Vienna celebrates with a summer night concert and silent rainbow parade!

Vienna celebrates with a summer night concert and silent rainbow parade!

Today, June 14, 2025, Vienna will be marked by exciting cultural events. The evening is dedicated to the Vienna Philharmonic's impressive summer night concert, which this year is taking place under the direction of the renowned maestro Tugan Sokhiev. ORF 2 will broadcast the concert live and anyone staying at home can enjoy the live stream across Austria via ORF ON. The recording is also available as video-on-demand for 30 days. 3sat will also show the concert at 8:15 p.m.

A highlight of the evening will be the performance of the celebrated tenor Piotr Beczała, who will perform three arias from well-known operas. These include pieces from Bizet's “Carmen”, Puccini's “Turandot” and Kálmán's “Countess Mariza”. Also new this year is the participation of the Vienna Boys' Choir, who enrich the concert with their singing.

Cultural diversity despite grief

Another important occasion in Vienna is the premiere of the opera “Voice Killer” by Miroslav Srnka, which was seen for the first time on June 13th at the Musik-Theater an der Wien. This story is about a GI Private who deliriously seeks the voice of his deceased mother, which leads to tragic consequences. Although the audience showed a positive response during the break, the house was half empty. Intendant Herheim addressed the audience and asked for their understanding, as the evening had a special context given the mourning for the victims of a shooting spree in Graz.

In addition to the premiere, some changes were made to the performance of “The Barber of Seville” at the State Opera in January 2025. Rennert's old production was preferred to the new version due to technical problems. This decision was positively received by the regular audience, and the well-known bass-baritone Bryn Terfel made his Viennese role debut as Basilio. A special moment of silence and mourning flags were introduced before the performance for the victims of the shooting.

An evening of memories

Parallel to these important events, the Vienna Rainbow Parade is also taking place, which this year will be celebrated quietly under the shadow of mourning and in memory of the victims of Graz. Changes to the program include, for example, the ban on hard alcohol and music, while a common mourning banner symbolizes collective remembrance.

Last but not least, we must also mourn the loss of costume and set designer Pantelis Dessyllas, who passed away on June 3, 2025 at the age of 89. The Vienna State Opera continues to plan to revive the Fritsch production of “The Barber of Seville” in the 2025/26 season. This mix of celebration and mourning characterizes today in Vienna, which is a reflection of the city's rich yet vulnerable cultural scene.