahalle Munich DE
02/06 – Hallenstadion Zurich Zurich CH
02/15 – Stadthalle Graz AT
02/16 – Stadthalle Vienna AT
02/17 – Intersport Arena Linz AT
02/18 – Salzburg Arena Salzburg AT
02/19 – Olympiahalle Innsbruck AT
02/27 – Schleyerhalle Stuttgart DE
03/25 – Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum Uniondale NY US
03/26 – Prudential Center Newark NJ US
05/14 – 1st Mariner Arena Baltimore MD US
05/19 – Fox Theatre – Detroit Detroit MI US
05/23 – Target Center Minneapolis MN US
06/12 – General Motors Place Vancouver BC, Canada
06/13 – Tacoma Dome Tacoma WA US
06/16 – Oracle Arena

–by CelebrityAccess Staff Writers

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