Viennese Christmas by Candlelight at Manchester Cathedral

This experience is brought to you by Candlelight Concerts. This concert is not affiliated with the Fever Original Candlelight series. Seats are allocated on a first-come-first-served basis within each band.

Strauss II – Overture to Die Fledermaus Strauss II – Tritsch-Tratsch-Polka Shostakovich – Waltz No.

2 Sibelius – Valse triste Tchaikovsky – Waltz from The Sleeping Beauty Korngold – Serenade from The Snowman Lehár – ‘Meine Lippen, sie küssen so heiß’from Giuditta Suppé – ‘Hab’ich nur deine Liebe’from Boccaccio Strauss II – ‘Laughing Song’from Die Fledermaus Tchaikovsky – Selections from The Nutcracker, including Pas de deux Lehár – ‘Vilja-Lied’from The Merry Widow Strauss II – ‘Csárdás’from Die Fledermaus Strauss II – The Blue Danube This programme celebrates the elegance, charm and sheer joy of the Viennese tradition with a dazzling selection of orchestral and vocal favourites.

At its heart is the music of Johann Strauss II, the “Waltz King”, whose works capture the wit, sparkle and irresistible energy of 19th-century Vienna.

From the effervescent Die Fledermaus Overture to the playful Tritsch-Tratsch Polka, literally "chit-chat" or “gossip”, culminating in The Blue Danube, one of the most famous waltzes ever written: an unofficial anthem of Vienna and a piece that has enchanted audiences for generations, from grand ballrooms to the silver screen in 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Alongside Strauss, the programme explores the many moods of the waltz, from Shostakovich’s jazz-infused Waltz No. 2 to the haunting beauty of Sibelius’s Valse triste.

Tchaikovsky brings a touch of magic with the graceful Waltz from The Sleeping Beauty and the much-loved Nutcracker Suite, with some of the most recognisable music ever written — from the delicate sparkle of the “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” to the sweeping beauty of the “Waltz of the Flowers”.