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Sunday, April 2, 2017

HANDEL’S MESSIAH FOR EASTER



Back by popular demand, The Playhouse Company will present Handel’s magnificent Messiah on Easter Sunday, April 16 2017.

Messiah will feature popular soloists, Aubrey Lodewyk, Khumbuzile Dlamini, Violina Anguelov, Thabiso Masemene as well as the 60-strong Playhouse Chorale and the KZN Philharmonic Orchestra directed by Marcus Desando.

Desando, who is originally from Pretoria, began his career as a singer in 1989 and went on to sing in over 70 operas, musical theatre productions and concerts in South Africa and abroad. He travelled the world singing and directing with New York Harlem Productions, Really Useful Company, Pieter Toerien Productions and Cape Town Opera. Having also directed over 40 productions ranging from opera to concerts, Desando is the Chief Executive Officer of the Gauteng Opera (formerly Black Tie Ensemble), as well as Chairman of the South African National Opera Association.

Messiah is an enormously popular English-language oratorio composed in 1741 by George Friederic Handel first performed in Dublin in April 1742. After what has been described as a ‘modest’ initial public reception, the oratorio has gained in popularity to the extent that it has become one of the best-known, best-loved and most frequently performed choral works in Western music.

Highlights of this much-loved work include a wealth of evergreen choral items. Among these are the magnificent Hallelujah Chorus, along with equally splendid numbers such as For Unto Us A Child Is Born, And The Glory of the Lord and many more, as well as benchmark solos such as Every Valley, He Was Despised, I Know That My Redeemer Liveth, O Thou That Tellest Good Tidings To Zion, Rejoice Greatly, O Daughter of Zion, The Trumpet Shall Sound and Why Do The Nations So Furiously Rage Together, to name but a few.

Booking for Messiah is at Computicket outlets nationwide, and tickets can also be obtained from the Playhouse Box Office on 031 369 9540/9596. Discounted block bookings can be made by calling Dawn on 031 369 9407 or emailing her on salescoordinator@playhousecompany.com.

Come and be a part of this tradition which features the world class KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of conductor, Naum Rousine.

Book now to avoid disappointment.