Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra: Spanish Night

The Berlin Philharmonic's annual summer concert at the city's Waldbuhne has long been a Mecca for classic fans. To crown the season each year, the orchestra offers 22,000 attendees a very special concert, featuring the greatest conductors on the podium of Berlin's favorite outdoor theater. The concerts are always sold out months in advance. Since 1984, each summer concert has had a particular theme-for example, there was an Italian Night with Claudio Abbado, an American Night with Simon Rattle, a Russian Night with Seji Ozawa and a French Night with Georges Pretre. Then, in the summer of 2001, Placido Domingo joined the phalanx of podium greats. In recent years the celebrated tenor has also been attracting attention as a conductor, and many performances leading opera houses have shown that wielding the baton is no mere sideline for him. And now the Berlin Philharmonic invited him for the first time, a happy circumstance, as a guest on their rostrum, the Spaniard conducted a Spanish Night and delighted his audience by dint of his musical competence and temperament.