Nottingham Harmonic Choir – Messiah

Nottingham Harmonic Choir bring Handel's Messiah to the Royal Concert Hall on Saturday 5 December, their annual performance of the work. It's a fixture that's become a regular part of the city's Christmas calendar, and this year they're back in the Main Auditorium on Theatre Square.

Messiah is Handel's setting of the biblical account of the birth, life and death of Christ. He wrote it for solo voices, choir and orchestra, and it's full of the kind of arias and choruses that have stayed in the public ear for nearly three centuries — from the jubilant 'Hallelujah' chorus to 'I know that my Redeemer liveth'. The whole thing runs for two hours and 40 minutes, including an interval.

The choir is conducted by Richard Laing, with Orchestra da Camera providing the orchestral accompaniment. The soloists are Katie Trethewey on soprano, Matthew Farrell on countertenor, Joseph Doody on tenor and Thomas D Hopkinson on bass. Between them, they'll take the solo parts that run through the work, with the choir and orchestra filling out the larger choruses.

Doors open at 18:00, and the performance starts at 19:00. Tickets are £33 for Stalls PL1, £27 for Stalls PL2, £22 for Stalls PL3, and £33 for Tier 1 PL1. Age guidance is 5+, and under-14s need to be accompanied by an adult aged 18 or over.