Salute to Vienna New Year's Concert in Edmonton
BASED ON VIENNA'S BELOVED NEUJAHRSKONZERT
January 2, 2023 at 2:30 PM
Winspear Centre
Social Media
"A rousing afternoon of music and dance."
– Washington Post
Press Contact
Salute to Vienna Cast
Strauss Symphony of Canada
Featuring dancers from Ballet Bogdán (Budapest)
Imre Kollár (Budapest)
Conductor
Imre Kollár received his diploma from the Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest. After serving as assistant conductor of the Hungarian State Opera, he assumed the role of principal conductor of the Dohnányi Symphony Youth Orchestra, concurrently assisting Maestro Ken-Ichiro Kobayashi at the Hungarian State Symphony. Since 1994, he has directed the Debrecen Philharmonic Orchestra, and now also conducts the MÁV Symphony Orchestra in Budapest. He is an esteemed interpreter of Mozart, Bartók, and Kodály, and has recorded works including Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21, and Bruckner’s Symphony No. 4. Maestro Kollár’s engagements have taken him to Asia, Australia, and the USA.
Lilla Galambos (Vienna)
Soprano
Lilla Galambos began her stage career at a young age, playing the role of Luisa in the Budapest Operetta Theatre’s production of The Sound of Music. Since then, she has performed more than 15 leading operetta roles in theatres throughout Austria, Hungary, and Germany to critical acclaim. As Valencienne and Hanna (Merry Widow), the title role in Gypsy Princess, Madeleine (Ball im Savoy), Countess Maritza (Countess Maritza), Lili (Baroness Lili), Laura (The Beggar Student), and Adele (Die Fledermaus), Ms. Galambos has been celebrated for her “romantic charm”. In opera, she is particularly known for her interpretation of some of the most demanding coloratura arias of the genre.
Thomas Weinhappel (Vienna)
Baritone
Thomas Weinhappel began his musical career as a member of the famous Vienna Boys Choir before graduating from the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. Debuting as Leonetto in Boccaccio at the Bern State Theater, Mr. Weinhappel has since performed roles including Hamlet, Escamillo, Figaro, Papageno, Count Almaviva, Tarquinius, and Count Danilo. He has appeared at such prestigious venues as the Bayerische Staatsoper (Munich), Opéra de Massy (Paris), and the Estates Theatre (Prague). He has also performed in Peking, Singapore, Moscow, Chicago, and Los Angeles. Mr. Weinhappel is the first Austrian opera singer to receive the two most prestigious performing arts awards in the Czech Republic: the Thalia and the Libuska.