Songs of Love and Desire was the theme of the 1998 New Year's Eve concert of the Berliner Philharmoniker under the musical direction of Claudio Abbado. Christine Schäfer, Simon Keenlyside and Marcelo Àlvarez excelled in famous arias and scenes from Mozart, Verdi and Tchaikovsky, and were joined by Primadonna assoluta Mirella Freni.
The singers impressed not only through vocal splendour, but also by their dramatic versatility. Christine Schäfer perfectly conveyed the subtle differences between the genuine desire of Gilda in Verdi’s Rigoletto and the doubting affection of Zerlina in Don Giovanni. Marcelo Àlvarez as the Duke in Rigoletto pursues his conquests with a gentle, but no less insidious seductiveness. Simon Keenlyside portrays a Don Giovanni who constantly changes between charm and lasciviousness.
A highlight of this evening was the appearance of Mirella Freni, whose connection with the Berliner Philharmoniker goes back to 1972. She performed the letter scene from Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin as a miniature drama in which doubt, determination and unconditional love struggle for supremacy.
