Premieres Friday, Aug. 25, 2023 at 8 p.m. on KPBS 2 / PBS App + Encore Sunday, Aug. 27, 2023 at 6:30 p.m. on KPBS TV
A beloved summer tradition, GREAT PERFORMANCES presents the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra’s summer night concert from Vienna’s Schönbrunn Palace Gardens. Focusing on musical works from French Romanticism to Impressionism, the orchestra is led for the first time by Metropolitan Opera music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin, and features Elīna Garanča as a soloist performing three arias from “Carmen,” “Sapho” and “Samson et Dalila.” Also performed for the first time is a composition by Lili Boulanger, the first female winner of the prestigious Prix de Rome for her work in 1913.
Musical program:
Suite No. 1 from “Carmen” – Georges Bizet
“Habanera” from “Carmen” – Georges Bizet
“D‘un matin de printemps” – Lili Boulanger
“Le Corsaire” Overture – Hector Berlioz
"O ma lyre immortelle" aria from “Sapho” – Charles Gounod
“Daphnis et Chloé” Suite No. 2 – Maurice Ravel
“Mon cœur s’ouvre à ta voix” aria from “Samson et Dalila” - Camille Saint-Saëns
“Boléro” – Maurice Ravel
“Viennese Spirit” Waltz – Johann Strauss Jr.
Noteworthy Facts:
- This is the first time Metropolitan Opera music conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin is conducting the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra’s summer concert.
- The performance of “D‘un matin de printemps” is dedicated to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was signed 75 years ago and strengthened 30 years ago at the Vienna World Conference on Human Rights.
- The Vienna Philharmonic has performed the Summer Night Concert from the Schönbrunn Palace Gardens in Vienna since 2004.
Watch On Your Schedule:
GREAT PERFORMANCES "Vienna Philharmonic Summer Night Concert 2023" premieres Friday, August 25 on KPBS, and will be available for streaming concurrent with broadcast on PBS.org and the PBS App, available on iOS, Android, Roku streaming devices, Apple TV, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, Samsung Smart TV, Chromecast and VIZIO.
Credits:
A production of Wiener Philharmoniker and ORF in association with The WNET Group, directed by Henning Kasten and produced by Michael Heinzl and Martin Schermann; Martin Traxl is production executive and Karin Veitl is executive producer. For GREAT PERFORMANCES, John Walker is writer, Bill Kabel is producer, Bill O’Donnell is series producer and David Horn is executive producer.
