Mendelssohn’s ELIJAH

Performed here with a delicious hint of theatre to bring the drama vividly to life, Felix Mendelssohn’s masterpiece takes us inside the life of Elijah, a commanding prophetic figure who flourished around 900BC. Living a world of violence between conflicting belief systems in which catastrophic climate change has been brought about by human activity, it’s one man against a hostile state. Against huge odds, Elijah’s Herculean efforts, however triumphant, seem eventually to have come to nothing, and in despair Elijah asks God to “take away my life”. But that is not to be. Instead an angel from God instructs Elijah there is much more to be done, and after time for refreshment and recovery, in the words of the Bible, “then did Elijah the Prophet break forth like a fire!” Re-empowered at the end of his life and full of fresh energy, Elijah’s good triumphs over the evil of his enemies and Elijah is whisked away “by a whirlwind into heaven!”