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Mendelssohn’s Elijah

18 May 2024

In the Concert Hall

Sydney Philharmonia Choirs

Classical Music

Sydney Philharmonia’s 400-voice Festival Chorus fills the Concert Hall when Brett Weymark conducts Mendelssohn’s exhilarating choral masterpiece Elijah – a grand oratorio in the tradition of Handel. Starring baritone Teddy Tahu Rhodes as the mighty Old Testament prophet.

Mendelssohn’s Elijah

Mendelssohn’s Elijah is a ‘bigger than Ben Hur’ Biblical drama with a cast of hundreds. Operatic baritone Teddy Tahu Rhodes sings the title role with the 400-voice Festival Chorus to fill the Concert Hall.

If you’re a fan of Handel oratorios, you’re in good company – so was Felix Mendelssohn. Elijah was his response to the English oratorio tradition, with its Old Testament story (earthquake! fire! and the ‘still small voice’) imagined for the concert hall. In its more reflective moments you can hear the worshipful influence of Bach. The result is a thrilling Romantic picture of a ‘grand and mighty prophet…borne on the wings of angels’, but it also conveys a very human drama with tremendous sympathy. 

Experience the sheer magnificence of the performance and the powerful, moving drama of this choral masterpiece.

Presented by Sydney Philharmonia Choirs

Program

Felix MENDELSSOHN Elijah 
 

Artists

Brett Weymark conductor
Celeste Lazarenko soprano
Sian Sharp mezzo-soprano 
Andrew Goodwin tenor
Teddy Tahu Rhodes baritone
Charlie Swan treble
Pacific Opera octet
Festival Chorus
Sydney Philharmonia Orchestra

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