Bach's St. John Passion

The Dallas Symphony Orchestra is bringing Bach's St. John Passion to the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center on Friday, February 12, and Saturday, February 13, 2027. Both performances start at 7:30 PM. It's a DSO premiere, meaning the orchestra hasn't performed this one before.

St. John Passion is one of Bach's biblical masterpieces, first performed on Good Friday in 1724. It's a saga of betrayal, forgiveness, and resurrection, driven by music of raw, elemental power and cinematic clarity. Music Director Fabio Luisi is in his seventh season at the helm, and he's spent much of that time steering the orchestra's repertoire toward Bach and Mozart. He's called the passions some of the composer's greatest works, and this will be his first time conducting one.

The lineup is a full house. Hanno Müller-Brachmann sings Jesus, Michael Schade takes the Evangelist, and the soloists include Deanna Breiwick on soprano, Jennifer Johnson Cano on mezzo-soprano, Brian Giebler on tenor, and Edmund Milly on bass. The Dallas Symphony Chorus joins in with Anthony Blake Clark as chorus director, and the Lay Family Organ provides the organ part. The orchestra plays more than 100 concerts a year at the Meyerson, one of the world's finest concert halls.

If you want a bit more context before the music starts, there are pre-concert talks with Assistant Conductor Shira Samuels-Shragg. They begin at 6:30 PM on both concert evenings and at 1:00 PM on Sunday in Horchow Hall. Tickets start at $44.