Andris Nelsons leads the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Tanglewood Festival Chorus, and four internationally acclaimed soloists in Antonín Dvořák’s Stabat Mater, the first major religious work by the great Czech composer. Dvořák, who was a devout Catholic, wrote the work in 1876-77 in response to the deaths of three of his children, using the traditional Medieval Latin poem on the subject of Mary’s sorrow over Christ’s death.

With performances on February 28 and March 1 & 2, the soloists include soprano Rachel Willis-Sørensen making her BSO subscription season debut, mezzo-soprano Violeta Urmana, tenor Dmytro Popov, and bass soloist Matthew Rose. The BSO has only performed this dramatic work in its entirety on two previous occasions: under Seiji Ozawa in 1980, and in a single performance in Louisville, Kentucky, led by Arthur Nikisch in 1891. For more information and tickets, visit www.bso.org.