Mendelssohn's Elijah
Crouch End Festival Chorus celebrate their 40th anniversary at Alexandra Palace Theatre with Mendelssohn’s Elijah, one of the greatest oratorios of all time.
Mendelssohn Elijah
Ana Beard Fernández soprano
Marta Fontanals-Simmons mezzo-soprano
Nicholas Mulroy tenor
James Platt bass
Raphael Laming treble
London Orchestra da Camera
Crouch End Festival Chorus
David Temple Conductor
About the programme
Felix Mendelssohn, who was only 38 when he died in 1847, conducted the first performance of Elijah a year earlier in Birmingham Town Hall. It soon became one of the greatest oratorios of all time, with its dramatic narrative of Elijah vanquishing the false prophets of Baal and bringing back rain to the “thirsty land” before riding off on his chariot of fire.
Here, Elijah is a belligerent character who teases the prophets of Baal before he wins the day. In this performance, the role will be sung by the beautifully sonorous James Platt with his “barrel-chest of a bass voice” (The Times).
The choruses are full of contrasting emotions, vivid storytelling, and extreme dynamism, playing to the strengths of Crouch End Festival Chorus and its conductor, David Temple.
