Messiah Handel
Against the Grain Theatre

Text is from the Against the Grain Theatre website.

The multi-award-winning innovative team at Against the Grain Theatre (AtG) is proud to present an encore presentation of the bold interpretation of Handel’s Messiah, created in partnership with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO). The daring, seventy-eight-minute filmed performance of Messiah/Complex showcases multilingual translations and features a diverse cast of soloists and choirs from every Province and Territory across Canada, accompanied by the exceptional sounds of the TSO and conducted by Johannes Debus (Canadian Opera Company).

Streaming: December 11th, 2022 – January 8th, 2023
Tickets: Free or Pay-What-You-Can

Hailed by the New York Times as “a rousing and decidedly Canadian version of Handel’s Messiah,” Against the Grain Theatre’s Messiah/Complex returns this Easter for audiences across the world to enjoy once again.
Available to stream on-demand from December 11th, 2022 – January 8th, 2022.

ABOUT MESSIAH/COMPLEX
A truly cross-Canada performance — in Arabic, Dene, English, French, Inuktitut, and Southern Tutchone, and accompanied by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. AtG Founder and Artistic Director Joel Ivany partnered with Banff Centre’s Director of Indigenous Arts, Reneltta Arluk, to Co-Direct a new interpretation of the Messiah with the goal of amplifying this unique moment of pride and inclusivity in Canada—honouring and giving support to Indigenous and underrepresented voices from coast-to-coast-to-frozen-coast, and hoping to share these voices with an international audience.

MESSIAH/COMPLEX CAST
This “complex” interpretation of Messiah includes 6 languages, 12 soloists, 4 choirs, and is lifted by the mighty sounds of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Every aspect of this production has been made possible by the goodwill and diligence of the cast and crew involved following the most up-to-date provincial COVID-19 safety protocols.
Click on the photo of a soloist below to learn more about their Messiah/Complex story.

Messiah/Complex soloists include: Cree-Métis baritone Jonathon Adams; Inuktitut singer-songwriter Looee Arreak; British Columbia tenor Spencer Britten; Canadian-Tunisian mezzo-soprano Rihab Chaieb in Montreal; Edmonton-born mezzo-soprano Catherine Daniel; Inuk singer Deantha Edmunds in Newfoundland & Labrador; Dene singer-songwriter Leela Gilday in Northwest Territories; Lebanese-Canadian soprano Miriam Khalil; Saskatchewan soprano Andrea Lett; Diyet van Lieshout, who sings in Southern Tutchone, from Yukon Territory; Métis singer Julie Lumsden; and Toronto-born baritone Elliot Madore.