Barber: Vanessa

Gianandrea Noseda and the National Symphony Orchestra present a gripping new recording of Samuel Barber’s Vanessa, the Pulitzer Prize-winning American opera of love, longing, and illusion.

In Barber’s atmospheric, emotionally charged score, echoes of Verdi, Puccini, and Hitchcock-era Hollywood intertwine with a distinctly modern American voice. This performance brings together an exceptional cast, including Nicole Heaston, J’Nai Bridges, Matthew Polenzani, Susan Graham, and Thomas Hampson, who illuminate Gian Carlo Menotti’s haunting tale of desire across generations. Recorded live in concert, this release captures Vanessa’s sweeping romanticism and psychological depth with vivid orchestral colour and extraordinary vocal artistry. A landmark addition to the contemporary operatic discography, it reveals why Vanessa remains one of the 20th
century’s most compelling operas.