Conductor Christoph Campestrini leads the "Viennese New Year's Celebration” on January 1 featuring soprano Irena Welhasch Baerg and baritone Theodore Baerg
December 22, 2003 -
Ottawa, Canada -- The National Arts Centre will kick off 2004 with a "Viennese New Year's Celebration” of lively and glorious music as sparkling as a glass of champagne. The concert on Thursday, January 1 at 14:30 in NAC's Southam Hall, features Austrian conductor Christoph Campestrini leading a 55-piece orchestra in waltzes and other orchestral delights, while husband-and-wife opera singers Irena Welhasch Baerg (soprano) and Theodore Baerg (baritone) sing selections from Viennese operetta.
Please note the wording above: This concert is NOT performed by the National Arts Centre Orchestra.
19th century Vienna conjures images of dazzling ballrooms, glittering chandeliers, infectious gaiety and ebullient romanticism, and when one thinks of the music of this era the name Johann Strauss immediately comes to mind. Strauss Jr. will be represented by such danceable delights as the "Ballo in Maschera” Quadrille, Roses from the South Waltz, the Overture to Die Fledermaus, the Annen-Polka, the Egyptian March, and of course On the Beautiful Blue Danube.
Theodore Baerg will sing Sieczynski's "Vienna, City of My Dreams” (Wien du Stadt meine Träume) and Irena Welhasch will sing Lehár's lip-kissing delight "Meine Lippen Sie Küssen so Heiss” from Giuditta. The two will join together for "Silvio! a quest'ora” from Leoncavallo's Pagliacci, "Gehen Wir in's Chambre Séparée”, the best-known number from Heuberger's Der Opernball (The Opera Ball), as well as "Love Unspoken” (Lippen Schweigen) from Lehár's The Merry Widow.
Born in Linz, Austria, Christoph Campestrini is one of the foremost young conducting talents of nineteenth and twentieth century repertoire, and has appeared with many of the world's finest orchestras. He made his debut with the London Symphony Orchestra in 1998 at the Barbican Center in a program broadcast by the BBC. He has led tours of the chamber orchestra of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra and the Cairo Symphony, and made the first of many engagements with the Mozarteum Orchestra of Salzburg in January 1996. His opera engagements include performances with the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Dusseldorf/Duisburg and the Croatian National Opera in Zagreb.
Internationally renowned for her vivid operatic portrayals, Winnipeg-born soprano Irena Welhasch Baerg is one of Canada's most esteemed artists. Whether in the title role of Dvorák's Rusalka or as Mimi in La Bohème, the power and poetry of her performances are undeniable. She has performed the title role of Lehár's operetta The Merry Widow at the National Arts Centre, for the Canadian Opera Company National Tour, and in Calgary. She has been heard in Gershwin and Viennese evenings for Brott Summer Music in Hamilton, Ontario and with the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony. Her way with a waltz was also heard in concerts with the Mississauga Symphony and with the Edmonton Symphony. Her world premiere performance of Canadian composer Victor Davies' oratorio Revelation for the Winnipeg Symphony was reprised at the National Arts Centre for Festival Canada.
Baritone Theodore Baerg has laid claim to a career of major proportions, with the New York Philharmonic, San Francisco Opera and Glyndebourne Festival just three of his international destinations. He is also a favourite with Ottawa audiences having performed with the NAC Orchestra and Opera Lyra Ottawa. New York City Opera audiences have hailed Mr. Baerg as the Haji in Kismet, Fontaine in The Desert Song and Danilo in The Merry Widow. The dashing baritone is a popular star for orchestra evenings devoted to the works of Strauss, Lehár, and "The Best of Broadway”.
To add to the celebratory atmosphere of the Viennese New Year's Celebration, NAC Executive Chef Kurt Waldele has created a festive New Year's luncheon menu, which patrons may purchase separately. Smoked Atlantic Salmon served with horseradish cream, caper and
lemon on butter lettuce may be followed either by Roasted Sirloin of Beef with woodland mushroom sauce, Seafood Stuffed Sole served with bell pepper sauce. Baba au rhum with preserved fruits, and coffee or tea, complete the luncheon, which is priced at $37.70 (including taxes and gratuities).
Tickets for the concert are $43.00, $56.00, $69.00 or $72.00 with box seats at $86.50 (GST and facility included).
Tickets for both the concert and/or the luncheon can be purchased at the NAC Box Office (Monday to Saturday from 10:00 to 21:00), and through Ticketmaster (with surcharges) at 613-755-1111. Ticketmaster may also be accessed through the NAC's web-site at www.nac-cna.ca.
