Handel’s Messiah at Salisbury Cathedral set to be an unforgettable experience

Tuesday, 5 November 2024 05:55

An annual highlight of this upcoming Advent season is Handel’s Messiah, which will be performed on Saturday, December 7th, at 7 pm, at Salisbury Cathedral.

Featuring the combined voices of the Salisbury Cathedral Choir and the City of London Sinfonia, this iconic oratorio will be brought to life under the baton of David Halls, the Cathedral’s Director of Music.

Joining them will be four acclaimed soloists, including former Salisbury Cathedral chorister Camilla Harris, promising an evening of musical brilliance and emotional depth. A highlight of the festive season, this performance is set to be a truly unforgettable experience for all who attend.
About the Soloists

Camilla Harris wowed audiences last year with her stunning lyrical tone and returns this year to reprise her performance. Camilla joined Salisbury Cathedral Choir in 2002 and is now a trustee of the Salisbury Cathedral Girl Choristers Fund. A semi-finalist of the prestigious Kathleen Ferrier Awards in 2020, and a finalist in Royal Academy of Music’s Bicentenary Prize, she has sung on countless concert platforms and with the Glyndebourne Festival and Tour, Opera North and Garsington Opera.

Tim Morgan is a former finalist of the 2019 Kathleen Ferrier Awards and works regularly with English Touring Opera and Les Arts Florissants. In 2023 he was honoured to sing at the coronation of King Charles III with the Monteverdi Choir and Sir John Eliot Gardiner. Recent concert engagements have included the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Vox Luminis, and La Nuova Musica.

Welsh tenor Elgan Llŷr Thomas studied at the Royal Northern College of Music and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. He is a former English National Opera Harewood artist and a former Scottish Opera Emerging Artist. He has performed with the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Opéra Comique, Opera Holland Park and with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.

Božidar Smiljanić graduated from the Royal Academy of Music in 2016 and has been a valued member of Oper Frankfurt since 2018/19. Following his resounding success in the title role of Le nozze di Figaro at English National Opera in 2020 and Opera Ballet Vlaanderen in 2023, he returned to Oper Frankfurt to sing the title roles in new productions of Don Pasquale and Le nozze di Figaro in their 2023/24 season.

David Halls, Director of Music at Salisbury Cathedral, said: “We are really looking forward to the annual performance of Handel’s great Messiah, bringing together the Cathedral choir, orchestra and four outstanding soloists - including welcoming back Camilla Harris.”

Tickets for this performance are on sale now. Further information and ticketing details can be found at www.salisburycathedral.org.uk with all profits from the concert supporting the Cathedral’s Choral Foundation.

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