Arabella's
waltz
Highlights from Richard Strauss’ Arabella – and Viennese Waltzes by Johann and Eduard Strauss
Set foot inside the sparkling ballrooms of Vienna in the late 1800s! Here we meet Arabella, the young protagonist in Richard Strauss’ opera. She dreams of waltzing with the love of her life, but who could that be?
Arabella is a beautiful opera – a romantic comedy that shimmers with youthful vitality and inquisitive infatuation. It was the result of the last major collaboration between Richard Strauss and Hugo von Hofmannsthal, who created immortal works together in the early 1900s.
The opera was composed in 1932, but the plot is set in Vienna in 1869 at a time when the Viennese Waltzes were becoming fashionable in this important music city. The brothers Eduard and Johann Strauss Jr. continued the work of their father, Johann Strauss Sr. and wrote many popular waltzes, polkas and marches. During this concert, you get to hear both their brilliant dance music and excerpts from Arabella – which takes place in no other than the Viennese ballrooms.
Magnificent soloists
Maria Sølberg plays the role of Arabella, while her father, Count Waldner, is sung by Kurt Rydl, Denise Beck performs Arabella’s sister, Zdenka, and Yngve Søberg is Mandryka, one of Arabella’s suitors. The musical direction of the concert is in the capable hands of German conductor Constantin Trinks.
Searching for identity – and love
Arabella dreams of falling in love, but her parents expect her to marry for money. After all, her aristocratic family is on the verge of bankruptcy. When the love of her life reveals himself, a case of mistaken identity puts everything at risk.