Viennese whirl

We were treated to a marvellous Viennese concert at Winchester Cathedral yesterday, spearheaded by that brilliant operatic couple Mr & Mrs Gadd aka Stephen Gadd and Claire Rutter. The performances of the overture to Die Fledermauss, the Blue Danube and Wiener Blut Waltz by the Southern Sinfonia Chamber Orchestra, warmed the heart on a freezing evening and the renditions of Lehar's "On my Lips Every Kiss is like Wine" and Millocker's "Dunkelrote Rosen" by Rutter and Gadd were amusing and touching. The only disappointment was the lack of orchestral jokes in the Tritsch Tratsch Polka which surely would have enhanced the concert had it been staged in Vienna.