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His concerts are sellouts and his CDs bestsellers. But classical violinist/conductor Andre Rieu remains a superstar just under the radar.

On a recent spring evening in Trenton, New Jersey, quite a few love-struck Juliets could be found in the audience at the Sovereign Bank Arena. That the vast majority of them were married ladies made no difference at all. The romantic atmosphere was inspired by Rieu and his 28-member Johann Strauss Orchestra.

Rieu is a Dutch conductor and violinist who has the kind of audience appeal more typically associated with romantic singers and matinee idols. Handsome, charismatic, witty and vastly talented as a triple-threat musician (he arranges, plays and conducts), Rieu, 59, consistently packs concert halls around the world with fans who are as interested in him as they are in his music.

While he may not have the name recognition in the U.S. that many pop musicians enjoy, Rieu nevertheless continues to be a sensation on the international music scene, and he shows no signs of peaking.

At the Sovereign Bank Arena concert, Rieu set the stage with a wave of his magic wand (which doubles as his violin bow). That was the cue for the scenery behind the orchestra to turn into the romantic backdrop for a Shakespearean love story. Then he beseeched the audience to make believe they were part of the scene, encouraged by the lush, symphonic music filling the arena.

It didn't take much beseeching. Which is why there were so many Juliets in Trenton that night.

To Rieu, music is romance. He believes it can help anyone find his or her place somewhere over the rainbow, even if it is just a temporary, rose-colored place of the imagination.

Over the last 10 years, U.S. audiences have been swept into Rieu's brand of musical romance as easily as audiences in his native Holland or his beloved Vienna. He gleefully embraces musical elements that some classical devotees might consider blasphemous, such as spotlighting a few skilled singers within his orchestra, using special effects on stage and including songs like "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" as part of the program.

Indeed, the repertoire of a typical Andre Rieu concert may include pop hits, Broadway melodies and patriotic standards. At the Trenton concert, Strauss's "Voices of Spring" was as well received as "The Rose," and Khachaturian's "Sabre Dance" as warmly welcomed as "America The Beautiful."

"I've come to appreciate the American audiences that there is less and less defining between so-called classical

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