A medieval glass stained window of three kings bringing gifts to the Mother Mary and Jesus

Bach’s Christmas Oratorio

  • Classical Music
  • Sydney Philharmonia Choirs
  • Concert Hall
  • Run time – 125 minutes, 20 minute interval
  • Seating map

Follow the star with the three wise men in Bach’s brilliant and festive Christmas Oratorio

“And lo, the star, which they had seen in the East, went before them…”

Johann Sebastian Bach’s monumental ‘oratorio’ for the Christmas season is really a set of six cantatas – one for each of the first six days of Christmas. Performing them together in concert is the musical equivalent of binge-watching Bach – the best of guilty pleasures! 

In 2023, Brett Weymark conducted Parts 1–3 in what Limelight described as a triumphant ‘high-altitude assault on Bach’s magic mountain’. In 2025, Elizabeth Scott concludes the series with Parts 4–6. In these cantatas, the narrative turns to the Magi – the wise men from the East who followed the star to the Christ child – and Bach gives them music that’s as brilliant and intoxicating as gold, frankincense and myrrh.

Sydney Philharmonia’s Chamber Singers and elite youth ensemble VOX will be joined by the Sydney Philharmonia Orchestra, and two emerging composers will be invited to create reflective interludes to sit between the cantatas.

Presented by Sydney Philharmonia Choirs

Event details

...a chorus of angels...it all felt like shimmering silver clouds in the distance slowly building and moving closer.

ClassikON, 2024

Program

JS BACH Christmas Oratorio: Parts 4, 5, 6
with two new interludes by winners of the SPC Emerging Composer Awards

Artists

Elizabeth Scott conductor
Miriam Bannan soprano
Hannah Fraser mezzo-soprano 
Jacob Lawrence tenor
Christopher Richardson baritone 

Chamber Singers
VOX
Sydney Philharmonia Orchestra

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Attending this event

Plan your visit

Address

Sydney Opera House
Bennelong Point
Sydney NSW 2000
Australia

Getting to the venue

The Opera House is a 7-10 minute walk from Circular Quay, and is easily accessible by car, train, ferry, lightrail, bus, bike and on foot.

Location and access

Concert Hall

The Concert Hall is located beneath the largest of Sydney Opera House’s roof sails, filling the upper levels of the west side of the building. Best accessed through the covered concourse. All Sydney Opera House foyers are accessible, with lifts to the main and western foyers. The public lift to all foyers is accessible from the corridor near the escalators on the Lower Concourse and also in the Western Foyer via the corridor on the Ground Level (at the top of the escalators).

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