Duration
92 Min
Gala from Berlin 1997: A Salute to Carmen
Concert
Berliner Philharmoniker
Production Date: 31/12/1997
92 Min
It's a cliché to call a gala concert "star-studded", but sometimes nothing else will do. On New Year's Eve 1997, Claudio Abbado and the Berliner Philharmoniker welcomed five operatic stars, each at the youthful pinnacle of their career. Billed as "a salute to Carmen", the concert opens with a mouthwatering selection of highlights from Bizet's much-loved opera. But the wonders don't stop there, as Mikhail Pletnev plays Rachmaninoff's Paganini Rhapsody and Gil Shaham lavishes all his matchless artistry on Sarasate's Carmen Fantasy. It ends with a flourish, as Abbado conducts Ravel's Rapsodie espagnole – a great orchestra and a much-missed conductor, striking sparks off each other.
- Soloists:
- Roberto Alagna (Tenor), Stella Doufexis (Soprano), Mikhail Pletnev (Piano), Gil Shaham (Violin), Bryn Terfel (Bass-Baritone), Anne Sofie von Otter (Mezzo-Soprano), Véronique Gens (Soprano)
- Ensembles:
- Berliner Philharmoniker, Orfeón Donostiarra, Südtiroler Kinderchor
- Conductor:
- Claudio Abbado
