'La Mort de Cléopâtre' and more with the Norwegian National Opera Orchestra

This May, Joyce DiDonato joins the Norwegian National Opera Orchestra for Hector Berlioz’s emotional and gripping scène lyrique, La Mort de Cléopâtre (The Death of Cleopatra), under the baton of Edward Gardner. Based on a text by poet Pierre-Ange Vieillard, La Mort de Cléopâtre tells of Cleopatra’s suicide after her defeat at Battle of Actium. Rather than offering a conventional, noble farewell, Berlioz paints Cleopatra as a deeply human figure — proud, furious, terrified, and defiant.

The concert is framed by music from two major ballets, featuring suites from Igor Stravinsky’s Petrushka and Maurice Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé. The program will be performed on May 22 at the Oslo Opera House and on May 23 at Göteborgs Konserthus.