Messiah - Cape Town

George Frideric Handel’s Messiah has become one of the most frequently performed choral works in Western Classical music and has enjoyed a continuous performance tradition since its premiere.


For this production of Messiah, the Cape Town Baroque Orchestra (CTBO), directed from the harpsichord by Erik Dippenaar), in association with the singers of the Lutesong Consort, will return to the version presented at the oratorio’s first performances in Dublin (13 April and 3 June 1742). Similar musical forces to that first performance will be used: baroque strings and continuo, natural trumpets and timpani, as well as an ensemble of twelve professional singers, with soloists also singing in the choruses; and a return to the smaller scale chamber music feel of the first performances.

The CTBO is excited to be joined by Austrian natural trumpeters Raphael Pouget and Julian Ritsch for this performance. Pouget is returning to South Africa for a third collaboration with the CTBO. Audiences might recognise him from his performances at the 2018 and 2019 Cape Town Baroque Festivals.

On a vocal front CTBO will be joined by Lynelle Kenned, Elsabé Richter and Louise Howlett (sopranos), Lente Louw, Nick de Jager and Minette du Toit-Pearce (altos), Jason Atherton, Willem Bester and Levi Alexander (tenors), and Aubrey Lodewyk, Keaton Manwaring and Patrick Cordery (basses).

Come hear Messiah like you’ve never heard it before!