The 2025 Summer Festival opens with a rare opportunity to experience Handel’s complete Messiah as a staged performance directed by Timothy Nelson. Regarded today as one of Handel's unparalleled masterworks, Messiah came together in fits and starts and never enjoyed widespread popularity during the composer's lifetime. Since then, however, it has become a globel icon of musical grandeur and - for many - a traditional signpost in the liturgical year. Few listeners have experienced Messiah as a staged "opera," complete with props and costumes, though there is a great deal of spectacle inherent in the story.

Vocal soloists, chorus, and Baroque period-instrument ensemble under the direction of Carsten Schmidt. Stage director Timothy Nelson serves as Artistic Director of the acclaimed InSeries company in Washington DC.