Flemish singing star Helmut Lotti returns to PBS with a new concert recorded under the stars in Aartselaar, Belgium. Performed outside Cleydael (pronounced cly'-dahl) Castle, HELMUT LOTTI GOES CLASSIC FROM BELGIUM'S CLEYDAEL CASTLE features Lotti in performance with the 55-member Golden Symphony Orchestra conducted by maestro AndrÈ Walscaerts and accompanied by the Nocti Vagant Chorus. The dramatically lit 14th-century fortress towers majestically in the background as the ensemble performs on a floating stage on the surrounding moat. During the concert, Lotti performs his own compositions, sings original lyrics set to classic melodies and offers up traditional folk songs from America and other countries. The special airs on PBS as part of the August 1998 pledge drive (check local listings).

Lotti's own musical influences range from Elvis Presley to Luciano Pavarotti and he pays tribute to both artists in this special. His powerful renditions of the American classics "Amazing Grace" and "John Brown's Body/The Battle Hymn of the Republic" recall Presley's vocal style. Lotti was inspired by his idol Luciano Pavarotti's trademark performance of Giacomo Puccini's "Nessun Dorma" from Turandot to compose "My Love Will Never Die," a love letter to his daughter.

The influence of fatherhood is reflected in two other songs set to familiar melodies. Johannes Brahms' "Lullaby" becomes the basis for Lotti's interpretation, "Tiny Hands, Tiny Feet," and Amilcare Ponchielli's "Dance of the Hours" from the opera La Gioconda lends itself to the nostalgic "Back in Time."

The multilingual tenor shows his range with the high-energy Italian "Comme Facette Mammeta"; the Spanish-influenced "La Paloma" by Sebastian de Yradier; and the lilting "Mother Nature," performed in English to the melody of Edvard Grieg's "Morgenstimmung." With the audience reflected in the moat's watery surface, Lotti sings the German ice-skating waltz "Das ist der Tag" by Charles Waldteufel. "Gloire Immortelle," the soldiers' march from Gounod's Faust, adds a French flair to the international mix. Some songs are performed in two languages, as is Lotti's Spanish and English lyrics to "Marinja" by Waldteufel and his Hebrew and English version of the folk song "Shalom Alechem," both of which inspire the audience to clap and sway in their seats.

Lotti's diverse musical choices have led to a growing popularity in America. His operatic debut at five years old and his Elvis-influenced pop performances as a young man eventually led to pop success in his native Belgium. The first of his three albums of popular classical songs, Helmut Lotti Goes Classic, went platinum 11 times, solidifying Lotti's style-shift and garnering attention from colleagues like Luciano Pavarotti. His U.S. debut with the 1997 PBS special HELMUT LOTTI GOES CLASSIC left his new American fans clamoring for more.

HELMUT LOTTI GOES CLASSIC FROM BELGIUM'S CLEYDAEL CASTLE is part of the PBS tradition of presenting the best in performance specials, available to all free of charge.