Prepare to be enchanted by another enthralling performance with Irish Baroque Orchestra and Sestina as they present one of the forgotten gems of the baroque repertoire, George Frideric Handel’s ESTHER on Friday April 5 at Belfast Cathedral. If you attend and enjoy IBO’s Messiah, this is a performance definitely not to be missed!

Brought to life in sensuous arias and stirring choruses, this compelling musical drama is the tale of a triumphant heroine Esther, a Jewish orphan who becomes Queen of Persia and saves her people from massacre by the villain Haman. Featuring the reflective, and famous aria, ‘Tune Your Harps’, and the triumphant final chorus, ‘The Lord our enemy is slain,’ Esther has it all.

Believed to be the first English Oratorio, Handel’s setting of the tale of Queen Esther portrays the story with a wide array of musical tones and nuances. Peter Whelan directs the Irish Baroque Orchestra with oboe, horns, trumpet and harp animating the heightened drama at critical points. The magnificent young singers of Sestina provide the minor roles and chorus throughout. Irish soprano Anna Devin is widely admired for her “impeccable Baroque style” (Bachtrack), “vocal control…artistry and musico-dramatic intelligence,” (Opera News). For this performance, Anna performs the titular role with Spanish tenor, Jorge Navarro Colorado, ‘… who has a sound that is never forced, agile coloratura and an easy high register’ (Mundoclasico.com) in the role of King Assuerus.

Tickets: £20 (adult), £18 (concession), £10 (student) & £5 (children)