Review: WIEN BLEIBT WIEN at Kinneksbond

On the 15th of December, the Kinneksbond opened its doors to the Christmas magic of Wien Bleibt Wien, produced and presented by the Habsburg Strauss Orchestra, under the direction of Jeroen Weierink. This was in all ways a classic night, filled with the most traditional elements of a Central European Christmas concert - an orchestra playing classical music, three soloists who joined in for several numbers, and six dancers who performed to the sound of these timeless compositions.

As is customary in many of these productions, the show did not invest too much on lightening or on the scenery, choosing instead to focus on the quality of the performance, and on Weierink's occasional interactions with the audience. The orchestra played delightfully, amazing everyone with pieces like Die Fledermaus, An den Schönen Blauen Donau and Winterlust. It was the strongest element of the event, with around 30 musicians masterfully conducted by Weierink's steady hand. The three soloists, Wilma Bierens, Sef Thissen and Arnold Bezuyen, were also remarkable, even if sometimes insisting a bit too much on the childlike mannerisms usually adopted by performers of Christmas songs.

But what really got the audience going were the six dancers of the Kharkiv National Opera and Ballet Theatre, who executed wonderful numbers with a great chemistry between the partners. They were not left with a lot of space on stage, since the orchestra took a very significant share of the area, which could justify one or two instances of reduced coordination, but they worked great with what they were given. Some moments of the choreography were quite hard to pull off, and it was especially difficult to express them in a way that fit the Christmas spirit, yet all six dancers displayed great talent and grace.

We hope to see more of this company soon, and we wish all the best to everyone involved in this project.

Image credit: Jeroen van Zijp