Classical 99.5 | Classical Radio Boston
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
It's our winter fund drive! Click here to support Classical Radio Boston.

Samuel Barber’s “Vanessa,” with the BSO

Samantha Hankey, Jennifer Holloway, and Anne Sofie von Otter all smile at the camera.
Jiyang Chen: Hankey; Ewa-Marie Rundquist: Holloway; Simon Pauly: von Otter
From left to right: Samantha Hankey, Jennifer Holloway, and Anne Sofie von Otter

Saturday, January 10, 2026
8:00 PM

To begin the Boston Symphony’s E Pluribus Unum, or From Many, One, a broad, multi-concert exploration of American music, Andris Nelsons leads the BSO in Samuel Barber’s hauntingly beautiful opera “Vanessa,” in collaboration with the Boston Lyric Opera. This is the BSO’s first full performance of the Pulitzer Prize-winning work, which The New York Times lauded as “the best American opera ever presented” when it premiered to 17 curtain calls at the Metropolitan Opera in 1958.

Andris Nelsons, conductor
Jennifer Holloway, soprano (Vanessa)
Samantha Hankey, mezzo-soprano (Erika)
Anne Sofie von Otter, mezzo-soprano (The Old Baroness)
Pavel Černoch, tenor (Anatol)
Thomas Hampson, baritone (The Old Doctor)
Wei Wu, bass (Major Domo/Footman)
Tanglewood Festival Chorus
Betsy Burleigh, guest choral conductor
Boston Lyric Opera Chorus
Brett Hodgdon, conductor

Samuel BARBER Vanessa

Learn more about the Boston Symphony Orchestra's 2025-2026 season on their site.