Tuesday, June 6, 2017WIENER BURGTHEATER

RECOGNIZETHE DANGER

PRESS CONFERENCELe Méridien Vienna, May 22, 2017

CELEBRATION CONCERT

Life Ball Press Office:Phone +43 (0) 1 595 56 00 20, Fax +43 (0) 1 595 56 77, presse@lifeball.orgwww.lifeplus.org | www.lifeball.org | www.lifebible.org

For printing this press kit free of change, we kindly thank:

Graphics & layout: WebArtists - Günter TemelCover: Christoph Schlossnickl

For pictures of the press conference, please refer to the Life Ball’s photo data base on lifeball.mediamap.at – a voluntary service of Agentur Wulz

We kindly thank Marina Stadlbauer for translating this press kit into English on a voluntary basis.

Contents

Quotes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Looking back . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

LIFE+ CELEBRATION CONCERT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

The concept . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Artist statements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Facts & Figures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

In the end, you invest and therefore give life

Bill Clinton, 31.5.2014

Red Ribbon has the Church‘s blessing

Kurier, 10.6.2016

Last night, all opera stars and actors gathered together at the Vienna Burgtheater for the Red

Ribbon Celebration Concert Österreich, 15.5.2015

Red Ribbon Celebration Concert enchants the Vienna Burgtheater

vienna.at, 11.6.2016

Standing ovations for the artists at the Red Ribbon Celebration Concert

Der Standard, 16.5.20151

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Preface: LIFE+ CELEBRATION CONCERT, June 6, 2017I am very happy that the successful Red Ribbon Celebration Concert can be organized again this year with a new name. The name change to LIFE+ CELEBRATION CONCERT emphasizes that the activities‘ main focus is on raising awareness of all possibilities that life has to offer. Life is a party and we should celebrate it accordingly.

It is a beautiful sign of tolerance and community when so many international artists come together and commit themselves to the good cause. Individuality, as opposed to uniformity, is the event‘s main topic, and it will be shown by the diverse musical as well as literary contributions.

The topic of this year‘s LIFE BALL is „Recognize the Danger“. Seeing the danger, enhancing risk awareness, but also increasing knowledge about the correct behavior in connection with AIDS/HIV are at the center of extensive information campaigns. It is clear that arts and culture can play a major role in this. This is why I am proud that the LIFE+ CELEBRATION CONCERT takes place at the flagship of the Austrian federal theaters, the Vienna Burgtheater.

HIV and AIDS concern everybody. This is why I call upon each and every one to commit to fighting the disease, but also the stigma, discrimination, and exclusion of people living with HIV or AIDS. The LIFE+ Celebration Concert 2017, as a life-affirming celebration, will send a powerful and important signal.

It is an honor for the Chancellor‘s Office to co-organize this concert and therefore contribute to enhance tolerance toward people affected.

Mag. Thomas DrozdaFederal Minister for Arts and Culture, Constitution, and Media

Looking back As one of the world‘s biggest AIDS charity events, the Life Ball has not only been celebrating life since 1993, but also diversity, tolerance, and respect. The LIFE+ CELEBRATION CONCERT is a more intimate event than the Life Ball, which is always staged very „loudly“ on purpose in order to get its message across and raise funds for AIDS projects. The concert, however, is aimed at a slightly different target group, lovers of classical art and music. Both events have the same goal: fighting HIV and AIDS.

The event‘s unique program is characterized by pieces of classical music, interpreted by famous singers, which alternate with readings done by renowned actors and actresses. The support of artists such as Anna Netrebko, Michael Schade, Juan Diego Florez, Piotr Beczala, Thomas Hampson, Rene Pape, or Ildebrando D’Arcangelo as well as actors like Antonio Banderas, Marcia Cross, Billy Zane, Maximilian Schell (✝), Christiane Hörbiger, Sunnyi Melles, Cornelius Obonya, Nicholas Ofczarek, Michael Heltau, and legends like Dionne Warwick and Al Jarreau (✝) lay the foundation for continuing the exclusive gala concert. In 2016, Viennese Cardinal Christoph Schönborn was the first representative of the Catholic Church who officially attended a Life Ball event.

