Bach's St Matthew Passion - Food for the soul.

Few pieces have the mana of Bach’s St Matthew Passion – a work considered the touchstone for all classical choral repertoire. The St Matthew Passion, a masterpiece above all masterpieces, is a work we should all be familiar with, all should hear.

Those who know the St Matthew Passion seek to experience it ‘live’ – time and time again, savouring the different interpretations and nuances each conductor brings to it.

Wellington’s Orpheus Choir conducted by Michael Fulcher and joined by the Vector Wellington Orchestra, the Choristers of the Wellington Cathedral of St Paul, and a fine cast of soloists are bringing the Passion, last performed here by Orpheus in 1999, to the Wellington Town Hall.

Tenor Paul McMahon, who has sung with all major Australian orchestras will be singing the role of the Evangelist. He is Australia’s pre-eminent Evangelist – a role he has made his own. He most recently sang with Orpheus in Bach’s Mass in B Minor in August 2010. Michael Leighton Jones, a much-loved Kiwi singer with a great international singing and conducting career, sings Christus

They are joined on stage by Jenny Wollerman (soprano), Claire Barton (alto), Andrew Grenon (tenor) and Daniel O’Connor (bass). Jenny is well known to New Zealand audiences for her roles in opera and on the concert stage. Claire, Andrew and Daniel are all recent Emerging Artists of the NBR Opera Company. Daniel received glowing praise for his “focused agile singing” and his “deep sonorous tones” in his recent performances with the Orpheus Choir in Bach’s Mass in B Minor and the St John Passion.

This is a chance to hear and experience a masterpiece – a work much loved and revered by audiences, one of the most popular works in western choral literature. It presents the story of the Passion with its drama, its beauty, its tragedy and its sense of wonder.

The early-evening performance is a perfect lead-in to the Easter season. With the magnificent sounds of the Orpheus Choir, a cast of accomplished soloists, and Wellington’s fine orchestra, the event is sure to thrill.