American star mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato — described by The Times as possessing a voice that is "nothing less than 24-carat gold" and by The New Yorker as "perhaps the most potent female singer of her generation" — appears in a rare Copenhagen concert with the DR Symphony Orchestra, led by French conductor Fabien Gabel.
The centrepiece of the programme is Hector Berlioz's dramatic scena 'La mort de Cléopâtre', an intense musical drama set to a text by Vielliard. The work follows Cleopatra in her final moments — grief and rage at the loss of Antony giving way to a proud resolve to choose death over Roman humiliation. Berlioz's vivid orchestration and psychological acuity draw an unflinching portrait of a ruler who dies as uncompromisingly as she lived.
In contrast, Gustav Mahler's Rückert-Lieder turn the gaze inward, offering a cycle of finely crafted songs meditating on love, loss and silence. Here DiDonato demonstrates her exceptional ability to blend textual intimacy with vocal intensity.
The programme is completed by Richard Strauss's Rosenkavalier Suite and Maurice Ravel's Boléro, conducted by Fabien Gabel.