Passion concert

St John Passion

03. Apr 2026
Kölner Philharmonie
Prices
68 / 57 / 48 / 33 / 21 / 14 €
Remaining tickets

Program

  • Johann Sebastian Bach

    Johannes-Passion BWV 245
    1724

Cast

  • Shira Patchornik

    soprano

  • Sara Mingardo

    mezzo-soprano

  • Andrew Staples

    tenor

  • Mirko Ludwig

    tenor

  • Christian Wagner

    bass

  • La Cetra Vocal Ensemble

  • Andrea Marcon

    conductor

Dates

Currently no concerts available.

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The tragedy starts with the first note. Above a pulsating bass and strings anxiously pushing forward, oboes and flutes ascend in painful dissonance. This music resembles the agony of a tortured soul. When the choir enters at the climax of this monumental buildup, it sounds like a scream of pain and release at the same time. Johann Sebastian Bach’s St John Passion: a stroke of genius which still brings us to the edge of our seats, touching us directly with its bitter drama. The passion story is about the suffering and death of Jesus, but also about human life with all its joys and sorrows, hopes and disappointments, full of empathy and emotional coldness, loyalty and treason. »This music speaks of things which previously, no one had dared, managed or even tried to express in notes.« Thus the composer Hans Werner Henze on the St John Passion, an analysis that is certainly accurate. Our performance with the outstanding vocal ensemble La Cetra under the baton of Andrea Marcon replaces monumentality with approachability, portraying humans in all their weakness and vulnerability.