Banbury Operatic Society gets into the Viennese spirit

The concert will be staged at Wykham Theatre, Banbury Academy, Ruskin Road, on Friday, March 2, at 7.30pm and Saturday, March 3, at 2.30pm and 7.30pm. It will feature music by Strauss, Lehar, Offenbach and their friends.

With songs such as The Merry Widow Waltz, You Are My Heart’s Delight, The Radetzky March, The Laughing Song, Girls Were Made to Love and Kiss, and many more, the music abounds in melodic waltzes, invigorating marches, stirring gypsy music and even the can-can.

Sparked by many of Offenbach’s French successes and nourished by the Viennese dance traditions, operetta sprang to life in Vienna in the mid-1870s.

Indeed, it was Jacques Offenbach who suggested to ‘Waltz King’ Johann Strauss II that he should try his hand at writing operetta. From that sprang Die Fledermaus, The Gypsy Baron and many more.

Having got the taste for these musical comedies, the forerunner of the modern musical, they continued to flourish in Vienna, with many more composers such as Zellar, Léhar and Kalman adding to the list of shows that delighted the Viennese.

The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra now includes many numbers from Strauss and his friends in their concerts, particularly the New Year’s Day concert.

An Evening in Vienna will be a semi-staged, costumed production. There will be a bar available at all performances plus on Saturday afternoon – in true Viennese style – coffee, tea and cake will be available during the interval.

Stage director Janet Bishop is joined once more on the production team by Philip Shaw as musical director and Alison Hallford as choreographer.

Tickets cost £10 and are on sale online at www.banburyoperaticsociety.co.uk/tickets or available from Edd Frost & Daughters Family Funeral Directors, 20 Horton View, Banbury, OX16 9HR or from Anker & Partners Estate Agents, 31 High Street, Banbury, OX16 5ER.

Visit banburyoperaticsociety.co.uk for details.