Friday 30 October 2026
Review by Paul Neeson (Arts Wednesday)
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Elijah was an Old Testament prophet and miracle worker who lived in the northern kingdom of Israel under King Ahab in the 9th century B.C.E. It was an era in the Levant when rival religions – Baal (the storm and fertility god), Asherah (the mother goddess) and Yahweh (the predecessor of monotheism) were competing for ascendancy. There were also competing political rivals in the area seeking expansion and dominance – Assyrian, Babylon, Hittites, Phoenician and Israelite. The miracles worked by Elijah are eerily similar to those of Jesus – he raised a child from the dead, wandered and fasted in the wilderness for 40 days and 40 nights and he ascended into heaven bypassing physical death.
Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy grew up in a Jewish family (although he was expediently baptised as Lutheran) and would have been aware of the story of Elijah from an early age. As a musician he would also have been aware of the dramatic potential of the story – conflict, betrayal, sacrifice, faith and redemption. He worked on his sacred oratorio for 10 years and made many minor corrections after its premiere to ready it for publication.
In tonight’s performance we were in the presence of some of the great classical heavyweights in conductor Simone Young and bass-baritone Sir Bryn Terfel as Elijah. Fortunately tonight’s performance used the English translation (William Bartholomew) which helped us to follow the story. The work opens with Elijah cursing the faithless people of Israel, prophesying drought and famine. From the outset the power and clarity of diction in Terfel’s voice blew us away. We trembled at the fear of God as he threatened and cursed us. This was followed by the overture which built like a troubled storm. Just before the storm burst the 200 piece Sydney Philharmonia Choir rose to their feet in the choir stalls behind the orchestra. It was an awesome sight, and we knew that the force of all these voices was about to hit us with the power of their despair – “Help Lord! Wilt thou quite destroy us?”
The contrast with what came next was one of the most moving moments I have ever experienced at a classical concert. Tenor, Shanul Sharma was gentle, sincere and heart-rending as Obadiah, the King’s Chamberlain. After all the fire and brimstone, his sincerity and tenderness melted every heart in the capacity audience: “Ye people, rend your hearts and not your garments.” As he sat down, both Bryn Terfel and Conductor Simone Young made eye contact with him as if to say you’ve just made a solid emotional connection with the audience, and this makes our jobs that much easier. How did this remarkable musician get to this exalted place from his early career as frontman for heavy metal band, Sobrusion in Wagga Wagga?
There has been much written about the difficulty of this work, in terms of how the audience can keep up with which character is being portrayed at any particular time – the singers take on many roles. Contralto, Noa Beinart was a presence on stage with great poise, a demeanour fit for any occasion, a warm tone and a cool presence. In the 2nd half she sang the character of Queen Jezebel, who was the Phoenician wife of the weak King. It was she who instigated the drama of the story by promoting the worship of Baal and thus infuriating our prophet. She foments the anger of the people forcing Elijah to wander in the wilderness, fasting and praying. Not long afterwards she is singing the role of an angel. Confusing? Somewhat. But the music and the musicianship carry us forward regardless.
While our hero is wandering in the desert alone, his aria is accompanied by a solo cello (Jesper Svedberg) – another moving, heart breaking moment, and a metaphor for his solitariness. The Sydney Symphony were remarkable throughout the nearly two and a half hour performance. Literally the backing band, they provided all the colour and shade, the energy and calm as required for the choir and soloists to shine. The string section was reduced but highly effective, the double winds featured rarely but their presence was unmistakably there throughout. The oversized brass – including an ophicleide (Nick Byrne), the 19th century forerunner to the euphonium – was where the instrumental drama was all happening.
Sir Bryn has an international reputation: he has performed with every major orchestra and on every major opera stage in the world. He even sang at King Charles III’s coronation. Every word was delivered with force and clarity, every gesture and change in emotion kept us riveted from the first note until he ascended into heaven on a fiery chariot.
I am truly in awe of the stamina of Simone Young. As the soloists and choirs stood and sat, she danced on the podium without a break, keeping 200 choristers and 62 musicians in perfect sync with her right hand, while extracting a wide range of expression (and expertly turning the pages of the very thick score) with her left hand. And for the myriad of curtain calls that followed the performance (the choirs deservedly getting the loudest response) she almost looked as though she could have turned around and done it all again. A truly world-class maestro. We are so honoured to have her as ‘our’ chief conductor.
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