About Shadow to Champagne

Across three distinctive programmes, The Opera and Song Collective explores the interplay of light and shadow in music, drama and human connection. From the charged histories of Return of the Queens: Kings Arise, where power and private truth collide, to the intimate, contemporary voices of Stormlight, where composers and performers share living works, and culminating in the luminous contrast of Shadow to Champagne: Strauss & Strauss, the series traces a journey from darkness to brilliance.

Together, these concerts reveal light not as a single idea, but as something shifting — psychological, sensory and celebratory — at the heart of musical experience.

Programme 3. 'Shadow to Champagne: Strauss & Strauss'

The Opera and Song Collective concludes its 2026 afternoon concert season with an elegant celebration of the music of Richard Strauss and Johann Strauss II — a journey from shadowed introspection to sparkling Viennese delight. Shadow to Champagne explores the extraordinary emotional range of Richard Strauss through selections from his operas, Lieder and ensemble works, including Ariadne auf Naxos, Arabella, Capriccio and Die Frau ohne Schatten. Richly atmospheric, lyrical and deeply human, these works reveal Strauss at his most radiant, reflective and dramatically expressive. In glorious contrast comes the irresistible theatrical charm of Johann Strauss II, with music from Die Fledermaus and Eine Nacht in Venedig bringing warmth, wit, romance and champagne effervescence to the afternoon. Performed by distinguished TOSC soloists and ensemble in intimate chamber settings, the programme moves seamlessly between moonlit reflection and glittering celebration — from longing and dream to laughter, dance and dazzling ensemble finales. Elegant, uplifting and richly entertaining, Shadow to Champagne brings TOSC’s 2026 Light and Shadow series to a radiant close.