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.
Netrebko "beguiles the audience" (Neue Kronen-Zeitung) with a heady
rendition of a number from the operetta "Csárdásfürstin" and lets herself
be swept off her feet in a waltz with her duet partner Plácido Domingo.
The great tenor himself regales the audience with his "golden tones" (Die
Presse) and "vocal youthfulness" (Süddeutsche Zeitung) in excerpts from
Massenet and Wagner. Villazón "dazzles with bravura arias," (Wiener
Zeitung), duets and a fiery zarzuela encore. And in an emotional homage to
Vienna, the trio performs the immortal "Wien, du Stadt meiner Träume."
Other gems include Rimsky-Korsakov's "The Rose and the Nightingale,"
Lehár's "Meine Lippen sie küssen so heiss" and "Dein ist mein ganzes
Herz," Ponchielli's "Dance of the Hours" and John Denver's "Perhaps Love."
The singers are accompanied by the "fabulous Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien
with its excellent conductor Bertrand de Billy." (Kurier).
For further recordings with Netrebko, Villazón and Domingo,
use the search formular on the web page.
