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 Hexham Abbey 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 & Maxim Del Mar violin
Hannah Shaw viola
Reinoud Ford cello
Kate Brooke bass
Mark Baigent & Geoff Coates oboe
Chris Rawley bassoon
Brendan Musk & Sam Lewis trumpet
Tom Lee timpani
Orlando Jopling harpsichord

You are welcome to arrive from 6pm. The performance will begin at 7pm.

Duration: approx. 2 hours 30 minutes including interval

£40 | £35 | £30 | £25 | £20 | £15 | All tickets £15 for under 25s

The Abbey is fully accessible. Wheelchair spaces are provided in rows K, L and M, 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.

This year, Hexham celebrates 1350 years since the foundation of St Wilfrid’s original church from which the town of Hexham has grown in tandem with the Abbey and priory buildings.

Hexham Abbey is one of the earliest seats of Christianity in England. Since its beginning, it has witnessed periods of immense turmoil and change, across the region and within the English Church itself. Many of these are reflected in the very fabric of the building we see today.  The Abbey is home to a wealth of artifacts. From the Anglo-Saxon crypt to the tombstone of a Roman soldier, from exquisite sculpture to an ancient bishop's seat, from a medieval painted screen to a set of time-worn steps.