The 150th anniversary of Hector Berlioz’s death in 1869 will be commemorated in 2019. An ancient story with a modern parallel, Berlioz’s L’Enfance du Christ tells the story of the Holy Family fleeing their homeland and relying on the kindness of strangers as they journey across the desert to safety. Tender, intimate and intensely evocative, this oratorio is a stark musical contrast to the wild pagan dervishes, choruses of the damned and huge orchestral forces more commonly associated with Hector Berlioz. In almost cinematic style, Berlioz paints the human elements of the story in a series of visual tableaux: an uneasy night in Rome, the world-weariness of Herod, the blind fanaticism of the soothsayers, the joys and griefs of Jesus’ parents, the shepherds’ kindness and the bustling welcome of the Ishmaelite household. Prepare to be moved to tears, Berlioz would be proud! Why it’s a must-see: “This piece is very unusual for Berlioz as most of it is quite intimate. This work has wonderful writing for the chorus, it’s very varied and the narrator (sung by Andrew Staples) is so colourful. The final chorus is to die for!” (Sir Andrew Davis).
Bach, Johannespassion (St John Passion)
“A simmering performance that lives up to the high expectations”, wrote the New York Times of the Bach St John Passion presented by the great American director Peter Sellars and star conductor Simon Rattle in the Berlin Philharmonie. This St John Passion shows Simon Rattle, Peter Sellars, the Berlin Philharmonic and “a real dream team of singers” (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung) building on the brilliant success of the St Matthew Passion and being as wildly applauded as before.
LSO: Harry Christophers conducts Haydn’s Creation
Haydn’s The Creation conducted by Harry Christophers with the London Symphony Chorus and Orchestra and an all-star team of soloists in a performance sung in English to mark the 40th anniversary of the Barbican Centre. Out of chaos comes wonder; from darkness, light. Haydn’s oratorio The Creation is more than just a gloriously tuneful retelling of the Book of Genesis. Inspired by Haydn’s visits to London and the optimism of the Enlightenment, it’s a celebration of the act of creativity itself, overflowing with majesty, humour and the joy of life. With its famous depictions of Chaos through the dawning of light to a tawny lion, a flexible tiger and a nimble stag and the great chorus, ‘The Heavens are telling’, the work has been a favourite since its first performance some 224 years ago.