A Gala Christmas in Vienna explained

A Gala Christmas in Vienna / Christmas in Vienna V
Director:	Humphrey Burton
Starring:	Plácido Domingo Sarah Brightman Helmut Lotti Riccardo Cocciante
Distributor:	Sony Music Entertainment
Runtime:	74 min.

A Gala Christmas in Vienna or Christmas in Vienna V is a DVD released in 1998. Plácido Domingo, Sarah Brightman, Helmut Lotti and Riccardo Cocciante perform traditional, European and American Christmas songs in Vienna, Austria. The orchestra was the Vienna Symphony, conducted by Steven Mercurio.^[1] The CD album of the concert reached No. 26 on the Austrian charts. It also charted in Germany, Belgium (in both Flanders and Wallonia), and the Netherlands.

Cast

• Plácido Domingo – singer
• Sarah Brightman – singer
• Helmut Lotti – singer
• Riccardo Cocciante – singer
• Steven Mercurio – conductor
• Wiener Symphoniker
• Gumpoldskirchner Spatzen
• Marlies King

Track listing

A CD of the songs was also released.

CD

1. "Christmas Prologue" (medley of traditional tunes)
2. "Deck the Halls"
3. "The Closing of the Year" (from the Toys film score)
4. "Tu scendi dalle stelle"
5. "Walking in the Air"
6. "Adeste Fideles" ("O Come, All Ye Faithful")
7. "Away in a Manger"
8. "An Old-Fashioned Christmas"
9. "First of May"
10. "Il Re Gesù" (by Plácido Domingo Jr.)
11. ""
12. "Cantemos Rapaces"
13. "Christmas Is Here Again" (by Roger Whittaker)
14. "Child in a Manger"
15. "Angels from the Realms of Glory"
16. "Another Christmas Song" (by Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull)
17. "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town"
18. "Happy Christmas (War is Over)"
19. "Silent Night" (in 5 languages)
20. "First of May" (Studio version) – (Bonus track)

Reception

Entertainment Weekly gave the video a C+, writing that "as long as gorgeous-voiced stars like Placido Domingo and Sarah Brightman stick to traditional fare like Deck the Halls and European carols, all is bright", and cautioned "but when Domingo bellows over Trevor Horn's bombastic The Closing of the Year, and Brightman attempts to rock on Santa Claus Is Coming to Town, they're just schlockin' around the Christmas tree."^[2]

CD chart performance

Chart^[3] ^[4]	Peak position
Austria	26
Belgium (Flanders)	42
Belgium (Wallonia)	27
Germany	33
Netherlands	56

See also

• Christmas in Vienna
• Christmas in Vienna II
• Christmas in Vienna III
• Christmas in Vienna VI

Notes and References

1. Web site: staff. Gala Christmas in Vienna (1997). https://web.archive.org/web/20150101105900/http://www.nytimes.com/movies/movie/177139/Gala-Christmas-in-Vienna/overview. dead. 1 January 2015. Movies & TV Dept.. The New York Times. Baseline & All Movie Guide. 2015. 1 January 2015.
2. Web site: Cannon. Bob. A Gala Christmas in Vienna (1998). https://web.archive.org/web/20090425224548/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,285989,00.html. dead. 25 April 2009. Entertainment Weekly. 31 December 2014. 4 December 1998.
3. Web site: DOMINGO / BRIGHTMAN / LOTTI / COCCIANTE - CHRISTMAS IN VIENNA V (ALBUM). Norwegiancharts.com (with world wide chart information).
4. Web site: DOMINGO / BRIGHTMAN / LOTTI / COCCIANTE - CHRISTMAS IN VIENNA V (ALBUM). UltraTop: Official Charts for Francophone Belgium (with other chart information). fr.