Handel Messiah

Following their sell-out tour in 2023, Wild Arts brings their trademark fresh and innovative approach to Handel's legendary telling of the Christmas story to Lancaster Priory for the first time.

The period specialist players of the Wild Arts Ensemble join the star singers of the summer opera tour for an innovative version that will bring the music and story to life. Staging will be performed by the company tailored to each venue from a framework devised by theatre and opera director Tom Morris (Breaking the Waves, Dr Semmelweis, War Horse), with Wild Arts' Artistic Director Orlando Jopling directing from the keyboard.

Lucy Hall & Natasha Page soprano
Catherine Backhouse & Martha Jones mezzo
Guy Elliott & Sam Marston tenor
Timothy Nelson baritone
Edward Hawkins bass

Sijie Chen & Gabriella Jones violin
Hannah Shaw viola
Reinoud Ford cello
Kate Brooke bass
Joel Raymond & Geoff Coates oboe
Chris Rawley bassoon
Brendan Musk & Sam Lewis trumpet
Tom Lee timpani
Orlando Jopling harpsichord

You are welcome to arrive from 6.30pm and the performance will begin at 7pm.

Duration: approx. 2 hours 30 minutes including interval

£45 | £35 | £30 | £25 | £15 | £15 for under 25s

The Priory is fully accessible. Wheelchair space is provided in rows G & L and your ticket includes a free carer seat alongside. Please email us at info@wildarts.org.uk for any access or seating questions and we would be very happy to help.

Lancaster Priory Church is a Grade 1 listed building, located on a site which has seen Christian worship since Saxon times. It is of huge historical and archaeological importance and is one of the most frequently visited parish churches in the North West. Lancaster Priory is the Mother Church of the City of Lancaster, and it is well known and respected throughout Lancashire and beyond as a place of excellence for its music tradition.

Lancaster Castle and Lancaster Priory Church, which occupy the summit of Castle Hill, stand proudly above the city. It is likely that a Roman building existed on the site prior to others, possibly around the year 200. A Saxon church is thought to have stood on the site from the sixth century. The Medieval Church, much of which still stands today, occupies the site of the original pre-1430s structure. Some of the old stone belonging to the original Priory building has been used in the construction of the existing Church building.