Mendelssohn’s Elijah has been described as ‘more of an opera than an oratorio’. Intensely theatrical, it calls for a substantial orchestra, a large line-up of soloists, and a chorus that has both power and sensitivity.
The work was a smash hit at its first performance in 1846 before two thousand people in Birmingham’s Town Hall — a building whose interior is very similar in size and layout to the Auckland Town Hall.
Be prepared for the widest range of musical emotions, from the thrilling, ceremonial battle of “Baal We Cry to Thee” to the soft, three-part gem of “Lift thine Eyes”. Elijah is nothing less than the lifetime journey of a soul.
Jennifer Barrington Soprano
Helen Medlyn Mezzo
Martin Buckigham Tenor
Martin Snell Bass
Auckland Choral
Pipers Sinfonia
Uwe Grodd Conductor
Saturday 2 September 7.30pm
Auckland Town Hall
Hi, I’m Neil Hawkes - I have been singing for a while: Tewkesbury Abbey choir from the ages of 5 to 30yrs, then a variety of English choirs before coming to NZ. When I arrived in Auckland I sang with the Choral Society, then with the Anglican Cathedral Choir and the Graduate Choir, before being stopped by a heart condition (since fixed 100%).
Nigel grew up choral singing with the choirs of Kings School and Kings College in Auckland, but then took a break for the next 30 years while focusing on his career as a Consulting Engineer in Ottawa Canada where he moved with his wife in 1981. Later he joined a choir in Ottawa as a way of relieving the stresses of the daily grind, and found that he really enjoyed the challenge, stimulation, and therapy that choral singing provides. He sang with Coro Vivo Ottawa and the Ottawa Festival Chorus for many years, and part time with Auckland Choral since 2006 on his many visits back to New Zealand, before moving back to Auckland with his wife Ming, last year. He sings as a Tenor 2.
A singing member of Auckland Choral for 12 years, Beverley has enjoyed a lifetime of involvement in the performing arts and has sung with many choirs throughout New Zealand. She has the choir’s best interests at heart, and as Chair of the Management Committee is committed to its success to offer performances of excellence and to bringing choral music to the wider community of the Auckland region both now and in the future.
