Polish tenor Piotr Beczała brought the year to a luminous close with a gala New Year’s Eve concert at the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden titled Eine spanische Nacht. His performance confirmed once again why he is regarded as one of the leading lyrical tenors of our time — combining effortless vocal command with expressive nuance that captivated the audience from the first phrase.

The Silvesterglanz concert — part of the Festspielhaus’s festive programme — featured a richly varied Spanish-themed repertoire spanning Bizet’s Carmen, De Falla’s dances, and orchestral highlights such as Danzón No. 2. Beczała’s voice stood out for its radiant presence and finely calibrated dynamics, able to fill the grand hall with sound that felt both powerful and intimately communicative.

As Marko Cirkovic wrote in Wochenblatt Reporter, “Piotr Beczała — a tenor for whom any praise beginning with the word “great” immediately loses its meaning. He belongs to the absolute top tier, and on this afternoon he demonstrated a quality that transforms rank into legend: a mature, noble voice, supported by a technique that does not strive for brilliance but simply works — and is therefore all the more captivating.

First, there is the effortless carrying power with which he not only reaches the vast auditorium but fills it entirely: a sound that does not force, but radiates; that possesses presence without any need for harshness. And then there are the quiet notes — that almost inaudible quality which nonetheless electrifies, precisely because it is so perfectly sustained: pure breath control, pure tension.

The way he builds crescendos, how he stretches musical lines, how he does not “push” a phrase but allows it to grow organically, is truly unmatched. Every crescendo feels organic, every nuance carries weight, every pianissimo has depth. What one experiences is not merely singing, but the art of storytelling through sound — an art that transforms the space into a single, profound experience. A festive concert evening such as this truly blossoms in moments like these — and Beczała imbues them with an intensity that almost takes one’s breath away. It is hard to suppress a sense of joy.“

Piotr Beczała was accompanied by the Philharmonie Baden-Baden under the baton of Timur Zangiev, and joined by fantastic mezzo-soprano Aigul Akhmetshina. The evening blended operatic flair with vibrant orchestral colour, and audiences greeted the performance with genuine warmth, celebrating not just a concert but a moment of shared musical joy at the turning of the year.

Photo: Manolo Press/ Michael Bode