Salute to Vienna New Year's Concert in Toronto
BASED ON VIENNA'S BELOVED NEUJAHRSKONZERT
January 1, 2023 at 2:30 PM
Roy Thomson Hall
Social Media
"A rousing afternoon of music and dance."
– Washington Post
Press Contact
Salute to Vienna Cast
Strauss Symphony of Canada
Featuring dancers from Europaballett (Austria) &
Champion Ballroom Dancers
András Deák (Budapest)
Conductor
András Deák attended the Liszt Academy of Music where he received diplomas in both choral and orchestral conducting. He has been the principal conductor of the Danube Symphony Orchestra since 1991, and has conducted the Wiener Mozart Orchester, the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, the Vancouver Opera Orchestra, and the Chicago Civic Opera Orchestra, among others. International tours as guest conductor have taken him throughout Europe, Russia, Scandinavia, the Middle East, and North America. In 2004, Maestro Deák was awarded Hungary’s decoration of Knight’s Cross for his internationally recognized contribution to musical artistry.
Katarzyna Dondalska (Berlin-Warsaw)
Soprano
Coloratura Katarzyna Dondalska began her musical studies at age five with the violin and began singing at 15. She was awarded a Doctoral degree in 2011 by the Danzig Music Academy and is currently a Professor at the Academy of Arts in Szczecin, Poland. Ms. Dondalska won second prize at the Sylvia Geszty International Coloratura Singing Competition in Luxembourg, and has sung throughout Europe and North America with concert repertoire, oratorio, and opera roles including Queen of the Night, Konstanze, Zerbinetta, and Olympia. She has performed to critical acclaim with opera companies including Houston Grand Opera, the Korean National Opera, Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, the Nationaltheater Mannheim, and the Teatr Wielki in Warsaw.
Angelo Pollak (Vienna)
Tenor
Young tenor Franz Gürtelschmied grew up surrounded by the traditions of a great city steeped in musical history. Recently launching a career in opera, his natural versatility is also evident through his intensive work in operetta, musicals, Lieder, oratorio, as well as in his interpretations of contemporary music. As a member of the Salzburg Festival's Young Singers Project Mr. Gürtelschmied performed in Richard Strauss' Der Rosenkavalier and returned to the Festival for the world premiere of Thomas Adès' The Exterminating Angel. He was Tony in West Side Story, Pedrillo in Mozart's Abduction from the Seraglio, Steuermann in Wagner's Der Fliegende Holländer, Barinkay in Gypsy Baron, and Rosillon in Merry Widow. In 2016 he was nominated for the Austrian Music Theatre Award, and has worked with well-known conductors including Ádám Fischer, Philippe Jordan, Manfred Honeck and Franz Welser-Möst in Salzburg, Vienna, Budapest, Opéra Bastille (Paris), Oper Leipzig, as well as other concert halls throughout Europe, Israel, and North America.