Lolita of the violin no more
BY EDWIN
YEO
Aug 31, 1999
IT should have been obvious right from the moment Vanessa Mae walked
into the press conference last Friday on board the Superstar Virgo.
But deeply entrenched in the mind is the image of a 17-year-old
playing a violin in a wet, white dress, thigh-deep in the sea, back in
1995.
That, of course, was the well-known picture on her first
pop/classical single, Bach's Toccata and Fugue.
ALL GROWN UP
So, it didn't help that she was again in a white outfit, and at sea.
Yet, with a flick of her short hair and a sunny smile, she made us
remember that this was the woman whose signature tunes make up the
ringing tones of many handphones today.
Having met her in 1995, it should have been even more obvious to me
that Vanessa has grown.
Now 21, she is no longer the apprehensive teenager who needed to take
a moment before answering her questions.
"I'm happy to answer any questions you have," said the Singapore-born
violinist cheerfully as photographers snapped away.
Noticing that they were blocking the line of sight between her and
the reporters, she stopped answering a question halfway and politely
asked us to allow the photographers to finish their picture-taking
first.
After that, she promptly completed the answer she had left dangling,
without missing a beat.
She was in Singapore to perform on the Superstar Virgo for its maiden
voyage from Singapore.
Asked if the auditorium was good enough for a Vanessa Mae concert,
she smiled yet again.
"You know, I haven't actually been to the auditorium yet. I will
tonight, so I can't comment on it at the moment. But I like to play at
different venues. Times Square, cruise ships...
"I have performed on cruise ships before, although not one of this
size. It's never been a problem," she said.
A media-savvy answer that, perhaps, finally swept away, for me at
least, the image of her as the Lolita of the violin.
THAI CITIZEN?
BORN of a Thai father and Singaporean mother, Vanessa, who holds
British citizenship, is seeking Thai citizenship.
"I still don't know the status of that. I applied because I thought
it's the natural thing to do. I have a Thai father and a Thai passport,
so it would be nice if I had Thai citizenship as well," she said.
There were also reports that she was doing this in the hope of
representing Thailand in the 2002 Winter Olympics in the skiing
competition.
She laughed at this suggestion.
"Yes, it would be nice if I could. Just for fun. I have been skiing
since I was five but I'm not a professional skier," she said.
