The Vienna Opera Ball Orchestra at El Jem

The concert of the Vienna Opera Ball Orchestra as part of the International Festival of Symphonic Music in the Roman amphitheatre of El Jem is one of the most important cultural events in Tunisia for 25 years.

Under the musical direction of chief conductor Laszlo Gyüker, the orchestra performed classical opera and operetta compositions as well as works by Johann Strauss, Carl Michael Ziehrer and Josef Lanner. Vocal soloists Martha Hirschmann and Ilona Revolskaya delighted the audience not only with their vocal skills, but also with their famous opera duets from "Lakmé" and "The Tales of Hoffmann".

After a two-hour concert and three encores, the Vienna Opera Ball Orchestra received standing ovations lasting several minutes from more than 5000 guests.

As last year, the concert was broadcast live by Tunisian state television as well as three other television stations.