The Dome, Brighton, 31 December 2013
There is only one composer when New Year celebrations come to mind – Johann Strauss – and far better to hear him live than rest as a couch-potato in front of the Vienna Philharmonic.
Barry Wordsworth set a cracking pace with a bright and breezy performance of Suppe’s Overture Light Cavalry before we got into Strauss proper with the Egyptian March. As a remarkably well trained audience we were all well up to the vocal chorus for the work, as we were equally sensitive in adding the choral backing in Vilja later in the afternoon. Before that we indulged ourselves in Lehar’s Gold and Silver Waltz.
The young Portuguese soprano Susanna Gaspar has a pleasing weight to her voice as well as the ringing top notes to excite the audience. Her Vilja was moving and her Je veux vivre sparkled as it should do. In the second half she gave us a delicate rendition of Dvorak’s Song to the Moon from Rusalka and a seductive Meine lippe from Lehar’s Giuditta. Rightly she came back at the end to add even more smouldering eroticism with the habanera from Carmen.
The first half concluded with the quiet intimacy of Strauss’ Die Libelle, the Thunder and Lightning Polka and the slightly melancholic majesty of the Emperor Waltz.
The second half opened with more Suppe, before the Champagne Polka which allowed the percussion section to come into its own. The percussion often seem to get more to do at New Year than other times of the year, what with sleigh bells, champagne corks and shot guns!
A rather rapid run through Voices of Spring led to the second half arias, and the matinee concluded with the Cuckoo Polka (more percussion solos for bird noises), the Hunting Polka (shot gun) and, inevitably The Blue Danube.
Needless to say this was not quite the end. We had to join in with the Radetzky March, bringing the afternoon to an enthusiastic climax – and when we left, the rain had stopped!
The next concert is on Sunday 12 January and includes Beethoven’s own arrangement of his violin concerto for piano.
