The music and dance festival known as Salute to Vienna is a New Year's Day tradition that Ruth Eckerd and Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall are set to continue along with venues in 28 other North American cities. The musical selection showcases conductor Peter McCoppin, European soprano Zsuzsa Alfödi and Viennese tenor Alexander Kaimbacher, while the dance faction is kept happy by members of the Györ National Ballet of Hungary and ballroom dancers Csaba László and Szilvia Szögi. That's enough umlauts for a lifetime. Sat., Dec. 31, 8 p.m., 1111 McMullen-Booth Road, Clearwater, $39-$55, 727-791-7400, www.rutheckerdhall.com; and Sun., Jan. 1, 8 p.m., 777 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, $39-$67, 941-953-3368, 800-826-9303, www.vanwezel.org.
This article appears in Dec 28, 2005 – Jan 3, 2006.