MESSIAH Will Herald Holiday Season at Camerata Chicago

 Heralding the holiday season, conductor Drostan Hall and his Camerata Chicago chamber orchestra and chorus will perform highlights from George Frideric Handel's English-language oratorio 'Messiah,' HWV 56, alongside the composer's 'Zadok the Priest' at concerts November 20-22 in Oak Park, Wheaton, and Hinsdale, Illinois.

Concerts are at 7:30 p.m. November 20 at the Nineteenth Century Club, 178 Forest Avenue, Oak Park; 3 p.m. November 21 at Gary United Methodist Church, 224 North Main Street, Wheaton: and 3 p.m. November 22 at Union Church of Hinsdale, 137 S. Garfield Street, Hinsdale.

The concert features Part I of Handel's 'Messiah' - traditionally known as the Christmas section - followed by the jubilant 'Hallelujah' chorus from Part II, sung first by the chorus and repeated as an audience sing-along.

The program opens with Handel's celebratory 'Zadok the Priest,' HWV 258, for orchestra and chorus, an anthem written for the coronation of England's King George II. The text is derived from the biblical account of the anointing of King Solomon by Zadok and the public's rejoicing.

The piece begins with a long suspenseful build-up leading to the chorus's glorious entry.

Music director Hall sees a spiritual connection between these works. ''Zadok' is about the anointment of an earthly king, recognized by God and the Church,' he says. ''Messiah' is about the arrival of the heavenly king.'

'Messiah' soloists

Soloists are countertenor Key'mon Murrah, who will sing the soprano part, mezzo-soprano Camille Robles, tenor Daniel Luis Espinal, and bass-baritone Laureano Quant.

Murrah was lauded by Opera News for the 'resplendent, voluptuous tone throughout his enormous range and phrasing with the feel of fine silk' and continues to garner international acclaim for his 'vocal acrobatics' and 'mature artistry.'

In the 2026-27 season, he makes his début at Opernhaus Zürich in the role of Mago Cristiano in Handel's 'Rinaldo' under Philippe Jaroussky and Belize in Eötvös' 'Angels in America' at Theater Winterthur under Oscar Jockel. He tours Pergolesi's 'Stabat Mater' with Christophe Rousset and Les Talens Lyriques and appears in a concert of Haydn and Martines with Ars Lyrica Houston.

Robles, who hails from Puerto Rico, was selected to be part of the Ryan Opera Center Ensemble 2025/26 at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. In November 2024, she was a Puerto Rico District Winner in the Metropolitan Opera's Laffont Competition, where she was awarded the Culturarte Prize, the Propuesta Clásica Foundation Prize, and the Audience Favorite Prize sponsored by Teatro de la Ópera de Puerto Rico.

Espinal is a second-year Ryan Opera Center member. The Cuban-Dominican tenor from Sarasota, Florida, received a 2025 Sara Tucker Study Grant and was a national winner of the 2024 Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition. In Lyric Opera of Chicago's 2024-25 season he sang the role of Jacquino in Beethoven's 'Fidelio,' his Lyric Opera debut, and Curzio in Mozart's 'The Marriage of Figaro.' A graduate of the Manhattan School of Music, Espinal continued his studies at Yale University, where he received a Master of Musical Arts degree.

A native of Barranquilla, Colombia, Quant holds a Master of Music degree from the Manhattan School of Music and a Master of Musical Arts degree from Yale University. Highlights of his repertoire include Sargeant Belcore in Donizetti's 'The Elixir of Love,' Guglielmo in Mozart's 'Così fan tutte,' and Figaro in Saverio Mercadante's 'I due Figaro,' among other operatic roles.