Joyce DiDonato & DR Symfoniorkestret

Experience the American star soprano Joyce DiDonato, one of the most supreme musical communicators of our time, with a voice that is “nothing less than 24 carat gold” (The Times). At this rare concert she ranges widely - from Berlioz's dramatic historical vision to Mahler's deeply reflective Rückert-Lieder. Joyce DiDonato can rightly be described as a phenomenon. Her artistic stature has secured her a place among the very greatest in music, while her inspiring view of creativity has placed her at the centre of discussions about the role of culture in society. DiDonato has been described by The New Yorker as “perhaps the most forceful female singer of her generation”. She interprets music with great emotional depth, and this concert with DR Symfoniorkestret embraces both the monumental and the introspective. Hector Berlioz's interpretation of the death of Cleopatra is an intense, cohesive musical drama with text by Vielliard. Here Cleopatra stands alone with her fate, and we follow her in the last, gripping minutes of her life - from grief and rage at the loss of Antony to the proud decision to choose death over Roman humiliation. With its colourful orchestration and psychological sharpness, Berlioz draws a raw and vivid portrait of a ruler who dies as she lived: uncompromisingly. In contrast stands Gustav Mahler's Rückert-Lieder, where the gaze turns inward in a series of finely chiselled songs about love, loss and silence. Here DiDonato unfolds her special ability to combine closeness to the text with vocal intensity. At the concert DiDonato is joined by the sought-after French conductor Fabien Gabel, who leads DR Symfoniorkestret in Berlioz's sparkling work and Mahler's deeply moving song cycle - accompanied by Strauss' Rosenkavalier suite and Ravel's seductive Bolero.

• Joyce DiDonatoMezzosopran
• Fabien GabelDirigent