Of the two surviving Passions by Bach, the St John Passion was the first to be composed, and the Cantor reworked it several times for different performances between 1724 and 1747.

At St Thomas Church in Leipzig, Bach had a choir and instrumental ensemble seasoned enough to meet the virtuoso demands of the arias and choruses in this richly expressive Passion. He pushed rhetorical effects to their limits, highlighting both the dramatic and mournful qualities of the text. At the time, it was by far the most extensive of his compositions and remains a public favourite to this day for its extraordinary humanity.

Barely a year after his arrival in Leipzig, Bach offered this first great masterpiece for Good Friday in 1724. These exceptional evenings will mark the 300th anniversary of the première of this monumental work. The Orchestre de l’Opéra Royal, conducted by Gaétan Jarry, will be joined by renowned soloists and the remarkable Tölzer Knabenchor.

Founded in 1956 near Munich, this boys’ choir is the heir to seven decades of choral excellence at the highest level. The choir – particularly its boy soloists – has performed worldwide, collaborating with the likes of Herbert von Karajan, Wolfgang Sawallisch, James Levine, and Nikolaus Harnoncourt. Today it is the world’s leading children’s choir, particularly dazzling in the repertoire of sacred music in German, which the boys perform with the joy of singing in their own language: unforgettable !

The Royal Opera Productions.

This show has been made possible through the generous support of ADOR – the Friends of the Royal Opera.

Concert in German with French surtitles.