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The blaring trumpets of Giuseppe Verdi's "Triumphal March," from "Aida," signal the beginning of the 2013 Vienna Philharmonic Summer Night Concert in the the beautiful but blustery gardens of Austria's Imperial palace of Schonbrunn. Next, Maestro Lorin Maazel has chosen the prelude to Richard Wagner's optimistic and light-hearted opera, "Die Meistersinger."

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Verdi's operas dramatically portrayed his Italian patriotism. In his day, Italy chaffed under the control of Austria. In his opera "I Lombardi," it was easy for his La Scala audience to envision themselves as the Lombard Crusaders, whose sacred mission was to free Jerusalem from the infidels -- or Milan from Austria. Next, a graceful song from the opera, in which the youthful hero confesses his love for a captured maiden. To sing it, Maestro Maazel welcomes to the stage one of the world's leading tenors, Michael Schade.

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Singing in Italian

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Next up, Wagner's opera "Tristan and Isolde," is about a repressed love which is finally, helplessly, and emotionally expressed, yet which can only be fulfilled in death. Tonight the orchestra performs the prelude and the opera's final scene, the "Liebestod," or "Love Death," which the composer first joined together for a concert performance that he himself conducted. If the Prelude represents earthly passion, then the Love-Death is its spiritual redemption.

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It would be 14 years after Wagner composed the opera "Lohengrin" that he would finally get to hear his masterpiece for the first time. And it was performed for him right here in Vienna. In the opera, the title character appears in 10th Century Antwerp to defend a young noblewoman against a false accusation of murder. She is absolved of the charge, and he consents to wed her on the condition that she not inquire of his name or his past. After a magnificent marriage ceremony -- the source of the ever familiar wedding march, "Here Comes the Bride," she asks him the forbidden questions. German Canadian tenor Michael Schade returns to the stage for his reply -- Lohengrin's noble aria, "In fernem Land."

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Singing in German

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Next, the overture to "La forza del destino," "The Force of Destiny," is considered by many to be the finest of all Verdi's works. The ominous introduction foreshadows the tragedy that lies ahead and incorporates many of the opera's magnificent melodies. The nervous opening theme, the "fate motif," heard at the very outset, constantly bubbles up as the music unfolds.

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The Valkyries are nine warrior-maidens in German mythology who, riding through the air on their steeds, bring heroes killed in battle to Valhalla, home of the gods. The orchestra's first encore vividly depicts their thrilling war cries and their magical horses' powerful strides.

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Richard Wagner described this orchestra as being one of the most outstanding in the world. For over 170 years, no other musical ensemble has been more closely associated with the living history of European classical music than the Vienna Philharmonic. To join them in honoring the two giants of the operatic world at their bicentennials, the orchestra invited Lorin Maazel for tonight's concert. In 72 years on the podium, Maestro Maazel has conducted nearly 200 orchestras in no fewer than 7,000 opera and concert performances. His close association with the Vienna Philharmonic includes not only this concert, but 11 past New Year's Celebrations, as well. But what would a concert in this town be without a Strauss waltz?

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Not even the cold blowing rain can dampen the Viennese' spirits or keep them from dancing to a tune by the Waltz King himself -- especially tonight in the gardens of Schonbrunn. UNESCO has declared the palace a World Cultural Heritage Site. It is one of Austria's most important cultural assets and tourist attractions. From the gardens of Austria's Imperial Palace of Schonbrunn, this has been the Vienna Philharmonic Summer Night Concert 2013. To find out more about this and other "Great Performances" programs, visit... and find us on Facebook.

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