NZSO brings Handel's Messiah to Palmerston North

Marlena Devoe, Elisabeth Harris, Filipe Manu and Benson Wilson will sing Handel's Messiah with the NZSO at the Regent in Palmerston North next month.

Four exceptional New Zealand singers will join with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra for a performance of Handel's glorious oratorio Messiah in Palmerston North on December 9.

The festive season favourite, best known for its much-loved "Hallelujah" chorus, will feature soprano Marlena Devoe, mezzo-soprano Elisabeth Harris, tenor Filipe Manu and bass Benson Wilson, along with acclaimed choral group The Tudor Consort.

The Tudor Consort's performance comes on the heels of a successful European tour.

Messiah will be conducted by Englishman Nicholas McGegan, hailed as one of the finest baroque conductors in the world. Among maestro McGegan's many achievements, he has been music director of the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra since 1985.

George Frideric Handel's Messiah was first performed in Dublin in 1742. The composer was looking for ways in which to create novel and compelling music and for Messiah to be enjoyed by everyone, whether they were nobility, landed gentry or commoner.

Following the premiere, Messiah was so well received that within a few years it was regularly performed and is now one of the few works from the mid-1700s that has had a constant performance history.

Today it is one of the most performed oratorios in the world and one of the best known. It was even reinterpreted in gospel, blues, jazz, R&B and hip-hop for the 1992 album Handel's Messiah: A Soulful Celebration, featuring Stevie Wonder.

NZSO brings Handel's Messiah to the Regent on Broadway in Palmerston North on Sunday December 9 at 3pm.