VSO: Charity, Sylvia & Cleopatra

About

The 2026–27 season opens with music inspired and created by powerful women—from Björk to Cleopatra, spanning 19th-century Vermont to the Persian Empire. The concert premieres a VSO commission by composer Clarice Assad, based on the historic Weybridge couple Charity Bryant and Sylvia Drake, alongside selections from Giuseppi Verdi’s Aida and Hector Berlioz’ La mort de Cléopâtre. The dramatic and sweeping Scheherazade by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov brings this memorable program to a vivid close. 

Andrew Crust, conductor
Danielle Buonaiuto, soprano
Nikola Printz, mezzo-soprano 

Program

Björk/Dorn               Overture from “Dancer in the Dark”

Clarice Assad            Charity & Sylvia

Giuseppe Verdi           Aida
Preludio

Hector Berlioz           La mort de Cléopâtre (Death of Cleopatra)
Méditation

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov Scheherazade