Joyce DiDonato's EDEN IN OLYMPIA To be Added To Carnegie Hall+

In honor of the start of the 2024 Paris Olympics, Carnegie Hall+—Carnegie Hall's video streaming channel—will present the streaming premiere of celebrated mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato's Eden in Olympia, available to all Carnegie Hall+ subscribers beginning this Friday, July 26.

Filmed in the archaeological ruins of Ancient Olympia, this cinematic musical experience features Ms. DiDonato in performance with the period ensemble Il Pomo d'Oro and conductor Maxim Emelyanychev, joined by three children's choirs: the Children's Choir of the Greek National Opera, the Choeurs ECLATS choir from France, and the intercultural youth choir El Sistema Greece.

Fusing music, movement, and theater, Eden in Olympia encourages viewers to explore their individual connection to nature and its impact on the world, speaking to the urgent need for environmental stewardship. The program features music spanning from the seventeenth to the twenty-first century, including works by Handel, Gluck, Wagner, Mahler, Ives, Copland, Academy Award-winner Rachel Portman, and more.

Created by Ms. DiDonato, Eden was presented live in concert in more than 45 venues across five continents from 2022 through 2024, including at Carnegie Hall in April 2022. The project was also recorded and commercially released by Erato in 2022.

The latest iteration of Eden—filmed a few days before the Olympic Flame Lighting Ceremony in Ancient Olympia—represents the timeless Olympic values of friendship, excellence, and respect. As sustainability and inclusion take the lead in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, Ms. DiDonato and her team joined forces with the Athens-based World Human Forum to honor the spirit of Olympism, while emphasizing the importance of preserving life on our planet for future generations. The filmed presentation includes an emblematic performance of the Olympic anthem sung for the first time in three languages (English, Greek, and French).

“While Eden has been traveling the world in concert for the past three years, the idea that it could amplify the Olympic Values in such a concrete way at such an urgent moment in the world's history, fills me with great joy. As you hear the deep sincerity in their voices, and watch the pure commitment on the faces of these children—children from all walks of life and from across many borders—know that there is hope. But know also, that this hope requires our action and connection,” offered Ms. DiDonato.

The film, directed by Olivier Simonnet, is an initiative of the World Human Forum, co-produced by the World Human Forum, the Athens Concert Hall, UNITEL, and ZDF in association with ARTE and ERT.

Alongside Eden in Olympia, Carnegie Hall+ also currently features two additional performances by Ms. DiDonato, both filmed at the Gran Liceu in Barcelona. These include a colorful production of Rossini's Cinderella, also featuring Juan Diego Flórez in the two Bel Canto singers' signature operatic roles; and In War and Peace, DiDonato's powerful staging of Baroque arias that contemplate war and peace, conflict and serenity, including works by Handel, Cavalieri, Purcell, and more, presented in another exciting musical collaboration with il Pomo d'Oro and Maxim Emelyanychev.