Barbara Hannigan and The Human Voice

 Barbara Hannigan returns to Eldborg performing her celebrated concert adaptation of Francis Poulenc's monodrama, The Human Voice, with the ISO. Poulenc's one-act opera is based on the eponymous play by Jean Cocteau, in which a woman speaks on the phone with her lover after he has ended their five-year relationship. This unique performance features Hannigan singing and conducting the orchestra while her physical gestures are projected onto a screen, creating quite the visual experience. Hannigan also conducts Richard Strauss's last tone poem, Metamorphosen, which was composed toward the end of the Second World War, when his career – like the cultural life of Europe – lay in ruins. The piece is written for a 23-person string orchestra and is deeply laden with sorrow and regret.

Barbara Hannigan has wowed audiences all over the globe with her magnificent voice and her talents as a conductor. She has worked with leading orchestras the world over, premiered over 85 new compositions, and performed in the world's greatest opera houses. She first appeared with the ISO at the Reykjavík Arts Festival in the spring of 2022 and returned immediately the following season. Barbara Hannigan has won countless awards for her artistry, including a Grammy for her album Crazy Girl Crazy in 2018 and the prestigious Léonie Sonning Award in 2020. When she received the Rolf Schock Award, the jury described her as "an extraordinary and innovative performer, with a dynamic and intensive approach to the music she performs."