★ ★ ★ ★ ★
“This was a blazingly triumphant performance with soloists and choir on top form.”
– Limelight, 2023 –
“This performance under conductor Elizabeth Scott by the Sydney Philharmonia Chamber Singers and the youth choir, Vox, captured that beauty and gentleness with a balanced, fresh choral sound…”
– The Sydney Morning Herald , 2023 –
A world without the music of Johann Sebastian Bach seems unimaginable. But it wasn’t always so. After his death, Bach was largely forgotten, of purely academic interest, until an enthusiastic young composer, Felix Mendelssohn, decided to revive his reputation. And he did it with a monumental performance of the St Matthew Passion, a century after its premiere in 18th-century Leipzig.
In this Sydney Philharmonia Choirs (and Australian) first, we’re performing Mendelssohn’s version of this masterwork, transformed for 19th-century audiences and Romantic ears. This version is shorter in length with a tighter narrative, but expanded in volume and colour. It includes instruments Bach might only have imagined, with clarinets and basset horns added to the orchestra, a substantial organ part, and richer textures.
In another SPC first, we’ll be joined by the Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra, admired for their exciting and illuminating performances of 19th-century music on period instruments. And following 2024’s much-acclaimed performance of Mendelssohn’s Elijah, we welcome back Andrew Goodwin (Evangelist) and Teddy Tahu Rhodes (Christus) in a starry line-up of soloists.
This is a rare opportunity to experience, two centuries on, how another generation of music lovers came to discover the genius of Bach.
Thursday 17 April | 7pm
Sydney Opera House Concert Hall
This performance will run for 2 hours and 30 minutes, including one 20-minute interval.
Johann Sebastian BACH St Matthew Passion
(Mendelssohn’s 1841 version)*
* Australian premiere
Elizabeth Scott conductor
Penelope Mills soprano
Emily Edmonds mezzo-soprano
Andrew Goodwin tenor (Evangelist)
Teddy Tahu Rhodes baritone (Christus)
Andrew O’Connor bass
Chamber Singers
VOX
Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra
Rachael Beesley artistic director
Premium $140 | A $114 | B $88 | C $60 | D $45
Concessions $126| A $103| B $79 | C $55 | D $41
Under 30 $30
A booking fee of $8.95 per transaction applies.