The main topics of the event are humanity, equality, and human dignity, but the contributions also touch on current issues and the motto of the Life Ball, which will take place just 4 days later.

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Famous opera singers and actors unite against AIDS in cooperation with the Austrian Chancellor‘s Office for the support of AIDS help projects. The LIFE+ CELEBRATION CONCERT, which will take place on 6 June 2017, will usher in the Life Ball Week with a unique group of opera and theater stars, who will make this evening at the Vienna Burgtheater unforgettable. Sumi Jo, South-Korean soprano, Grammy award winner, and Oscar® nominee; René Pape, who has the most beautiful bass voice in the world and is a Grammy and ECHO award winner; Linda Watson, the most important Wagner singer of our time; chamber singer Bo Skovhus, baritone and the audience‘s favorite as well as Angela Denoke; sopranos Daniela Fally; Maria José Siri and Pumeza Matshikiza; Julia Novikova, Placido Domingo Operalia winner; Andrea Carè, the last pupil of Pavarotti and young tenor as well as Ekaterina Siurina and Charles Castronovo will raise their voices against AIDS according to this year‘s Life Ball motto „Recognize the Danger“.

Yury Revich, ECHO Classic laureate, will create magical sounds on his Stradivari, and Alma Deutscher, musical prodigy aged eleven, will be the youngest artist on stage that night.

Great actors like Sunnyi Melles, Maria Happel, Chris Lohner, Yvonneka Kálmán and Oscar® winner Karl Markovics promise the greatest literary enjoyment. The Tonkünstler-Orchester will be conducted by Alfred Eschwé, and the concert is once again directed by Alexander Wiegold. „For me, it is a huge sign of tolerance and community that artists from more than twenty different nations share a stage and embrace the good cause. Each and every one of them makes a priceless contribution, so that fans of classical music and the theater will also get to know the causes that are important for the Life Ball. My team and I are incredibly grateful that we are getting so much support again this year“, says Gery Keszler, chairman of LIFE+ and organizer of the Life Ball.

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The conceptWith works by Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Alexander von Zemlinsky, Emmerich Kálmán, Kurt Weill, and others, the dramatic composition of the LIFE+ CELEBRATION CONCERT will take the audience back to the contradictory situation of the 1920s and 1930s: There was an exuberant joie de vivre, but also an atmosphere of renewal, existential fear, violence, and the catastrophe that was already approaching.

Whereas the musical pieces and arias focus on lust for life, hedonism and passions, the literary contributions take a closer look at the looming danger.

The concert is complemented by visuals by Dirk Pfeiffer, inspired by the strong imagery of silent films. With a cool steel construction, the scene looks like it came right from Metropolis, and there are visible spotlights, which make the audience feel like they are looking at a film set. Various screens multiply and scatter the images to pieces of an expressionist dream world.

It has become a tradition of the LIFE+ CELEBRATION CONCERT to stand up for an open and diverse society with the most diverse artists‘ voices. This year‘s look at the end of the 1920s should remind us that we need to counteract alienation in society by all means.

Vanessa Eder-Messutat‘s stage design looks a bit like skyscrapers with some elements from the 30‘s silent films, in a setting that is about to tilt. Glamorous lights and spotlights are flashing. Lattice beams, dynamic lines, and bright billboards form this high-contrast, exciting city that is just about to go through a big change.

Artists‘ statements„It is a great pleasure to be on the stage of the time-honored Vienna Burgtheater with international opera stars during the LIFE+ CELEBRATION CONCERT. This event reflects the cultural diversity and openness that we get to experience on a daily basis when we work. The motto ‚Recognize the Danger‘ focuses on the zeitgeist of the 1920s and 1930s; back then, musical diversity and plurality were facing global crises and threats, too.

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Helping to create the artistic environment of the Life Ball as a sign of life for a tolerant, colorful, and open-minded Austria for the second time already is a great chance for us to demonstrate solidarity, respect, and responsibility for the community in a playful way, so to speak. Because there is no other option than community. Neither when it comes to music, nor when it comes to fighting AIDS“, says Frank Druschel, managing director of the Tonkünstler-Orchester.

