Kirill Petrenko and Víkingur Ólafsson in Buenos Aires

This is the Berliner Philharmoniker’s second performance at this legendary venue; they last performed here in 2000 under Claudio Abbado with a programme of Mahler’s works. As part of this year’s South American tour with chief conductor Kirill Petrenko, the orchestra is once again presenting music by a leading figure of the German-Austrian late Romantic period. Richard Strauss’s Also sprach Zarathustra set new standards in orchestration when it premiered in 1896 – and a few years later, the composer himself undertook two concert tours to Argentina: in 1920, Strauss conducted his tone poem in person at the Teatro Colón.

Víkingur Ólafsson, acclaimed for his crystal-clear touch, performs Johannes Brahms’s Piano Concerto No. 1, whose fiery and highly virtuosic finale promises a spectacular finale to the tour.

Due to a mysterious series of sudden deaths, people in Argentina also speak of the “curse of the Teatro Colón” – the history of the building’s construction reads like a crime thriller. In 1889, the Italian architect Francesco Tamburini was initially entrusted with the task of designing an opera house in Buenos Aires that would be equal to those in Europe in terms of size and facilities. However, the architect died two years later at the age of 44. Vittorio Meano, a business partner of Tamburini’s, took over the project, but he also did not live to see the theatre’s opening: in 1904 – also at the age of 44 – he was shot dead by his former butler. It was not until the Belgian architect Jules Dormal took charge that the construction project was finally completed. On Argentina’s national day in 1908, the Teatro Colón was officially opened with a performance of Verdi’s Aida – the curse had been broken.

Owing to the succession of architects, the building incorporates elements of both the French Beaux-Arts style and the Italian Neo-Renaissance: the gilded reception hall recalls Versailles and the Opéra Garnier in Paris; the auditorium, lined with red velvet, resembles La Scala in Milan. Today, up to 3,000 people can enjoy a wide variety of musical performances there, complete with first-class acoustics.

Berliner Philharmoniker

Kirill Petrenko

Víkingur Ólafsson