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Press Releases
Music, opera and dance on BBC Television this Christmas
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In a vibrant season of performance, BBC Two and BBC Four bring an exciting mix of classical music, opera and ballet to screens over the festive period.
The Christmas line-up includes a performance of Handel's Messiah, a brand-new documentary about the Royal Ballet, and a final salute to Mozart as his 250th anniversary year comes to a close.
BBC Four has signed a new deal with the London Symphony Orchestra which will bring four concerts a year to the channel.
Handel's Messiah - recorded in December at the Barbican - is part of this and brings to a close BBC Four's winter celebration of choral music.
Sir Colin Davis directs the LSO in this performance that marks both his 80th birthday and his final concert as the orchestra's principal conductor.
Looking behind the scenes of the Royal Ballet in its 75th anniversary year, Royal Ballet - Dreams to Reality follows the highs and lows of dancers and students.
The film provides a raw insight into what it takes to achieve their dreams, and offers a rare glimpse through the hallowed halls of one of the world's greatest classical ballet companies.
BBC Two also broadcasts a Royal Ballet performance of Adolphe Adam's intoxicating ballet Giselle featuring Alina Cojocaru in the title role.
Concluding this year of celebrations around Mozart's anniversary BBC Two broadcasts a concert from the Vienna Philharmonic, recorded at the Festspielhaus in Salzburg, and a stunning performance of Glyndebourne Opera's celebrated production of Mozart's Cosi fan Tutte, previously shown on BBC Four.
In a New Year celebration of Bernstein BBC Four brings two new programmes: a 50th Anniversary performance of Candide recorded from the Théâtre du Châtelet and 10 Best Bernstein in which a host of top musicians and advocates explore a selection of the best of the composer's works.
There is also another chance to see the award-winning documentary Omnibus: West Side Story, with Bernstein recording the score to his classic musical for the first time.
The traditional New Year's Day Concert From Vienna is once again broadcast on BBC Four and BBC Two, live from the Golden Hall of the Vienna Musikverein.
This year, Zubin Metha conducts the Vienna Philharmonic, with selected pieces performed by the Ballet of the Vienna State Opera and Volksoper Wien, and features guest stars from the Bavarian State Opera Munich.
Programme Information
Please note that transmission titles and dates are subject to change.
BBC Four,
23 December 2006: The Messiah from the Barbican
Handel's great masterpiece has been at the heart of the British choral tradition almost since it was first performed in 1742, serving as a model for oratorio composition for several generations to come. BBC Four broadcasts a performance by the London Symphony Orchestra and Sir Colin Davis, recorded at The Barbican, London on 12 December. Soloists include Susan Gritton, Sara Mingardo, Mark Padmore and Alastair Miles.
BBC Two,
23 December:
Mozart 250th Celebration From Salzburg
Recorded at the Festspielhaus in Salzburg, this all-Mozart concert rounds off the year's celebrations around the 250th anniversary of the composer's birth. Riccardo Muti conducts the Vienna Philharmonic and features arias and duets sung by Cecila Bartoli and Thomas Hampson, with Mitsuko Uchida at the piano. Works include the Haffner Symphony, the concert aria Ch'io Mi Scordi Di Te, the sacred motet Exultate Jubilate, a duet from Don Giovanni, and the finale of the Magic Flute.
BBC Two, Christmas Day:
The Royal Ballet – Dreams to Reality
A behind-the-scenes documentary about the pursuit of personal dreams, this programme follows the everyday highs and lows in the lives of the students and dancers of the Royal Ballet School and the Royal Ballet Company, currently celebrating its 75th anniversary.
Real-life Billy Elliots and established stars talk with candour and passion about the pain, pleasures and perils of life in ballet's fast lane. A talented male dancer in his teens reveals how being a karate black-belt helped him survive on the streets of Glasgow, a 12-year-old girl says that if she can't make the grade as a dancer for the Royal Ballet she'll join the army, and we witness an emotionally-charged year for Darcey Bussell who, with an eye on easing into retirement, has become a Principal Guest Artist with the company at which she has spent her entire career.
BBC Two,
Chirstmas Day:
Cosi Fan Tutte from Glyndebourne
Glyndebourne celebrates Mozart's 250th anniversary with a stunning production of Così Fan Tutte, one of Mozart's best-loved operas. The international cast of young singers is directed by Nicholas Hytner, Artistic Director of the National Theatre, who returns to opera for the first time in ten years. Ivan Fischer conducts the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. Presented by Verity Sharp, this production includes Miah Persson as Fiordiligi and Anke Vondung sings the role of Dorabella.
BBC Two, Boxing Day:
Giselle
Alina Cojocaru and Johan Kobborg of The Royal Ballet dance the roles of the doomed lovers, with choreography and production by Peter Wright. The title role is regarded as one of the most technically challenging in the classical repertory.
BBC Four,
30 December:
10 Best Bernstein
A line-up of star performers take us on a tour of the very best of Bernstein. Celebrity and musician advocates talk us through their choices and offer revealing personal and professional insights into works ranging from West Side Story to the Chichester Psalms. There's extensive interview and rehearsal archive of Bernstein himself, and the maestro conducts performances of the Candide Overture and his Serenade.
With contributions from Charles Hazlewood, Leonard Slatkin, Kim Cresswell and Jonathan Ross.
BBC Four, 30 December:
Omnibus - West Side Story
Another chance to see this award-winning documentary which chronicles Bernstein recording the score to his classic musical for the first time, with soloists including Kiri te Kanawa and Jose Carreras.
BBC Four,
31 December:
Candide
From the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, BBC Four brings a special 50th anniversary performance of Bernstein's popular comic operetta Candide.
The incredible travel of Voltaire's Candide in every continent is turned by director Robert Carsen into a humorous and irreverent analogy which is far more than a novelty: How do most people today casually hop all over the world? By watching television! So the action takes place in a gigantic television set taking up the entire stage, so that everything in the operetta happens as though it were on screen.
Cast includes William Burden, Anna Christy, Voltaire Lambert Wilson and Kim Criswell.
BBC Two/BBC Four, 1 January 2007: New Year's Day concert From Vienna
Zubin Mehta conducts the traditional New Year's Day Concert from Vienna - the fourth time that he has taken up the baton for this renowned event. The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra perform a programme of traditional music (waltzes, polkas, marches) mainly by the Strauss family and Joseph Hellmesberger, plus selected pieces also performed as ballet scenes with the Ballet of the Vienna State Opera and Volksoper Wien, and guest stars from the Bavarian State Opera Munich.
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