The Teatro Real will host one of the most eagerly awaited events on the Christmas music calendar on 18 December, with the performance of the timeless work by George Frideric Händel. The performance will be conducted by Justin Doyle and will feature the RIAS Chamber Choir and the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin orchestra.
Considered to be one of the most iconic oratories in the history of music, the production will be in English with English and Spanish subtitles. It will feature a soloist quartet made up of Tim Mead, Julia Doyle, Thomas Hobbs and Roderick Williams. Divided into three main parts, the piece musically revisits some of the key episodes of the Christian tradition.
The first third focuses on the prophecy and the birth of Christ, with passages inspired by the Old Testament, which herald the arrival of the Messiah as a symbol of hope for mankind. Händel turns this spiritual promise into music with a luminous composition that culminates in the birth of Jesus as the fulfilment of the old prophecies.
The second part focuses on Christ’s passion, death and resurrection, in a dramatic journey that reflects on the pain of sacrifice and the affirmation of victory over death. As the score develops, the intimate dimension of the narrative becomes a universal proclamation of faith that reaches its height in the famous Hallelujah chorus, one of the most recognisable fragments of all western music.
The final section offers a reflection on redemption and eternal life. The promise of salvation becomes a powerful sound meditation about the final resurrection and overcoming death, culminating in the monumental Amen chorus.
Artistic File:
- Musical Conductor - Justin Doyle
- Orchestra - Akademie Für Alte Musik
- Choir - RIAS chamber Choir
Cast:
- Soprano - Julia Doyle
- Counter-tenor - Tim Mead
- Tenor - Thomas Hobbs
- Bass - Roderick Williams
Programme:
- Oratorio in Three parts, HWV 56
- Music by Georg Friedrich Händel (1685-1759)
- Libretto by Charles Jennens, on texts from the Old Testament, compiled in the King James Bible and in Coverdale’s Prayer Book of the Bible.
- Premièred in the Great Music Hall in Dublin on 13 April 1742
Language: English with English and Spanish subtitles
