Joyce DiDonato returns to Kansas City: 'I love singing for my hometown'

By Brooke Knoll,

Sam Wisman

Published January 2, 2024 at 2:03 PM CST

Mezzo-soprano opera superstar Joyce DiDonato is originally from Prairie Village, KS

Opera sensation Joyce DiDonato joined Classical KC to share reflections on the past year and her excitement on returning home to Kansas City to perform with Michael Stern and the Kansas City Symphony. We'll hear Joyce sing works by Charles Ives, Gustav Mahler, Jake Heggie and more.

Host

Brooke Knoll

Guest

Joyce DiDonato

Program

The Unanswered Question
by Charles Ives

Toglierò le sponde al mare (from Adamo ed Eva)
by Josef Mysliveček

Frondi tenere e belle - Ombra mai fù (from Serse)
by George Frideric Handel

Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen (Rückert-Lieder)
by Gustav Mahler

Joyce DiDonato - mezzo-soprano
Maxim Emelyanychev and Il Pomo d'Oro

Dead Man Walking:
He will gather us around, all around
You've been so good to him and all of us - Who will walk with me
by Jake Heggie
Joyce DiDonato - mezzo-soprano
Patrick Summers with the Houston Grand Opera Orchestra

Winterreise, Op. 89, D. 911
No. 8, Ruckblick
No. 9, Irrlicht
No. 22, Mut
by Franz Schubert
Joyce DiDonato - mezzo-soprano
Yannick Nézet-Séguin - piano

All The Things You Are
by Jerome Kern

I Love A Piano
by Irvin Berlin

Joyce DiDonato - mezzo-soprano
Antonio Pappano - piano

Somewhere Over the Rainbow
by Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg
Joyce DiDonato - mezzo-soprano
Michael Stern and the Kansas City Symphony

You can learn more about Joyce's performance with the Kansas City Symphony at kcsymphony.org.