Celebrating the BBC Concert Orchestra: The Light of the World

An outstanding cast joins the BBC Concert Orchestra in a recent, highly acclaimed recording of the rarely heard Sullivan oratorio The Light of the World.

Commissioned for and first produced at the Birmingham Musical Festival of 1873, The Light of the World is Arthur Sullivan’s great oratorio on the life of Christ. Although regularly performed during the composer’s lifetime, changing fashions gradually condemned the work to obscurity.

Occasional revivals have failed to make the case for it, primarily because it was not understood that The Light of the World is essentially a dramatic work, rather than a purely religious one.

Presented by Kate Molleson.

2.00pm
Sullivan: The Light of the World
Natalya Romaniw (Mary, Mother of Jesus)
Eleanor Dennis (Mary Magdalene/Martha)
Kitty Whately (An Angel)
Robert Murray (A Disciple/Nicodemus)
Ben McAteer (Jesus)
Neal Davies (A Ruler/A Pharisee/A Shepherd)
Kinder Children's Choir
BBC Symphony Chorus
BBC Concert Orchestra
John Andrews (conductor)

Image © Jorge Cocco Santángelo