Handel's Messiah
Power. Jubilation. Sing Hallelujah!
Who’s on Stage
None other than our very own Royal Northern Sinfonia, special guest conductor Peter Whelan and four superb vocal soloists.
What they’re playing
Just one piece, George Frideric Handel’s choral masterpiece: Messiah.
Need to Know
Price: £17 – £43
Running time: 2 hours 20 minutes, including a 20 minute interval.
Discounts: Save if you’re local, unemployed, a first timer (limited number, subject to availability).
Age: Under 14s must be accompanied by an adult.
What you'll hear
George Frideric Handel Messiah
Who's playing
Peter Whelan director
Nardus Williams soprano
Jess Dandy contralto
Laurence Kilsby tenor
Ashley Riches bass-baritone
Chorus of the Royal Northern Sinfonia
Tim Burke chorus director
Royal Northern Sinfonia
What's happening in the music
This is one of those pieces of classical music that’s managed to seep into the popular consciousness – the Hallelujah Chorus, like Nessun Dorma or Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony is somehow one of those pieces of music that people just know. But it’s just one highlight out of many in Messiah. Handel really was a tunesmith, plus he knew how to tug at your emotions, whether it’s fear, anger, jubilation or sadness. This is a roller coaster of a piece, with the sonic power of an orchestra, choir AND four soloists ensuring it packs a punch.
Where you’ve heard it before
We trawled the internet to find some perhaps surprising ways in which Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus has been used:
- Soundtrack to Dumb and Dumber. Yes really.
- The soundtrack to classic film Thoroughly Modern Millie
- The famously gross MTV cartoon Ren and Stimpy. Again, yes really.
- Mozart’s remix. Mozart re-worked Handel’s classic, pimping it up with all sorts of musical bling: clarinets, trombones, flutes and trumpets.
- Electric Light Orchestra sampled the Hallelujah Chorus for their track ‘Fire on High’
Plus: pretty much every classical flash mob ever. Yes, those instances when you’re just minding your own business, doing your shopping, trying to catch a flight or train, or about to stuff an unwise but delicious burger into your mouth and suddenly a full orchestra and chorus appears, singing some Handel.
