Vatroslav Lisinski Concert Hall: the Vienna Boys’ Choir in Zagreb on 15 February

The Vienna Boys’ Choir, a choir that thrills audiences around the world, will perform at the Vatroslav Lisinski Concert Hall on 15 February. Manolo Cagnin will be the conductor of the concert and music of many renowned musicians, such as Antonio Vivaldi, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Gioachino Rossini, Giuseppe Verdi, Franz Schubert, Josef Strauss, Johann Strauss II and others will be performed at the concert in Zagreb.  It was also announced that various countries’ folk songs adaptations, among which a Croatian folk song “Oh deep sea” (in Croatian O more duboko), will also be performed.

The choir’s past is very long and interesting. From 1498 to 1918, it was part of the Vienna Imperial Music Chapel and sang exclusively at private events and ceremonies of the Imperial Court. However, in 1918 it became a private institution and its reputation grew. The choristers’ imperial military uniforms were replaced with sailor uniforms, which were the fashion then and have been kept to date as one of the choir’s trademarks.

Today, the choir consists of over 100 choristers aged from 10 to 14 from around thirty countries. They are divided into four touring choirs:  Bruckner, Haydn, Mozart and Schubert. These four choirs together give around 300 concerts a year worldwide before an audience of almost half a million spectators, as is estimated.

The choir's repertoire includes pieces from medieval to contemporary and experimental music. Lately, it has often performed with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, the London Philharmonic, the Staatskapelle Berlin, the Oslo Philharmonic and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. 

Croatian musicians Lovro von Matačić and Max Emanuel Cenčić also contributed to the recognisable sound of the Vienna Boys’ Choir.