12 July 2014
The building site scenery at the beginning of the “Horse & Symphony” concert, which attracted thousands of spectators to the showgrounds on Friday evening in the scope of the CHIO Aachen 2014, was already a good indication that a new era lies ahead for the Deutsche Bank Stadium. A few weeks ago, CHIO Show Director, Frank Kemperman, annouced that the Stadium, which has been expanded on the eastside with a stand comprising of a further 1,300 seats, would be completed in time for the World Equestrian Festival. And he was right – yesterday evening the building site workers, diggers and cement mixers made way for the Aachener Stadtreiter (City Riders of Aachen), the last sounds of the building work were drowned out by the concentrated power of the Aachen Symphony Orchestra under the direction of the Musical Director Kazem Abdullah, who got the crowd in the mood for the entertaining evening to the melody of the instrumental version of Giuseppe Verdi’s gypsy choir from the opera “Il Trovatore”. The Deutsche Bank Stadium shone out in new glory and cleared the stage for the glittering stars of the evening, who were presented by the two hosts Volker Raulf and Michael Dühn.
The fantastic show was accompanied by great music from the Symphony Orchestra. Impressions of this year’s CHIO partner country, Switzerland, comprising of the “Dialogue avec la nature“ of Swiss composer Jean Daetwyler to the musical background of an extraordinary combination between an orchestra and alpine horns, rounded off the performances. The “Call from the mountains” was followed by an aerialist of the “Lufttanz” (Air Dance) Theater, who performed pirouttes in the air hanging from a crane over the dressage arena, the rider Britta Rasche was the next thrilling item on the agenda. There was plenty of drive in the following performance: An impressive quadrille comprising of 12 carriages from the Rhineland Young Drivers Association, which rhythmically sped round the arena to the sounds of the Michael Jackson hits “Billie Jean” and “Beat it”, accompanied by aspiring young dancers from the dance school, Dance Point Aachen.
The show performance “Le Carousel de Sanssoucis” led the crowd back to a past era with an historical elegant, Baroque horse carousel, which formed the seamless transition to the performance of the stilt theatre Pantao and two riders from the Braun Riding School, a colourful performance accompanied by Harold Arlen’s “Somewhere over the rainbow”, sung by the sopranist Jelena Rakic. The first part of the concert ended in a true highlight: The Queens of the vaulting sport, Joanne & Hannah Eccles from Great Britain conquered the dressage arena for a change instead of the vaulting circle. The two sisters impressed the spectators with an excellent pas de deux to the Freddy Mercury classic “Bohemian Rhapsody”. A goose bump experience!
The second part of the evening was characterised by the “Symphonie fantastique” music of the French componist Hector Berlioz. Passionate music combined with extraordinary show acts. The French “horse whisperer” Jean-François Pignon fascinated the Aachen crowd with two magical performances. He doesn’t need a saddle, a bridle or any fancy accessories – he talked to his horses using small gestures and they followed him as if by magic. The master of the liberty dressage impressively demonstrated the magical connection between horses and humans. However, not only Pignon managed to enchant the crowd, together with her daughter Carla, the shepherd Anne Krüger showed what tricks Indian ducks and border collies are capable of performing and earned themselves a resounding applause! Then, the A-formation of the Aachen-Düsseldorf Dance Centre and the team Britta Rasche & Bruno da Silva, invited the crowd to join them for a ball. The pony dressage quadrille directed by Cornelia Endres demanded perfection. Monsieur Pignon brought the show to a grand finale: Under the spotlight, he cuddled up to ten horses, a pony and a foal and received the fairytale support of an aerialist clad in a white dress, who flew into the floodlit stadium from the dark skies. A fantastic finale!
Part of the proceeds will again this year be donated to UNICEF and the children’s aid project “Die Sternsinger“ e.V. from Aachen. If this has aroused your curiosity, there is still a further opportunity to experience the “Horse & Symphony” concert live. A second performance will be held in the Deutsche Bank Stadium this evening and there are still a few tickets left.
All further information and tickets: www.chioaachen.de
Source: CHIO Aachen
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