Saturday, July 3, 2010

Belcanto finale 2010 European Tour Concert takes place at St. Michael's Church in Budapest on July 4 at 3 pm

On Sunday, July 4, at 3 pm, the singers from Danville, CA, are presenting their last formal concert in the heart of Budapest, at the beautiful baroque church of St. Michael.
Here is a short history of the finale concert venue for the ensemble under the direction of Mr. Bruce Koliha:
The Church of St Michael was built in the 18th century on the spot of a medieval dominican church destroyed during turkish wars. A temporary chapel was standing here between 1700 and 1716, present church was finished only by 1765. Figure of Virgin Mary adorning its frontal facade is considered to be created by Donner. Statues of Saint Dominic and Saint Thomas Aquinas carved by Joseph Hebenstreit also decorate this facade. The church had a vivid history in the XIXth century: although destroyed by fire and floods, it managed to survive and got restored. The latest restoration started in 1999. The single-naved church was decorated with ceiling frescoes and side paintings in the middle of the 18th century. The main altar, inlaid benches, furniture of the sacristy date back to 1760, they are works of Dominican monks. The main altar shows St. Dominic with Virgin Mary handing a rosary to him. Statues of important religious persons in connection with the Dominican order can be found around the painting. On the left: statue of Pope Pius V. and St. Antoninus, Archbishop of Florence. On the right: St. Augustine and Pope Innocent V. The first organ of the church was built in 1801 by organ builder Joseph Herodek which was entirely rebuilt by company Rieger in 1893. It was again renovated in 1951. Baroque statues depicting King David playing the harp and two angels are shown on the top of the organ.

Welcome to Budapest!

Budapest is the last stop on the Incantato Tours itinerary for Belcanto in 2010. Here are some interesting facts about the vibrating city:

Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it serves as the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation center and is considered an important hub in Central Europe. In 2009, Budapest had 1,712,210 inhabitants, down from a mid-1980s peak of 2.1 million. The Budapest Commuter Area (or Greater Budapest) is home to 3,271,110 people. The city covers an area of 525 square kilometres (202.7 sq mi) within the city limits.
Budapest became a single city occupying both banks of the river Danube with a unification on 17 November 1873 of right (west)-bank Buda and Óbuda with left (east)-bank Pest.
Aquincum, originally a Celtic settlement, was the direct ancestor of Budapest, becoming the Roman capital of Lower Pannonia. Magyars arrived in the territory in the 9th century. Their first settlement was pillaged by the Mongols in 1241-42. The re-established town became one of the centers of Renaissance humanist culture in the 15th century. Following the Battle of Mohács and nearly 150 years of Ottoman rule, development of the region entered a new age of prosperity in the 18th and 19th centuries, and Budapest became a global city after the 1873 unification. It also became the second capital of Austria-Hungary, a great power that dissolved in 1918. Budapest was the focal point of the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, the Hungarian Soviet Republic of 1919, Operation Panzerfaust in 1944, the Battle of Budapest of 1945, and the Revolution of 1956.
Regarded as one of the most beautiful cities in Europe, its extensive World Heritage Site includes the banks of the Danube, the Buda Castle Quarter, Andrássy Avenue, Heroes' Square and the Millennium Underground Railway, the second oldest in the world. Other highlights include a total of 80 geothermal springs, the world's largest thermal water cave system, second largest synagogue, and third largest Parliament building. The collections of the Natural History Museum and the Museum of Fine Arts are also significant. The city attracts over 20 million visitors a year.

Friday, July 2, 2010

Belcanto sings at the Benedictine Abbey of Goettweig on Saturday, July 3, at 4 pm

The abbey is situated on the Göttweig Mountain and - because of its location - sometimes called the Austrian Montecassino. The Monastery founded in 1083 by Saint Altmann sits on a hill 449 m above sea level in the Dunkelsteiner Forest south of the city of Krems, on the eastern edge of the world-famous Danube Valley called the Wachau. With the Wachau, Göttweig was in 2001 placed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. And on Saturday, July 3, at 4 pm, Belcanto will be performing in the prestigious Stiftskirche pictured below.

Goettweig Abbey by Herr Specht.

At first, Augustines worked here, to be followed in 1094 by Benedictine monks from the Monastery of St. Blasien in the Black Forest. The Benedictines have been living, learning and teaching on Göttweig Mountain for more than 900 years. The goal of their life is to glorify God in prayer and work according to the Rule of their Order’s founder, Saint Benedict, the Patron Saint of Europe. Currently 54 monks belong to the monastic community. More than 30 of them give pastoral care to parishioners and pilgrims in the Dioceses of Vienna and St. Pölten. Forestry and viticulture have been the economic basis of the Monastery since it was founded - today completed by various touristic and economic efforts. For more information, visit the official website Benediktiner Stift Goettweig.

Daytrip to Vienna

Belcanto visits Vienna on Friday, July 2, during the Performance Tour 2010. Incantato Tours discovered some interesting facts about the Austrian city:

Vienna is the capital of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.7 million (2.3 million within the metropolitan area, more than 25% of Austria's population), and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre. It is the 10th largest city by population in the European Union. Vienna is host to many major international organizations such as the United Nations and OPEC. Vienna lies in the east of Austria and is close to the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. Founded around 500 BC, Vienna was originally a Celtic settlement. In 2001, the city centre was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site and in 2005 an Economist Intelligence Unit study of 127 world cities ranked it first equal with Vancouver for the quality of life. This assessment was mirrored by the Mercer Survey in 2009.
Art and culture have a long tradition in Vienna, including theater, opera, classical music and fine arts. The Burgtheater is considered one of the best theaters in the German-speaking world alongside its branch, the Akademietheater. The Volkstheater Wien and the Theater in der Josefstadt also enjoy good reputations. There is also a multitude of smaller theaters, in many cases devoted to less mainstream forms of performing arts, such as modern, experimental plays or cabaret.
Vienna is also home to a number of opera houses, including the Theater an der Wien, the Staatsoper and the Volksoper, the latter being devoted to the typical Viennese operetta. Classical concerts are performed at well known venues such as the Wiener Musikverein, home of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Wiener Konzerthaus. Many concert venues offer concerts aimed at tourists, featuring popular highlights of Viennese music (particularly the works of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Johann Strauss).
In recent years, the Theater an der Wien has become widely known for hosting premieres of musicals, although it has recently devoted itself to the opera again. The most successful musical by far was "Elisabeth", which was later translated into several other languages and performed all over the world. The Haus der Musik ("house of music") opened in 2000.

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Home away from Home on July 1, 2 & 3: Jugendhaus Stift Göttweig

On July 1, 2 and 3 the travelers of Belcanto are going to stay at the Jugendhaus Stift Göttweig. The former boy school dormitory is located right next to the Göttweig abbey which was founded as a monastery of canons regular by Blessed Altmann, Bishop of Passau. The high altar of the church was dedicated in 1072, but the monastery itself not until 1083: the foundation charter, dated 9 September 1083, is still preserved in the abbey archives.

Thursday, July 1: Belcanto explores Český Krumlov

On the way from Prague (Czech Republic) to Göttweig (Austria), the travelers visit beautiful Český Krumlov, today, July 1. Český Krumlov is a small city in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic, best known for the fine architecture and art of the historic old town and Český Krumlov Castle. Old Český Krumlov is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and was given this status along with the historic Prague castle district. To learn more about the city, please click here.