St. Florianer Sängerknaben

Opera medley

Follow the St. Florian Boys' Choir through the most beautiful opera (choir) landscapes of Europe.

In recent concerts put on by the St. Florian Boys' Choir, the XXS versions of The Magic Flute and Die Fledermaus as well as the show Sounds of Austria have been real crowd pullers. Today the boy singers go beyond the borders of the Austrian music tradition to include the music of their European neighbours, presenting the most popular opera melodies in the original language. The men's choir, which consists mainly of former boy singers, accompanies the boys' choir on its travels (after all, some of the most well-known opera choirs are written for men's voices.)

The choir travels figuratively and literally; the opera medley put together by choir conductor Franz Farnberger will form the focus of a programme scheduled to tour China in September (with some of the men going along).

Of course such tours are not only a treat for the ear but for the eye as well. Linz-based ballet teacher and dancer Iassen Stoyanov has put the choir in motion, utilizing the capacity for transformation often evidenced by the boys for his brilliant choreography.

The medley includes a colourful array of such works as Bizet's Carmen and Rossini's Barber of Sevilla, Verdi's Aida, Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel, Offenbach's Hoffmann's Tales, Weber's Freeshooter, Wagner's Lohengrin and The Flying Dutchman and well as Puccini's Turandot. The boys can be heard as soloists and (in collaboration with the men) in choir formation.