Merry Opera's Staged Messiah
Date: 15 November 2024
Venue: The Guildhall, Derry ~ Londonderry, Derry ~ Londonderry, BT487NR
The Production: For some people, a performance of Handel's Messiah with a large choir, four soloists and orchestra is the highlight of the Christmas season. How, then, to remain true to the music and the text and yet still help audiences experience it afresh?
In this production, the church as a setting is key: It offers no stage, no special lighting, no orchestra pit, but it does have music, usually an organ. The twelve professional
singers play characters from everyday life who find themselves in this sacred place. They do not know each other, and they have their own reasons for being there. But each is in search of something — consolation, affirmation, forgiveness, direction,.… Some of them carry the concept of a Messiah in their hearts; some lack that and may feel an absence; some are not religious at all.
As they sing through this traditional and monumental work, they engage with each other and themselves, ultimately experiencing the transformation from need and despair to understanding and hope.
This production was created in the UK in 2011. It has been brought back by request around Christmas and Easter almost every year since. Audiences report that it gives the work 'new meaning', 'new invigoration'. One person wrote: 'Now, for the first time, I really understand what Christianity is all about. That doesn't mean I believe in God, but I do now understand its moral relevance to our lives today'. Whatever your perspective, we hope that you find this performance satisfying, memorable and even inspirational.
For this tour, half the professional cast and the organist are Northern Irish musicians. The MOC is grateful to Ulster Touring Opera and Mid and East Antrim Borough Council for financial support.
The Merry Opera Company: was founded as a charity in 2009 to tour professional productions in modern English. For opera lovers, the shows are true to the core of the original and bring fresh interpretations of classic works. For those new to opera, the shows offer an understandable, interesting and enjoyable introduction to a genre that is often perceived as difficult to get into. Merry Opera has toured across the UK and to Malaysia and the Middle East and produces one classic opera and two revivals of the staged production of Handel's Messiah every year.