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Mendelssohn’s Elijah

Mendelssohn’s magnificent story of faith, doubt and miracles, with conductor Masaaki Suzuki.  
London, Southbank Centre's Royal Festival Hall £10 - £75

Mendelssohn Elijah

Masaaki Suzuki conductor
Carolyn Sampson soprano
Anna Stéphany mezzo soprano
Robert Murray tenor
Christian Immler baritone
Choir of the Age of Enlightenment

 

Free pre-concert talk, 6pm, Level 5 Function Room, Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall.

With guest speaker Professor Donald Burrows from the Open University.

The composer’s masterpiece, Elijah, has been one of Britain’s most popular choral works for more than 170 years.

Uplifting and dramatic, it has been a firm favourite of choral societies since it premiered at Birmingham Town Hall in 1846.

This Old Testament story sees Israel in the grip of a corrupt regime. God sends the Prophet Elijah to sort it out. It’s something he achieves, spectacularly, through a series of miracles including resurrecting a boy and sacrificing a bull.

But it’s not all fire and brimstone. It’s also Mendelssohn’s own unique exploration of faith and doubt from an era of great change.

Mendelssohn was hugely inspired by the Baroque oratorios of Bach and Handel, whose influence can be heard throughout Elijah.

Conductor Masaaki Suzuki returns for his first performance with us since a spellbinding tour of Bach’s Christmas Oratorio in 2016.

Read our Seven Things You Probably Didn’t Know about the Mendelssohns.

"One of Britain’s most popular choral works for more than 170 years."