Statement Sumi Jo „I am very happy and honored that I got invited to the LIFE BALL 2017. As I continue to see how the power of music brings together people from different cultures, with different languages and religions, but also because I am a UNESCO Artist for Peach, it means a lot to me that this charity concert is the basis for solving the problems of our time. I wish the LIFE BALL 2017 all the best.“

Statement Yury RevichUnfortunately, AIDS is still a plague of our generation, and so everybody – this also includes artists – has to be more aware of it. Stigma is still the most deadly symptom of HIV, but it can be cured with compassion, mindfulness, and attention. I see it as my duty as an artist to help people who are living with HIV/AIDS or who are at high risk of contracting it, and to make sure that they are neither deprived of nor refused their human rights. It is my great pleasure and honor to he part of Gery Keszler‘s LIFE BALL initiative and to dedicate my music to ending the AIDS epidemic. As the great Nelson Mandela said, music is a universal language that speaks to all souls in every part of the world. I am very happy to contribute my music together with other talented artists, as a symbol of community and strength, in order to help spread this message across the globe.“

Alexander WiegoldThe 1920’s were a time of extreme contradictions. Art and literature flourished, just like corruption, new media accelerated everyday life, science celebrated triumphs, there were coups, street battles, it was a time of starvation and wealth, unemployment and a great idealism. The LIFE+ CELEBRATION CONCERT of 2017 will trace this contradictory time period: its exuberant lust for life, spirit of optimism, existential fears, the violence and the vaguely looming catastrophe. It has become a beautiful tradition of the LIFE+ CELEBRATION CONCERT at Burgtheater to take a stand for an open and diverse society with broad range of artistic voices. This year’s look at the late 1920s is supposed to remind us that social alienation needs to be resist with everything we have at our disposal.

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Info & factsLIFE+ CELEBRATION CONCERT – RECOGNIZE THE DANGER

Tuesday, June 6 2017, concert starts at 7:30 p.m.Burgtheater, Universitätsring 2, 1010 ViennaAdmission: 40 / 75 / 110 / 150 / 190 eurosDress code: Elegant evening attire

Voluntary participating artists: Sumi Jo / René Pape / Angela Denoke / Linda Watson / Daniela Fally / Andrea Carè / Julia Novikova / Alma Deutscher / Bo Skovhus / Pumeza Matshikiza / Charles Castronovo / Ekaterina Siurina / Yury Revich / Sunnyi Melles / Maria Happel / Chris Lohner / Karl Markovics / Yvonneka Kálmán / Tonkünstler-Orchester / Alfred Eschwé.

Moderation: Chris LohnerDirector: Alexander Wiegold

Official ticketing The ticket sale for the LIFE+ CELEBRATION CONCERT started on March 5, 2017 – tickets may be purchased at the central ticket offices of the Austrian Bundestheater, at the box offices of the Burgtheater as well as the Volksoper, or on the Internet, on www.burgtheater.at or www.wien-ticket.at.

Exclusive Donors‘ boxes For the concert, there will be a limited number of donors‘ boxes packages again. These packages include two high-class events in one evening. First, you can enjoy the concert in an exclusive box with family, friends, or business partners, or with a donor‘s ticket on a seat of the best category. As a festive finale, there will be a small celebration with artists and soloists at the opening night party. Depending on the category, the packages for a box for four people are either 3,600 euros (parterre or 1st balcony) or 1,000 euros (seat category 1).

By buying a ticket, you are supporting Austrian and international HIV/AIDS help projects.

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We thank our partner

Dienstag, 6. Juni 2017WIENER BURGTHEATER

RECOGNIZETHE DANGER

PRESSEKONFERENZLe Méridien Wien, 22. Mai 2017

CELEBRATION CONCERT

Verein LIFE+Werdertorgasse 1 | A-1010 Vienna

Phone +43 1 5955600 | presse@lifeball.orgwww.lifeplus.org | www.lifeball.org | www.lifebible.org