Candlelight concert by Candlelight Concerts celebrating the Viennese waltz tradition, with Johann Strauss II, operetta favourites and Shostakovich, Sibelius and Tchaikovsky.
Viennese Christmas Spectacular by Candlelight comes to Leeds Minster on Friday 18 December, a night built around the music of Johann Strauss II, the 'Waltz King'. It's brought to Leeds by Candlelight Concerts, who aren't affiliated with the Fever Original Candlelight series, so keep that in mind if you've seen their other shows around the city.
Strauss takes centre stage, with the Die Fledermaus Overture, the Tritsch-Tratsch Polka and The Blue Danube leading the way. That last one is the big one — the unofficial anthem of Vienna, a piece that's worked its way from grand ballrooms to the silver screen in 2001: A Space Odyssey. Around it, the programme looks at the different moods of the waltz and the golden age of operetta, pairing orchestral works with soprano favourites. You'll hear Shostakovich's Waltz No. 2, Sibelius's Valse triste, Tchaikovsky's Waltz from The Sleeping Beauty and the Nutcracker Suite, alongside operetta pieces like Lehár's Meine Lippen, sie küssen so heiß and Suppé's Hab' ich nur deine Liebe from Boccaccio. Korngold's Serenade from The Snowman also makes an appearance.
It's a fair bit of ground to cover in one evening, and the mix of orchestral and vocal pieces means it's not just one thing on repeat. The whole thing is set in the Minster, with the candlelight giving it a particular feel that fits the Christmas timing.
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The concert runs from 7:45pm to 9:30pm, so just under two hours. Tickets start from £25, and seating is allocated on a first-come-first-served basis within each ticket band, so if you've got a particular spot in mind, it's worth getting in early.
