Europe Sings: A new EUROVISION coproduction

-- The musical programme for Europe Sings, a brand new musical co-production from EUROVISION and Austrian host public broadcaster ORF, has been announced. Europes best amateur choirs will perform in Vienna on Europe Day (9 May).

The live event, scheduled for the opening night of the annual Vienna Festival at Rathausplatz, will feature nationally flavoured performances from eight European choirs identified by their country's public service broadcaster as the nation's best amateur choir.

After each performance, each group of singers will remain on stage to form a combined choir, which will present popular choral excerpts between national performances, interspersed by video postcards from home.

A key moment in the programme will see the amassed choir invite the live audience on Rathausplatz and a guest choir assembled in the Latvian capital Riga, (European Capital of Culture 2014) to sing the European anthem Ode to Joy by Beethoven.

EBU Media director Annika Nyberg Frankenhaeuser says the concept for Europe Sings evolved from the highly successful format developed by ORF in 2011, known as Osterreich Singt (Austria Sings).

Europe Sings showcases the best of European amateur choral singing, said Ms Frankenhaeuser.

Public service media audiences across Europe will be treated to an eclectic, but predominantly classical repertoire, spanning European folk, jazz, popular and classical music, chosen around the theme 100 years of European history.

Although there is no competitive element to the actual evening, EBU Head of Television Bettina Brinkman says for some choirs, participation involved a national selection process, and in some instances, televised competition.

In creating Europe Sings, EUROVISION has helped transform a successful national format into a unique international format, Ms Brinkmann said. "Were proud and excited to launch a new live show on the eve of one of our best loved co-productions, the EUROVISION Song Content. Europe Sings serves as an example of great TV programming that can only take place within the framework of an international co-production.

Mass choir programme The mass choir repertoire, accompanied by the Radio Symphony Orchestra of Vienna and the acclaimed Arnold Sch nberg Chor, includes:

Dies Irae from Reqiuem - Giuseppe Verdi

Ihr Kinder des Staubes, erzittert from Thamos, K nig in gypten - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Hallelujah from Messiah - George Frideric Handel

Gefangenenchor from Nabucco Giuseppe Verdi

Finale from Symphony No. 2 - Gustav Mahler

Confirmed choirs and individual performances COUNTRY

BROADCASTER

CHOIR

Austria

ORF

Coro Siamo

Bulgaria

BNT

Mixed Choir of Bulgarian National Radio

Croatia

HRT

Concordia Discors

Finland

YLE

Euga Male Voice Choir

France

France T l visions

La Ma trise de Paris

Germany

ARD/WDR

Vox Bona

Latvia

LTV

S la

Lithuania

LRT

Liepait s

Share this page on

--

LINK:	http://www3.ebu.ch/sites/ebu/contents/news/2014/04/europe-sings-a-new-...
	See more stories from ebu

Most recent headlines