Haendel : Le Messie

CHRISTMAS AT THE CHAPELLE ROYALE Georg Friedrich Haendel (1685-1759) Le Messie Saturday 12 December, 8pm Sunday 13 December, 4pm Chapelle Royale Concert in English with French surtitles Duration: 3h including interval Part One: 1h20IntervalPart Two: 1h10 Le Messie is a work whose fame surpasses all other works by Handel.

This oratorio, first performed in Dublin in 1742, was a resounding success upon its creation: the demand for tickets was such that gentlemen were asked to “forego wearing their swords” and ladies to come “without hoop skirts”, to make room for more listeners, and thus increase the proceeds “intended for charitable works”.

”. Revived in London, Le Messie quickly became Handel’s flagship work. Performed thirty-six times during his lifetime, it rapidly came to represent all that music can possess of the majestic and the sublime.

Charles Jennens constructed the libretto dedicated to Christ in three parts: the Nativity, the Passion and the Resurrection, the Redemption.

The ideal alternation of solo arias and choruses is admirable, and Handel’s lyrical mastery is ever-present in the arias: sweet or triumphant, they are among the composer’s most beautiful.

The memorable choruses have resonated in our ears for over two hundred and fifty years… In London, King George II was so struck by the “Hallelujah” that he rose in emotion, followed by the entire audience, and by all British audiences ever since.

The Chorus and Orchestra of the Opéra Royal, conducted by Théotime Langlois de Swarte, will wonderfully accompany a quartet of first-rate young singers.