Sony Classical is proud to announce the release of this year’s Summer Night Concert 2023 with the Vienna Philharmonic, conducted by Yannick Nézét-Séguin with mezzo-soprano Elīna Garanča as soloist.

The Summer Night Concert was performed this year on 8 June 2023. It is an annual open-air event, which has been held since 2008. The park of Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna/Austria, which is a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site, is the magical setting for the concert. The illustrious conductors who have previously led the orchestra at this event are Georges Prêtre, Daniel Barenboim, Franz Welser-Möst, Lorin Maazel, Christoph Eschenbach, Zubin Mehta, Semyon Bychkov, Gustavo Dudamel, Daniel Harding and Andris Nelsons. Millions of viewers and listeners in more than 80 countries follow the concert online, on TV and radio.

This year, the Vienna Philharmonic devoted the concert to works from French Romanticism to Impressionism. The event was presented for the first time by Maestro Yannick Nézet-Séguin and mezzo-soprano Elīna Garanča, who performed three arias from Georges Bizet's Carmen, Charles Gounod's Sapho and Camille Saint-Saëns's Samson et Dalila. Also featured for the first time was a composition by Lili Boulanger - a moving depiction of nature by the young composer who became the first female winner of the prestigious Prix de Rome in 1913.

Latvian mezzo-soprano Elīna Garanča has established herself as one of the music world’s major stars through her performances with leading opera companies and symphony orchestras around the world. She has captured critical and popular acclaim for her beautiful voice, intelligent musicianship, and compelling stage portrayals. Canadian conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin has worked with many leading orchestras worldwide and enjoys close collaborations with Berliner Philharmoniker, Wiener Philharmoniker, Bayerischer Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester and Chamber Orchestra of Europe. He is the Honorary Conductor of the Rotterdams Philharmonisch Orkest after being their Music Director from 2008 to 2018. He is also an Honorary Member of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe.