Article:

Der weltbeste Walzerkönig. Zur medialen Erzeugung von Nähe und Intimität mit André Rieu

Taking the celebrity culture around André Rieu, the «World's King of the Waltz», as its ethnographic focus, this essay highlights the persuasive potential of media in creating experiences of proximity and intimacy with celebrities. Gearing the attention to the significance of media and processes of mediation in generating fame, the essay demonstrates how André Rieu's DVDs – featuring carefully edited compilations of Rieu's concert series – are pivotal in producing Rieu's charisma and in creating new audiences around the globe. For Rieu aficionados, the DVDs enable affective encounters with their object of veneration, which are no less real than the experience of a live performance. Close-ups of Rieu bring the maestro nearer, while selected audience members showing the appropriate behaviour or emotions allow for easy identification.