Acclaimed conductor John Nelson will make his Coventry debut next month, directing a stella cast from the world of opera for a performance of Handel's Messiah.

Taking place at Coventry Cathedral on 24 November, the concert features The English Concert alongside soprano Lisette Oropesa, countertenor Alex Potter, tenor Michael Spyres and bass-baritone Matthew Brook.

Staging the concert in the rebuilt Cathedral is of particuar importance to John Nelson as not only is the venue a symbol of reconcilliation and resurrection following its destruction of World War II, it is also where Britten's War Requiem made its world premiere.

2022 also marks 280 years since the London premiere of Handel’s masterpiece and John recently commented: “It has been a long-term dream to conduct the Messiah in Coventry. In today’s turbulent world, where conflict has returned to Europe and the suffering of millions of displaced families has come close to all our lives, I hope that this concert of the Messiah in this symbolic location can be a powerful message of hope.

A lifetime of performing the Messiah in wildly varying situations (a poor performance early in my career at Westminster Choir College, a bloated performance with 300 choristers in Chicago, a China premiere performance in Shanghai) has brought me, at age 80, enough courage to record this singularly famous piece of music. As a believer, as a rather new member of the Anglican Communion and with the finest musicians and soloists on the planet, I’m finally ready to lay down my personal interpretation for posterity.

Hopefully it will be an interpretation that would be pleasing to Handel in his time while bringing meaning and a thrill to audiences in our time.

This recording will be a world premiere of sorts as it will incorporate for the first time in history all 7 versions he wrote during his lifetime. With this perusal I trust future audiences, musicians and conductors will have a wonderful plethora of choices to enjoy and perform.”

The November concert will be streamed on Medici.tv and forms part of Nelson's initiative to record all versions of the Messiah for future release.

John Nelson conducts Handel's Messiah at Coventry Cathedral on Thursday 24 November at 7pm. For further information, and to book tickets, visit: Coventrycathedral.org.uk

About John Nelson: John Nelson made his New York City debut with an uncut concert performance of Berlioz’s Les Troyens at Carnegie Hall in 1973, and has been a foremost interpreter of the composer’s music since. His multi award-winning recording of Les Troyens (2017) with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg was followed in 2019 with highly-acclaimed performances of La Damnation de Faust. In 2019, Nelson performed Berlioz’s Requiem (Grande Messe des Morts) in St. Paul’s Cathedral to mark 150 years to the day since the death of the composer, in a performance also released on CD and DVD. A recording of Roméo et Juliette is planned following this year’s recording.

In spring 2023, Nelson will conduct Bizet’s Carmen with the Orchestre Philharmonie de Strasbourg on Tuesday 4 & Thursday 6 April 2023, before bringing the whole cast to the

Royal Albert Hall on Friday 14 April 2023. The star-studded line-up includes Joyce DiDonato, Michael Spyres, Elsa Dreisig, Alexandre Duhamel, Florie Valiquette, Adèle Charvet, Thomas Dolié, Nicolas Courjal, Philippe Estèphe and Cyrille Dubois.