Death of Classical will present “Waiting for the Barbarians” on May 2, 2023.

The showcase will feature music by Rufus Wainwright, Missy Mazzoli, Laurie Anderson, Petros Klampanis, Nico Muhly, Paola Prestini, and Helga Davis. It will also feature The Knights and the Brooklyn Youth Chorus. Soprano Eleni Calenos will star.

The concert aims to explore the poetry of C.P. Cavafy.

“To me, all of the poetry of C.P. Cavafy contains some element of loss – a sense of what we must give up in order to exist in the world. That loss can be personal, such as when we offer a part of ourselves to someone else in the vulnerability of love and intimacy, or leave a piece of our history in the places where we make our home. It can also be political, when we subjugate ourselves to society and the common good, or sacrifice our individuality to the notion of ‘us vs. them’ (most poignantly in the titular poem Waiting for the Barbarians, in which an entire city has come to define itself solely in relation to its enemies),” said Andrew Ousley, the creator and founder of Death of Classical in an official announcement of the event.

“Waiting for Barbarians” will take place at the Saint Thomas Church on Fifth Avenue.