The Heavenly Life: Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 Featuring Acclaimed Soprano, Sara Heaton

Symphony by the Sea opens its 45th season on Sunday, November 8, at 3 p.m. at the Cabot Theater, with “The Heavenly Life,” featuring Mahler’s Symphony No. 4. Mahler imagines heaven through a child’s eyes. The symphony opens with sleigh bells, unfolds in sunlit melodies, and closes with a child’s joyful song of paradise, a vision so dear to the composer that he built the entire work around it.

Soprano Sara Heaton, a member of the Metropolitan Opera Chorus whose singing critics have praised for its “gleaming lyricism,” returns as guest soloist. Maestro Donald Palma, a founding member of the renowned Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, conducts.

Founded in 1981, Symphony by the Sea is the premier professional orchestra north of Boston, presenting outstanding musicians and celebrated soloists.