Berlioz's The Death of Cleopatra is a haunting setting of Cleopatra's final moments for mezzo-soprano and orchestra. Berlioz was an avid Shakespeare fan and wanted the piece to mimic the drama and chilling ending for the timeless story. This month the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Joyce Didonato share the piece (4/30).
4/2 Prokofiev: Suite from The Love for Three Oranges Poulenc: Gloria Gounod: Saint Cecilia Mass
(Sandrine Piau, s; Michael Schade, t; Andrew Foster-Williams, bar; Chicago Symphony Chorus, Duain Wolfe, dir; Alain Altinoglu cond)
4/9 Dorman: Eternal Rhythm Shostakovich: Symphony No. 8 Ravel: Boléro (Cynthia Yeh, perc; Sir Georg Solti and James Gaffigan, cond)
4/16 Pärt: Fratres Bartók: Violin Concerto No. 1 Beethoven: Symphony No. 6, Pastoral Sibelius: Symphony No. 5 (Robert Chen, v; Neeme Järvi, cond)
4/23 Prokofiev: Overture on Hebrew Themes Mendelssohn: Piano Concerto No. 1, Capriccio brillant Beethoven: Adagio cantabile from Piano Sonata No. 8, Pathétique Lutos?awski: Concerto for Orchestra
Schubert: Symphony No. 8, Unfinished (Sunwook Kim, p; Carlo Maria Giulini and Kirill Karabits, cond)
4/30 Bizet: Roma Berlioz: The Death of Cleopatra Respighi: Pines of Rome Prokofiev: Selections from Romeo and Juliet (Joyce DiDonato, ms; Riccardo Muti, cond)
