Český Krumlov experienced rainy weather during the day, which forced the organizers to proceed with the concert without an interval. This was appreciated by the viewers and in the end everything went well. The concert was played in its full extent from the first orchestral number, Puccini’s Capriccio sinfonico interpreted by the PKF – Prague Philharmonia and under the baton of Leoš Svárovský, until the encore, Verdi’s Brindisi. After the orchestral opening, the first vocal tones belonged to Tosca, from which the audience heard three numbers – Cavaradossi’s aria “Recondita armonia” and “E lucevan le stelle” and Tosca’s aria “Vissi d’arte”. Leonora from Verdi’s Il Trovatore, the overture to Nabucco and the joint duet from Un ballo in maschera, during which Beczała and Radvanovsky demonstrated perfect harmony, followed. For both singers, summer open-air concerts represent a pleasant change to their concert and theatre obligations during the season. “A big difference is the fact that during open-air concerts we don’t have acoustics, so we are fully in the hands of those in charge of all those ‘buttons’ who harmonize our voices as well as the sound of the orchestra into an ideal form. Another thing I like is that during open-air productions we can look into the faces of the audience, which is not possible in a dark theatre. In this way I can tell more clearly how the viewers like it already while singing. Thus, we have greater feedback and we don’t need to wait for the applause by which viewers reward us if they are satisfied,” Piotr Beczała accented the advantages of open-air concerts.

 

Radvanovsky also performed a highly dramatic aria “La mamma morta” and Beczała his favourite Don José’s flower aria from Carmen. Both spoke highly of the pleasant atmosphere during the concert. The audience rewarded their performances with a warm applause complemented by “bravo” shouts, especially during their interpretation of Rusalka and the Prince. Radvanovsky performed the aria “Song to the Moon” with great feeling. As she told us after the concert, she was a little nervous about the reception of her interpretation by the Czech audience, above all as far as the Czech language is concerned. However, the soprano’s worries were in vain. Her performance not only delighted the viewers but also moved the conductor Leoš Svárovský. “I had to make an effort not to succumb to it, I then had to concentrate hard to conduct the orchestra at full stretch. It is rare to hear Rusalka interpreted so brilliantly,” is how Svárovský praised the soprano’s performance. Thanks to her father’s Czech roots, the Czech language is close to Radvanovsky’s heart. “My grandparents, my father and his sister spoke Czech in our home, however, they never encouraged me to use the Czech language much, so I never learned it,” Radvanovsky has slight regrets today.

Rusalka belongs to her favourite roles. She would love to sing it with Piotr Beczała. The Czech audience might know his interpretation of the Prince from the performance at the National Theatre in Prague, where he performed last year. He took the aria “Vidino divná, přesladká” to perfection at the concert in Český Krumlov. The end of the concert belonged to a lighter muse. Radvanovsky almost started dancing while singing Eliza Doolittle’s popular song “I Could Have Danced All Night” from the musical My Fair Lady and before the finale the audience heard melodies from operettas by Franz Lehár Das Land des Lachelns and Die lustige Witwe interpreted by both artists. And when are the two artists going to meet on stage again? For the next season, they are planning Puccini’s Tosca together and that will be Beczała’s very first interpretation of Cavaradossi’s role. Sondra’s big wish is to sing the above-mentioned Rusalka with Piotr. At the end of a brief meeting with the protagonists of the evening, music publicists paid a big compliment to the performance of the orchestra PKF – Prague Philharmonia and conductor Leoš Svárovský and the amazing harmony with both soloists. Although the last duet in the Brewery Garden was with the “accompaniment” of raindrops, the viewers were not put off and listened to everything the star artists had prepared for them until the last note.