Candlelight Concerts Are Designed to Draw in New Audiences

By Cliff Hall | From the September-October issue of Strings Magazine

The Estates Theatre, a stunning opera house that first opened in Prague in 1783, is a beautiful place to see a concert. So when Miloš Foreman was scouting for locations to shoot his 1984 movie Amadeus, he knew this theater would be ideal, except for one thing: to create the perfect mood for the movie, he had to light millions of candles in a theater that, thanks to its neglect during the Communist era, was a powder keg.

“It was in danger of burning down at any moment,” said Foreman in the documentary The Making of Amadeus. “I will never forget [when] Don Giovanni moves to the table [with his] huge plumage. He leans, and suddenly we see this feather caught fire. And the fire is going up and up and up, but he is in the ecstasy of performing, and he doesn’t even notice. And everybody was staring, and we had like 40 to 50 firemen up there. Finally, one fireman dared to lean from the wings. ‘Excuse me, Mr. Foreman, can we please stop the cameras? Your actor’s on fire.’”

This is one worry that patrons of Candlelight Concerts, a series of original music concerts that have gained an international foothold, don’t have to contend with.

“The staging of live music with candles is something we have seen for centuries, but we use LED candles that are flameless for the security of attendees and our unique venues,” writes Amanda Boucault, the organization’s public relations and communications coordinator, in an email. “Thousands of candles are used to illuminate the venues, creating an intimate atmosphere that enhances the listening experience and has amazed millions of people worldwide. The number of candles and production time usually depend on the venue size, but we work to fill up the stage as much as possible.”

With candlelit Mozartean images from Amadeus still in the cultural zeitgeist, it is no wonder that Fever, Candlelight Concerts’ parent company, brought these iconic scenes to life in a way that people across the globe could revel in.

“In 2019, we launched Candlelight Concerts as we recognized the need to make classical music more accessible to a wider audience, reaching beyond the core demographic of classical music enthusiasts. It became evident that many Fever platform users had an interest in classical music, but obstacles prevented them from making the leap to actually attending concerts,” says Boucault. “We started this process back then by talking to several traditional European cultural institutions that all raised the same question: “’How could we connect with younger audiences?’”

That’s when Fever decided to start testing some concepts and realized these audiences were keen for closer and more intimate experiences. They also discovered some other concerns and obstacles—to some, the concerts seemed too long, the etiquette mysterious (not knowing how to dress or behave at an event in such a “grand” setting), or the music beyond the scope of their experience and, therefore, interest.

“To address these challenges, we reimagined the traditional concert format,” says Boucault. “We condensed the duration from the typical 90 minutes to a more approachable 60 minutes, moved performances from formal concert halls to more accessible venues, and diversified the repertoire to encompass a broad spectrum of themes and genres, including movie soundtracks and tributes to contemporary artists such as Queen, ABBA, Coldplay, and Ed Sheeran, all alongside the timeless compositions of classical masters.”

Although the company hasn’t yet presented a show at the Estates Theater, other famous sites they’ve used include the Atomium (Brussels), Eiffel Tower (Paris), Jumeirah Burj Al Arab (Dubai), Victoria Hall (Geneva), Central Hall Westminster (London), Palau de la Música Catalana (Barcelona), Niagara Falls (Ontario), S.E.A. Aquarium (Singapore), and many more in over 150 cities across America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific.

To make the events more accessible, Fever also strives to reimagine local venues as well. “The experience has been performed in various sizes in all kinds of idyllic locations, spanning from modern rooftops with great views to iconic cathedrals, palaces, libraries, and gardens,” says Boucault. “The experience invites classical music enthusiasts to rediscover unique places in their cities and incentivizes a new audience that might have never considered the genre before to experience it in a different way.”

In addition to the venue experience, Fever also tries to bring different kinds of music into the mix to cast an even wider net. “The introduction of ‘tribute’ programs more aligned to jazz, rock, and pop artists but performed by a string quartet or other classical instruments enabled us to connect with a broader audience that might have never considered a classical music concert before. However, we have seen constant attendance in both types of concerts,” says Boucault. “We are always looking to meet local audiences’ expectations and create programs that meet their taste.”

Fever ideally hires local musicians who are skilled in performing compositions of many genres. Their in-house music curation team looks into the applications made through their website but also proactively approaches players in each region to be part of their worldwide network. Some of the most well-known string players working with Fever include the Vitamin and Orchid String Quartets.

“Being able to navigate from classical composers to contemporary artists is a differentiating factor of our musicians, as they work closely with our in-house music curation team to adapt the musical programs and suggest a setlist that can be engaging to a wider audience,” says Boucault. “The Candlelight Concert’s format is more flexible than more traditional classical music concerts, as it allows musicians to speak directly to the audience and share information about the artists for every tribute we do. Doing what they love in a unique, intimate setting surrounded by candles is obviously a plus.”

Looking to the future, Fever has an ambitious agenda. “Our mission is to democratize access to culture and entertainment in the regions where we are present,” says Boucault. “The essence of the Candlelight Concerts is to bring a fundamentally modern vision to the classical music experience, to reach a broad audience of age, nationality, and social background, thus promoting diversity in the cultural landscape.”