A strong sign of life

How the 56th Carinthian Summer opened

Joana Carneiro's dance-like conducting was characterized by emotion, dynamics and elegance.

(Bild: marygoodfoto)

Acclaimed opening concert of the 56th Carinthian Summer at the Congress Center Villach, where Nadja Kayali's new directorship has succeeded in building a virtuoso bridge.

Her aim was to place music, literature and discourse at the heart of the program. What Kayali means by this could be heard on Saturday in the sold-out CCV. Here, the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, as the new festival orchestra (with an impressive range of expression and repertoire), brought romanticism and (classical) modernism to life just as virtuously as the fire of revolution.

A sympathetic figure with a clear vision: new CS artistic director Nadja Kayali (right)

(Bild: marygoodfoto)

Portuguese intermezzo: Ivan Cardoso, José Manuel Neto

(Bild: Irina Lino)

Both Federal President Alexander van der Bellen and LH Peter Kaiser began the opening with an urgent appeal not to take democracy and the right to vote for granted - to see art as a human right like a bulwark.

Showing "how the original sounds"
And because democracy, according to Kayali, is always being put to the test, Portugal rose to the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the "Carnation Revolution" with its secret anthem "Grandola, vila Morena", passionately intoned by guitarists José Manuel Neto and Ivan Ricardo Cardoso, to show "what the original sounds like".

This was the inspiration for the world premiere of "Azinheira" by Hannah Eisendle, which embedded the Portuguese spirit of anti-fascist revolution between tonal roughness and dramatic melody - also with the help of the orchestra in playful (eye) interaction with the audience.

Culture in brief:

Feverish hit: After "My Fair Lady" (premiere July 11, audience rush pre-programmed), Mörbisch director Alfons Haider is banking on a musical hit in 2025 with 1970s beats that made John Travolta a star. Even without him, it will be hotter than hot on Lake Neusiedl, as "Saturday Night Fever" dances to the hits of the Bee Gees in bright colors and full of glitter, including skin-tight pants, platform shoes, shirts with psychedelic patterns, sparkling overalls and extravagant blow-dry hairstyles. You can be happy.

With Fanny Hensel, Clara Schumann and Louise Farrenc, the audience cheered on the masters of the 19th century, to whom the mighty orchestra under the "dance-like" baton of Portuguese conductor Joana Carneiro turned on the glow of Romanticism. Pianist Claire Huangci bowed to Schumann with fantastic virtuosity, which took on finger-breaking forms for Samuel Barber.