With a wonderful blend of Classical, Jazz, and Contemporary renditions of Christmas carols, this concert has become a family tradition for us. When it first aired on PBS, we recorded it onto VHS tape, and we have played that tape near Christmastime every year since, and we dearly wish it were available on DVD.
Quite simply, this concert features opera singers Kathleen Battle and Frederica Von Stade along with the only two people ever to win Grammy Awards for both Classical AND Jazz: Andre Previn and Wynton Marsalis. The result is absolutely unforgettable.
Unlike many opera singers (e.g. Pavarotti), Battle and Von Stade are able to sing non-opera material without sounding stuffed into it. In fact, they accomplish it quite beautifully.
Previn and Marsalis are both equally at home with Jazz and Classical, and perform marvelously.
In addition, some pieces include a full choir AND a full boys' choir, especially a one-of-a-kind version of the "Twelve Days of Christmas" in which something that can be a tired, old Christmas cliché is transformed into something sublime.