Mendelssohn’s Elijah/Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment

Last night at the Royal Festival Hall I attended a performance of Elijah, first performed in 1846 in Birmingham Town Hall.

Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) was something of a young prodigy and also popular in Great Britain. This oratorio employs soloists, a choir, orchestra and organist so you get as my host – a trustee of the orchestra of the Age of Enlightement (OAE) – described “A full blast”.

It’s quite a work and performance but as my knowledge of the Old Testament is scantily based on divinity lessons over 50 years ago it did not engage me as much as an opera might. Nonetheless I always enjoy seeing an orchestra in full swing and my host and I agreed it was a more satisfying experience than listening to the CD.

We were treated to drinks in the interval – and more of these and nibbles afterwards – which created an all round evening. As opposed to the city where I live, which does not have an orchestra to match the OAE let alone the Royal Philharmonic, The London Philharmonic, the LSO or BBC Symphony, it’s always such a palaver to get home.

We walked over the bridge in driving rain and then had to find a taxi in Charing Cross, all putting a dampener on the night. One other guest complained of a one hour taxi journey to the South Bank. Unless you are prepared to brave the tube in rush hour , you simply cannot gauge how long a journey will take.

I’m not a huge admirer of the South Bank Complex. Apart from anything else the signage from Waterloo with its numerous exits is poor. As for the Festival Hall it has garish colours of mauve and red which does not work that well with the wood and white boxes.

The acoustics are not great and all the loos had broken down on one side. It needs to up its game.