NY Philharmonic to debut opera on Europe tour

The New York Philharmonic on Thursday announced a tour of Europe where it will play the new concert hall in Paris and premiere an opera by Peter Eotvos.

The top-tier US orchestra will play in Dublin, London, Amsterdam, Luxembourg, Paris, Frankfurt and Cologne during the two-week tour starting on April 16.

In France, the orchestra will play on April 25-26 for the first time at the Philharmonie de Paris, the brand new and pricey concert hall in a once-gritty northeastern district of the metropolis.

The program in Paris and several other cities will include Ravel’s “Sheherazade” starring mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato, one of the most popular US opera singers, as well as “Nyx” by Esa-Pekka Salonen, the modernist Finn recently named composer-in-residence at the New York Philharmonic.

“I wanted to present programs and projects that reflect the artistic vision that has become integral to our activities at home in New York City,” said music director Alan Gilbert, leading his eighth international tour since taking charge in 2009.

In Cologne, the Philharmonic will perform the world premiere of Hungarian composer Eotvos’ opera “Senza Sangue,” starring Swedish mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter and Canadian Russell Braun.

“Senza Sangue,” which means “Without Blood,” is based on the novel by Italian writer Alessandro Baricco about the evolution of a girl who survives her father’s murder. The opera will later come to New York.

Previous operas by Eotvos include versions of Tony Kushner’s acclaimed play about AIDS, “Angels in America,” and of Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s novel “Of Love and Other Demons.”