Hallelujah! Win Tickets to G. F. Handel's Messiah

Depending on your background, one of your holiday traditions may or may not involve walls of scripture being sung at you by a choir, in the form of Handel's Messiah. Heck, you might even have teetered on the edge of one of those risers yourself. Never mind whether you enjoyed that when you were 12 years old. Here's an opportunity to experience an intimate yet international take on the Christmas classic here in Beijing. Read on for your chance to win tickets to the show.

We spoke briefly with this year's visiting conductor, David Mackay from Australia, who told us, "I'm feeling very excited at the prospect of working on Messiah again – it's one of my favorite works and I always find new things to enjoy in it each time I work on it."

His favorite part? "I can't possibly narrow it down to one! If I had to pick a couple: the first aria, the beautifully serene 'Comfort ye my people,' and the final 'Amen,' which manages to sum up the whole magnificent work in just a few bars."

Sounds peaceful, huh? Divine, almost?

The work will be sung by a group of about fifty singers from twenty different nations, all part of the International Festival Chorus of Beijing. Since productions of Messiah have ballooned to spectacular proportions over the centuries, this will be a welcome return to the work's sweeter, simpler origins.

Details for the show:

Sunday, December 4
G. F. Handel's Messiah
RMB 280 (orchestra)
RMB 180 (balcony)
7.30pm
International School of Beijing
Ticket orders: Call 158 1046 2467 or email tickets@beijingifc.org
Note: Complimentary round-trip bus transport available departing from Kempinski hotel at 6.30pm, but interested parties MUST reserve a spot when ordering tickets.

To win, leave a comment below or email win@thebeijinger.com with the number of tickets you would need and your answer to this question: What in Beijing is too hot to "handle"?

Photo: Courtesy of Beijing International Festival Chorus