In a nice touch, recorded birdsong fills the Opera House auditorium, setting the scene for Sydney Philharmonia Choirs’ performance of Joseph Haydn’s greatest work, The Creation.

Since 1798, when audiences first heard the mighty chord that announces the opening Chaos overture, the oratorio has held its place as one of the most successful and supreme choral works of all time. And when Haydn heard it played for the last time he famously pointed upwards and said it was “not from me, it came from above”.

Police had to control the crowds when it was first performed in Vienna and although the excitement may have died down over the ensuing 288 years, it is nevertheless one of the most uplifting experiences in the classical music canon for audience and performers alike.

Haydn wrote it in his late sixties after being impressed by hearing Handel’s oratorios in London. It was published a couple of years later bilingually in German and English.

Sydney Philharmonia Choirs: Haydn’s The Creation. Photo © Keith Saunders

SPC Artistic Director Brett Weymark has chosen the English version, adapted and translated by Baron Gottfried van Swieten from a mixture of Genesis, Milton’s Paradise Lost and the Psalms, for this performance featuring the Symphony Chorus.

There was a last-minute substitution in the trio of soloists with tenor Kyle Stegall replacing an indisposed Andrew Goodwin as Uriel, fitting in seamlessly with soprano Celeste Lazarenko and baritone Michael Lampard, making his SPH debut.

As well as the choruses, solos and trios, Haydn gives us some wonderful orchestral writing, equal to if not better than anything in his 100-plus symphonies, and for this the Sydney Philharmonia is at full strength with 60 musicians led by Concertmaster Michele O’Young.

They are on top form for the many magical moments, including the Sturm und Drang of creation of the firmament and oceans and that blazing C major chord after the chorus sings “And God said: Let there be light, and there was light.”

Brett Weymark conducts Sydney Philharmonia Choirs: Haydn’s The Creation. Photo © Keith Saunders

The third and final part, set in the Garden of Eden, features some exquisite woodwinds and horn from former SSO Principal Robert Johnson, Stegall’s sweet tone, excellent diction and sense of drama are a good fit for Uriel’s long recitative which introduces the pivotal Adam and Eve duet.

Lampard as Adam impresses, as he does with his arias and recitatives in the first two parts, although at times he could do with a little more heft in the low register.

The choir is majestic in the big fugal choruses – inspired by Handel – which close out each of the seven days.

The standout arias are all beautifully handled. Lazarenko carries off the coloratura passages in “With verdure clad the fields appear” with effortless aplomb, and trills like a nightingale and coos like the turtle doves in Gabriel’s aria “On mighty pinions rising”, accompanied by James Fortune’s flute and Andrew Doyle’s fluent clarinet.

All in all, these are two hours to warm the heart on a cold and blustery afternoon and lift the spirits in a world which could do with a lot more Haydn.

For more information on Sydney Philharmonia Choirs in 2026, visit sydneyphilharmonia.com.au