|
|
 |
     
MOZART AT 250: THE SALZBURG FESTIVAL CELEBRATION premiered on September 26, 2006 on PBS (check local listings).
In celebration of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's 250th birthday in 2006, the internationally renowned Salzburg Festival presented all 22 of the composer's operas and other major compositions throughout the course of its summer schedule. Joining the festivities, GREAT PERFORMANCES travels to Salzburg in all its picturesque splendor for a gala concert with the Vienna Philharmonic from the stage of the Felsenreitschule (the former "Summer Riding School" immortalized as the location for the final Von Trapp Family concert in THE SOUND OF MUSIC). Featuring some of Mozart's most memorable music from "Così fan tutte," "Don Giovanni," and other classic works, the concert will include performances from several leading young stars in opera, including Magdalena Kozená, Patricia Petibon, Anna Netrebko, Rene Pape, Michael Schade, Ekaterina Siurina, and Thomas Hampson. The concert was conducted by the 29-year-old Daniel Harding, who has received international acclaim for his work at Covent Garden, La Scala, and other esteemed venues.
The festival that began in 1920 with a handful of concerts now offers more than 200,000 performances, boasts 19 venues, runs for more than one month, and has made Salzburg a Mozart mecca. Learn how the annual event got its start and about Mozart's relationship to his hometown during his lifetime in the essay by Tim Smith. See which works from the composer's oeuvre were selected for the gala concert in the song list. Read a short biography, watch video excerpts, and find more on the key sites in Vienna and Salzburg that were relevant to the composer in the Multimedia Presentation: Celebrating Mozart.
Special funding for the program was provided by the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Arts Fund, the LuEsther T. Mertz Charitable Trust, and the Irene Diamond Fund.
Top banner photos: Soprano Patricia Petibon; tenor Michael Schade, conductor Daniel Harding, and the Vienna Philharmonic (photo courtesy ORF/Ali Schafler); and soprano Anna Netrebko (photo courtesy ORF/Ali Schafler).
|
|
 |
 |
The Felsenreitschule has been a festival venue since 1926. |
 |
 |
|
Daniel Harding conducts the Vienna Philharmonic. |
|
 |
|
No CD or DVD available. |
|
|
