Indulge in a feast of the senses this festive season as the Konzert Kollektiv fills the grandest of the grand Blue Mountains hotels with majestic Christmas music on December 22.
Accompanied by fine food and sublime sunset views, soprano Catherine Bouchier will join tenor Brad Cooper and concert pianist Katherine Day for an unforgettable evening at the Hydro Majestic Hotel to mark the 200th anniversary of loved Christmas carol, Silent Night.
The event will include well known pieces by Adolf Schulz-Evler, Percy Grainger, Richard Strauss, Peter Alexander, Peter Cornelius, Franz Lehár, Erich Korngold, Adolphe Adam and more.
As well as favourites such as Joy to the World and The Holy City (Jerusalem), the great carol of peace will receive special attention on its 200th anniversary.
According to legend, Silent Night was sung for the first time on Christmas Eve 1818 in a little church in the Austrian village of Oberndorf outside Salzburg.
The story goes that the choirmaster hurriedly penned the hymn to be played on a guitar when it was discovered mice had chewed through the bellows of the church organ.
The program will be accompanied by a five-course degustation dinner of fresh regional produce showcasing the culinary talents of an international team of chefs.
Tickets: $145pp includes welcome cocktail, dinner and concert. Bookings: hydromajestic.com.au.
While you’re at the Hydro, look out for Candy the Kewpie doll under the grand chandelier in the famous Casino Lobby.
Candy is one of 12 giant Kewpie dolls that twirled around Stadium Australian during the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games closing ceremony.
Candy and her Kewpie sisters were designed by Brian Thompson based on the Marcella Kewpie, a flapper-girl Japanese version of American magazine illustrator Rose O’Neill’s cowlicked, roly-poly original.
Other festive events at the Escarpment Group include Christmas Day lunches and/or dinners at the Hydro, at Echoes Restaurant and at Darleys at Lilianfels. There is also a 70s retro dance night on New Year’s Eve at the Hydro.
More details and bookings, see hydromajestic.com.au or call 4782 6885.
