CD Review | Sommernachtskonzert 2023 (Summer Night Concert 2023)

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Sommernachtskonzert 2023 (Summer Night Concert 2023)
music by Bizet, Gounod, Ravel, Berlioz and Strauss
Elīna Garanča, mezzo-soprano; Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor
Sony Classical CD, June 2023

Every summer the Vienna Philharmonic presents an open-air concert in the gardens of the Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna. The setting is spectacular, and the event draws thousands of listeners—in fact, it has become nearly as popular as the orchestra’s New Year’s concerts. For conductors, it is a singular honour to be invited. This year, Yannick Nézet-Séguin led a program of French music with Latvian mezzo-soprano Elīna Garanča. Garanča offered familiar arias by Bizet and Saint-Saëns, alongside the less well-known “Ô ma lyre immortelle” from Gounod’s Sapho. In each piece, Garanča shaped the music beautifully with her voluptuous vocal tone.

Yannick and the VPO gave virtuosic performances of Berlioz’s Le Corsaire Overture, Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé: Suite No. 2 and Bolero. The traditional encore at these concerts is Johann Strauss Jr.’s Wiener Blut waltz, which the conductor and orchestra played with warmth and affection.

There is neither audience noise nor applause on this CD, which would suggest that the recording was not made at the actual concert. When the DVD and Blu-ray versions are issued shortly, listeners can hope to hear the same music, recorded at the event itself.

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