Mendelssohn's Elijah

For the final concert in our 2024 concert series we welcome our Sydney Sings®... guest choristers to join us for Mendelssohn’s Elijah. This powerful and dramatic masterpiece about the Old Testament prophet Elijah, is the perfect finale for our 2024 concert series.

Mendelssohn's great work follows Elijah as he confronts the Israelites for worshipping Baal, successfully calls down fire from heaven to prove God's power and ends a devastating drought. Despite this, Elijah faces persecution from Queen Jezebel and flees into the wilderness, where he experiences despair. God restores his faith with a "still, small voice," and the oratorio concludes with Elijah's dramatic ascent to heaven in a fiery chariot. The work explores themes of faith, divine power, and perseverance.

The work was an instant triumph. While strongly influenced by Bach’s and Handel’s oratorios, its lyricism and use of orchestral and choral colours reflect Mendelssohn‘s own great genius.

Christopher Bowen OAM will conduct the concert with soloists:

• Soprano: Lana Kains

• Alto: Stephanie Dillon

• Tenor: Joshua Oxley

• Bass: Eugene Raggio