2024 Winter Season
Waterperry Opera Festival is excited to announce its 2024 Winter Season.
We are taking our beloved Handel's Messiah concerts on tour this December, first to the beautiful period setting of The Holywell Music Room in Oxford, and then to the Georgian splendour of St Marylebone Parish Church in London. Now a Waterperry Opera Festival annual Christmas tradition, our Messiah concerts have delighted sold-out audiences since 2021. Exquisite festive evenings await you with an ensemble of renowned singers and period instrumentalists. |
Handel's Messiah
The Holywell Music Room, Oxford
The Holywell Music Room will host our first performance of Handel’s Messiah this season. Considered one of Oxford’s most prominent and celebrated concert venues, The Holywell Music Room is a period-perfect place to experience one of Handel’s most beloved masterpieces. Designed by the Vice-Principal of St Edmund Hall, Thomas Caplin, The Holywell Music Room first opened its doors in 1748 (a mere 7-years after Handel composed his Messiah), and it is thought to be the first custom-built concert hall in Europe.
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St Marylebone Parish Church, London
We are thrilled to be bringing Handel’s Messiah to the St Marylebone Parish Church on Saturday 14th December for an evening of festive wonder. After a successful performance of Mansfield Park in July 2023, this will be Waterperry Opera Festival’s second performance in the spectacular concert venue whose historical significance, and renowned musical excellence, stretches back nearly 900 years. This performance will be accompanied by the St Marylebone Parish Church Choir, made up of some of London’s finest professional singers.
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Our Ensemble
We are thrilled to announce the ensemble of singers that will perform Handel's Messiah on tour with us this December.
Conducted by Waterperry Opera Festival’s Musical Director, Bertie Baigent, our reduction of Handel’s Messiah will be performed by a reduced orchestra and five soloists, to provide the intimate performance which closely resembles how the piece would have been originally performed. Our soloists include Sopranos - Eleanor Sanderson-Nash and Caroline Blair, Countertenor - Francis Gush, Tenor - James Micklethwaite, and Baritone - Charlie Baigent. |