MESSIAH ON GOOD FRIDAY: 147TH YEAR
This event has already happened
This event took place on Friday 7 April 2023.
- Friday 7 April 2023
- Royal Albert Hall
MESSIAH ON GOOD FRIDAY: 147TH YEAR
Fri 7 Apr 2023
Need to know
Features
- Richard Cooke Conductor
- Royal Choral Society Choir
- Richard Pearce Organist
- Keri Fuge Soprano
- Marta Fontanals-Simmons Mezzo-soprano
- Andrew Staples Tenor
- James Cleverton Bass
- Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Location
Royal Albert Hall
Kensington Gore,
South Kensington,
London SW7 2AP
United Kingdom
Join the Royal Choral Society in its 150th anniversary season for one of London’s great Easter traditions – Handel’s Messiah on Good Friday.
The choir performed Handel’s Messiah in its first season in 1872, but 1876 saw the first Good Friday performance at the Royal Albert Hall, and it quickly became an Easter tradition. Only the 1940/1 Blitz and the 2020/1 Covid pandemic have prevented the annual performances of the UK’s favourite choral work.
The 150-strong choir (thought to have performed this work more than any other choir, with an estimated 280 performances) relishes its annual performance of this beloved oratorio. The 2023 performance will be conducted by the choir’s Music Director Richard Cooke.
The Royal Choral Society has been performing the great choral masterpieces ever since its formation for the opening of the Royal Albert Hall in 1871. Throughout its illustrious history, the choir has sung under the batons of eminent composers including Verdi, Dvorak, Elgar, Coleridge-Taylor, Vaughan Williams and Walton. Listening to Handel’s magnificent tour de force in the nation’s ‘village hall’ is the perfect way to spend Good Friday afternoon.