The audience at Royal Liverpool Philharmonic’s annual Messiah were treated to a performance by Benjamin Appl, the venue’s 2024/25 artist in residence. Despite being better known as a baritone, Appl made his conducting debut at the event. Though his earnest pre-concert introduction and focused, slightly nervous presence on stage didn’t necessarily translate into a fully realised interpretation of Handel’s oratorio, the warmth and enthusiasm from the sold-out Philharmonic audience will no doubt have boosted his confidence for the future.
The soloists from the event provided the majority of the drama, with soprano Anna Devin bringing a wonderfully playful energy to her arias; James Way provided pleasing bite and dramatic tension with his incisive “Thou shalt break them”, and Silke Gäng’s light-hued mezzo was at its best in moments of calm transcendence. The bass vocals were provided by Alex Rosen, who brought an operatic stage touch to proceedings.
As a late protege of Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Appl has made a name for himself as an interpreter of Lieder, so it was perhaps no surprise that scrupulous word-painting seemed to take priority during the performances. To an extent, this lent the orchestra’s playing a welcome sense of intimacy and transparency, but at times it came at the cost of the dynamism and variety of colour that was needed. While the grand, foolproof choruses delivered by the RLPO Choir, with exemplary diction, should have offered a tremendous cacophony, they didn’t always pack the punch that was needed.
Overall, while the usual Christmas season festivities may be over at the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, the memories of this rendition of the Messiah will last for some time. It is very clear that despite this being his conducting debut, Benjamin Appl has a lot to offer the classical music scene, and that the audience was delighted with his performance on the night
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