The Midsummer Night’s Gala heralds the start of the summer festival season every year, captivating the audience and celebrating the summer against the idyllic backdrop of the extensive castle grounds. On the Wolkenturm stage, chief conductor Fabien Gabel joins star pianist and festival director Rudolf Buchbinder for their first collaboration at Grafenegg. Buchbinder, intimately familiar with the venue, performs a movement from Schumann’s Piano Concerto in A minor. South African mezzo-soprano Siphokazi Molteno makes her festival debut, alongside American tenor Michael Spyres, recently named Best International Opera Singer at the Oper! Awards. The programme offers a vibrant mix of opera arias, overtures, and orchestral works, featuring Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia, Puccini’s Turandot, and a spotlight on French and Spanish music.
Grafenegg: Midsummer Night’s Gala 2023
For a decade and a half, the Midsummer Night’s Gala has ushered-in the summer season at the Wolkenturm. It is also Grafenegg’s flagship media event, televised around the world. The best artists take centre stage, casting their spell over the audience amidst the idyllic scenery of the Castle grounds. For the cast of this edition – Lithuanian soprano Asmik Grigorian, American tenor Eric Cutler and French cellist Gautier Capuçon – Yutaka Sado, principal conductor of the Tonkünstler-Orchester, has put together a dramatic gala programme, with works by Verdi, Wagner, Puccini, Prokofiev, Leoncavallo and Dvorák. “Eric Cutler’s tenor was soaring, Gautier Capuçon’s cello melting, the Tonkünstler Orchestra sovereign. And simply stunning the soprano of Lithuania’s opera superstar Asmik Grigorian” (Niederösterreichische Nachrichten)
Grafenegg: Midsummer Night’s Gala 2022
“A nonchalant Erwin Schrott (baritone), a stormy Marlies Petersen (soprano) and a stunning Selina Ott, who does somersaults with her trumpet. Conclusion: A summer night dance over the rainbow! ” (Niederösterreichische Nachrichten) A splendid start to the open air season, full of pathos and tender whispers: every year the Midsummer Night’s Gala in Grafenegg strikes the most beautiful notes of the opera and concert repertoire. As the sun slowly descends behind the castle, the colourful sound of the Tonkunstler Orchestra ascends from the Wolkenturm, captivating listeners with its commitment and the best soloists from all over the world. In 2022, two important voices will be heard with the German soprano Marlis Peterson, who has gained international attention with her creative power, and the Uruguayan-Spanish bassbaritone Erwin Schrott, who will enchant listeners with his rich tone. These two international stars are joined by the young trumpet virtuoso Selina Ott, who is on the verge of conquering the world’s great concert halls.
Hollywood in Vienna – A Tribute to Alexandre Desplat
In 2016, Hollywood in Vienna invited to an unforgettable musical journey through space and time and honoured the Hollywood composer, Oscar-, Golden Globe and Grammy Award winner Alexandre Desplat. First, A Space Odyssey leads us to outer space. We enter the infamous, global Star Wars and are rescued by Star Trek’s spaceship “Enterprise” before Gravity pulls us back to earth and, finally, we fulfill E.T.’s wish, to phone home. In the second part, Desplat’s atmospheric melodies for Harry Potter, Twilight, The King’s Speech and The Grand Budapest Hotel let us virtually float through the universe. Featuring star singers from various musical genres – Verdi soprano Kristin Lewis, singersongwriter Katerine Ellis and pop star Grace Capristo – “standing ovations were preprogrammed” (Kronenzeitung).
Grafenegg: MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S GALA 2014
Home of the world’s best orchestras, singers and musicians – this is Grafenegg Festival. Set in the gorgeous wine-country landscape of Lower Austria near Vienna, the historic castle and its beautiful gardens invite the audience to a spectacle of classical music inspired by nature. The concert is performed in the “cloud tower”, the spectacular modern open-air-stage, with its breathtaking acoustics.
Grafenegg: MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S GALA 2015
“Aural pleasure at the Wolkenturm” is how the Kurier newspaper described it, referring to the “top-flight summer night’s gala from Grafenegg”, taking place in the picturesque open air ambience of Grafenegg, Lower Austria. Under the artistic overall direction of pianist Rudolf Buchbinder the Grafenegg Festival has blossomed into a benchmark event for all the top stars on the classical music scene. A potpourri of lovely melodies from the world of opera, operetta and the concert hall, which brought praise from the audience and from the Wiener Zeitung: “Piotr Beczala’s wonderful operetta top notes, Elisabeth Kulman’s rich mezzo and Julia Fischer’s graceful violin playing with her refined reading of catchy Spanish tunes” are the ingredients for an unmatched evening recital in Grafenegg.
Hollywood in Vienna – A Tribute to James Horner
In 2013, ‘Hollywood in Vienna’ guest star James Horner, conductor David Newman and the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra set off to discover fascinating new worlds. James Horner (Titanic, Apollo 13, Star Trek, Avatar, A Beautiful Mind, Braveheart) belongs to today’s best known and most versatile film composers. His awards include two Academy Awards, seven Oscar nominations, two Golden Globe Awards (eight nominations) and three Grammy Awards (eight nominations).
3 Stars in Vienna
Bathed in the warm light of the setting sun, Vienna’s imperial Schönbrunn Palace provides a romantic setting for this open-air concert held shortly before the final match of the Euro 2008 football championship. And shining even more brightly than the palace are the stars of the evening, Anna Netrebko, Rolando Villazón and Plácido Domingo. The trio’s first joint concert, given at Berlin’s Waldbühne for the 2006 football World Cup, was recorded by UNITEL CLASSICA and awarded the Platinum DVD for sales of over 50,000 DVDs in Germany and over 100,000 worldwide. The Schönbrunn concert also broke records with 3.3 million viewers watching the concert live or deferred in Germany and Austria.