In his two epochal Passion oratorios – the St Mathew Passion and the St John Passion – Johann Sebastian Bach expressed the very essence of his church music and theological message. However, how exactly the music should be performed has always been a point of intense discussion. The works break the liturgical framework and – due to the structure of recitatives, arias, dialogues and choir parts – demand a staged performance. Star American director Peter Sellars worked with Sir Simon Rattle on a staging of the »St Matthew Passion« in the Berlin Philharmonie in 2010; this was followed by the »St John Passion« in 2014. His approach: »It’s not theatre. It’s a prayer, a meditation.«Deutschlandfunk called it an »interdenominational religious celebration«; the Berliner Zeitung experienced a »spiritual rapture that seizes the whole room, a kind of shared experience of awakening arising from the feeling of having all been witnesses to an unprecedented event«.This production of »St John Passion« now comes to the Elbphilharmonie, with the same acclaimed 5-star cast of singers and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. read less