Viennese Christmas Spectacular by Candlelight

Viennese Christmas Spectacular by Candlelight comes to Leeds Minster on Saturday 14 November, with a second date on Friday 18 December. It's a candlelight concert of Viennese Christmas music, presented by Candlelight Concerts, and the whole thing is built around Johann Strauss II, the 'Waltz King' whose work defined the sound of 19th-century Vienna.

Strauss gets the lion's share of the programme, with the Trisch-Trasch Polka and the Blue Danube Waltz both on the bill. From there the evening looks at the waltz in a few different lights, pulling in Shostakovich's Waltz No. 2, Sibelius's Valse triste, and Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite alongside excerpts from Sleeping Beauty. The operetta side of things is covered by soprano favourites from Lehár — Meine Lippen, sie küssen so heiß — and Suppé, and Korngold's Serenade.

It's a fair bit of ground to cover in one sitting, and the programme moves from the dance floor to the stage and back again. The Strauss pieces bring the wit and energy of old Vienna, while the Tchaikovsky and Sibelius lean into the more atmospheric, orchestral side of things. The operetta songs add a vocal element to the mix, so it's not just instrumental throughout.

Practical details: the 14 November show starts at 7:30 pm, and the 18 December one runs from 7:45 pm to 9:30 pm, so just under two hours. Tickets start at £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, getting in early is the way to go. The venue is Leeds Minster, 2-6 Kirkgate, LS2 7DJ.