When Situation Opera were approached to perform Händel's Messiah in February 2009 as part of the 'Bloomsbury 1759' Festival, there was much discussion over how we should present the work. Would we adopt the modern style of chorus, orchestra and four soloists; which movements would we cut; should we stand for the Hallelujah chorus?

After thought and deliberation it was decided to present as close a reconstruction of the first performance as possible - the Dublin premiere is famed for its success and though the composer himself went on to extensively adjust the work after this, we felt that the work as a whole should be presented.  Thus we set out to research exactly what, how and by whom this great work should be performed.

Whilst searching the internet for inspiration I happened upon an image of a cross taken by Jason Hudson. This imensely talented American photographer was kind enough not only to allow me to use the image, but also play with the colouring and adapt it. The simple beauty of this cross, viewed through his car windscreen on a rainy day gave me the exact inspiration I had been searching for - we would perform a simple, original and intensely personal Messiah, much the same approach I sense Jason and his wife Kori take to their work. I highly commend them both, and suggest you visit www.thehudsonsrock.com to see more of their amazing photos.
Jonathan Crowhurst
tenor
 Sonia Stevenson
mezzo soprano
  Casey Evans
soprano


We decided on just sixteen singers, and fifteen instrumentalists.  Almost every singer would perform solo movements as well as coming together for the chorus passages, and the strings would reduce from sections to solo players where indicated in the original scoring.  Part of the reduction in forces of course affects the orchestration - we removed the timpani, bassoons, oboes and other instruments the composer added at later dates and opted for just two trumpets, harpsichord and strings.




The performance was met with huge support from the audience, and received superb press reviews - the effort to create a special performance of a very special work was infectious and on one of the coldest days on record, with Londoners beset by snow and mist, more than two hundred people were joined together in appreciation for the work of one of history's greatest composers.