The Waldbühne‚ Woodland Stage in Berlin where this open­air concert took place last July is like a cross between Kenwood in north London and the Hollywood Bowl. A natural amphitheatre larger than Kenwood‚ it is more informal than the Hollywood Bowl with its concrete terraces. As at Kenwood the punters – all 22‚000 of them – sit on the grass‚ but they are regimented into rows with gangways between. This annual concert marks the end of the Berlin Philharmonic’s regular season before the summer break. The first half is in daylight‚ the second begins as dusk romantically turns to night‚ with the audience flashing lights and waving sparklers during the last item‚ Lincke’s ‘Berliner Luft’ which prompts rhythmic clapping as in the Radetzky March in Vienna. It is the traditional closing item to the event‚ which Domingo obviously relished‚ with baton in one hand‚ microphone in the other‚ as he sang along with everyone. The open­air setting makes an attractive backcloth for an unpretentious holiday programme‚ which carefully steers away from the middle­of­the­road dangers which tend to beset London’s Proms in the Park on the Last Night of the Proms. The focus of the whole event this time was Plácido Domingo as conductor‚ who put together a delightful sequence of Spanish­inspired pieces‚ including three songs from his favourite genre of the distinctive Spanish form of operetta‚ the zarzuela. Ana María Martínez‚ as she takes up position on stage for her first number‚ attracts wolf­whistles which she cheerfully silences by blowing kisses all round. That sets the pattern for relaxed music­making as its most winning‚ with her warm‚ throaty soprano well­matched to this repertory. Sarah Chang makes just as glamorous a figure‚ playing with masterly point in the two Sarasate showpieces as well as sweetly and tenderly in Massenet’s ‘Méditation’. In addition to the purely Spanish items‚ such showpieces as Chabrier’s España and Rimsky­Korsakov’s Capriccio espagnol are self­recommending‚ and loyally Domingo includes the colourful Huapango‚ well worth hearing‚ by the Mexican composer José Moncayo. Specially interesting is the sharply varied rarity by Johann Strauss‚ the Spanish March. One of the additional features of the disc is an interview with both Chang and Domingo. Chang is predictably charming‚ talking about her Korean­American background and working with Domingo‚ while he is most illum­ inating on the way he began his studies as a pianist and conductor‚ only later realising his potential as a singer. Once established as a tenor‚ he explains‚ he always tried to conduct at least two or three concerts a year‚ and latterly has upped that figure considerably to something like 35 or 40‚ mainly of opera. Both pay tribute to the Berlin Phil‚ here obviously enjoying this last fling before their summer holidays. Considering how dry the sound can be in the open air‚ the quality here is first­rate‚ no doubt helped by the canopy over the orchestra like an extended crusaders’ tent.