Photo Credit: Kevin Condon

Death of Classical and The Alexander S. Onassis Benefit Foundation present Waiting for the Barbarians, a sprawling, one-night-only exploration of love, loss, lust, and longing centered around the timeless poetry of C.P. Cavafy, set to brand-new music by luminaries like Rufus Wainwright & Missy Mazzoli, Laurie Anderson, Helga Davis & Petros Klampanis, Nico Muhly, Paola Prestini, and more, accompanied by The Knights and the Brooklyn Youth Chorus. Seated amidst the towering Gothic arches of Saint Thomas Church Fifth Avenue, this program of entirely new music will take listeners on a musical journey across genres and sound worlds, with each piece sharing the same question: what do we lose – and gain – when we give away a part of ourselves?

The Program:‍

Rufus Wainwright, arr. Missy Mazzoli: Chandelier
Performed by Rufus Wainwright and The Knights

Helga Davis & Petros Klampanis: Cavafy Ghost
Performed by Helga Davis, Petros Klampanis, The Knights, and Brooklyn Youth Chorus - Dianne Berkun Menaker

Dimitris Papadimitriou: The Return
Performed by Eleni Calenos and The Knights

Nico Muhly, arr. Nathan Thatcher: Far Away Songs
Performed by Eleni Calenos and The Knights

Paola Prestini: Voices
Performed by Brooklyn Youth Chorus - Dianne Berkun Menaker

Laurie Anderson: Waiting for the Barbarians
Performed by Laurie Anderson, The Knights, and Brooklyn Youth Chorus - Dianne Berkun Menaker

The concert, and "Archive of Desire": A Festival Inspired by the Poet C.P. Cavafy of which it is a part, is a program developed and funded by the Alexander S. Onassis Benefit Foundation.