It was great anticipation that the passengers of our river ship and those of our sister ship berthed in Vienna at the same time (though going in the opposite direction) dressed up for an evening concert of a lifetime - ‘Mozart meet Strauss’ - at the beautiful Palais Liechenstein in the heart of Vienna.
This venue, the palace owned by the princely family of Liechtenstein, was all lit up and just gorgeous. Such a stately building, which was surrounded by lovely gardens. In the lobby, where we were welcomed with champagne, there was an ornate regal golden carriage on display. With a couple of others, I was lucky enough to peak into a couple of rooms near the lobby, and photograph the beautiful frescoes on their ceilings.
The hour-long concert was simply fabulous - I love the music of Mozart and Strauss, so I was in heaven. The venue was stunning, the announcer charming, the music divine and the soprano and baritone just so talented. The baritone made the best Don Giovanni I have seen - such delightfully wicked asides to the audience as he tried to seduce the 'married lady' - one of the most well-known scenes in 'Don Giovanni', Mozart’s famous opera about Don Juan. These were some of the top musicians of the country! And for the grand finale two members of the Austrian State ballet performed a waltz as the orchestra played Strauss’s famous ‘The Blue Danube’. It was unforgettable!
The last three photos were taken in the concert venue. Unfortunately I was seated in position from which it was almost impossible to take a photo of the performances, even though we were permitted to do so. I used my zoom lens to get the one decent photo I had.
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