What's not to love? It's the night before Valentine's Day and the air is full of romantic music - Gershwin, Cole Porter, show tunes from the likes of "Les Misérables" and "Phantom of the Opera".

The Des Moines Symphony's biannual Valentine's Celebration Concert featured Bravo Broadway! - a talented trio of professional vocalists doing some of the top hits from (where else?) Broadway, Saturday night at the Des Moines Civic Center.

Sure, there was the sappiness factor. This was not "serious" symphonic music - not a Mozart concerto within earshot. But for the crowd of more than 1,200, mostly couples, with red and black definitely the attire of the evening, it was the happiness factor they were seeking.

And the symphony, under the direction of Maestro Joseph Guinta, and the trio of soprano Jan Horvath, tenor Doug LaBrecque, and baritone Keith Buterbaugh delivered in hearts. Bravo Broadway! wowed Des Moines audiences when it performed with the symphony in 1996. Saturday night was a repeat performance.

Starting with a couple of tunes from "Gypsy" - "All I Need is the Girl" and "Together Wherever We Go" - the trio combined powerful voices and soap opera good looks with doses of Choreography Lite.

Tunes from Porter and Gershwin set the Valentine's mood, though tossing a few moves from the dreaded "Macarena" into "I've Got Rhythm" put a little too much Vegas into Broadway.

The symphony sparkled on Leonard Bernstein's Overture to "Candide", and the musicians were obviously having some fun with this lighter fare. Bernstein's "Tonight" from "West Side Story" was an obvious crowd-pleaser.

The crowd seemed to warm up to the music steadily as the concert progressed. Perhaps that's because powerful tunes from more recent musicals came in the second half.

Music from "Chicago" and "Cabaret" opened the second half. LaBrecque delivered a moving rendition of "Bring Him Home" from "Les Misérables". He definitely had the best songs for doling out the emotion, with a stunning "Music of the Night" from "Phantom".

In fact, a succession of two songs from "Phantom" had the crowd on its feet for a standing ovation - and there was still another song to go in the regular program.

The symphony shone on the lush melodies in these strong songs. What must it be like to have the Des Moines Symphony as your backup band? The three voices of Bravo Broadway! were definitely up to the challenge.