On January 8 and 10, Andris Nelsons returns to the Boston Symphony Orchestra, where he is music director, for Samuel Barber’s haunting opera, Vanessa, in concert, presented in collaboration with Boston Lyric Opera. 

Vanessa tells the story of a woman who has spent twenty years waiting in isolation for her lover to return, only to discover that the man who arrives is his son, Anatol. The opera traces how cycles of love and abandonment repeat, punctuated by a lush, lyrical score.

Nelsons lead a fantastic ensemble cast, featuring Jennifer Holloway in the title role, with Samantha Hankey as Erika, Anne Sofie von Otter as The Old Baroness, Thomas Hampson as The Old Doctor, Pavel Černoch as Anatol, and Wei Wu as Major Domo/Footman, supported by the Tanglewood Festival Chorus and the Boston Lyric Opera Chorus.