Summary

Charles Kuralt hosts this pre-recorded gala performance in Vienna on the eve of the first day of summit talks between U.S. President John F. Kennedy and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev. Kuralt narrates over footage of the arrivals of John and Jacqueline Kennedy and Nikita and Nina Khrushchev at the Schonbrunn Palace in Vienna; and the dignitaries' procession to the formal reception line within the Palace, en route to which they are greeted by President Adolf Scharf of Austria. As Kennedy, Khrushchev, Soviet Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrei A. Gromyko and other diplomats greet attendees, Kuralt comments on the Kennedys' warm reception by Parisians on an earlier leg of their trip. Kuralt then introduces the presentation of the concert in the Great Gallery of the palace, made possible by Austrian Television, the Eurovision Network, and Radio Television Franais. The concert consists of the following performances: The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra performs the Overture from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's "The Marriage of Figaro"; opera singer Waldemarthe Kmentt performs an aria from Mozart's "Don Giovanni"; opera singer Hilde Gueden sings "Csardas" from Johann Strauss's "Die Fledermaus"; Kmentt performs a song from Strauss's "Gypsy Baron"; Kmentt and Gueden perform a duet from "Gypsy Baron"; Gueden performs "Wien, Wien, Schones Wien"; and the Vienna State Opera Ballet dances a waltz. Following the broadcast of the gala event, Kuralt reflects briefly on the significance of the performances within the context of the upcoming summit meetings. Commercials deleted.

Cataloging of this program was made possible by the CBS Foundation, 1998.