Opéra Royal - Bach: MAGNIFICAT
December 1723. Johann Sebastian Bach has just taken up his position as cantor at St. Thomas Church and is celebrating his first winter in Leipzig. He composes the first version of what will become one of his most famous masterpieces: his Magnificat.
Some four hundred years later, the sequence of events during those vespers that enchanted the Nikolaikirche on Christmas Day is now known. Vincent Dumestre retraces precisely this event, in line with the cantor's wishes: Bach introduced the Leipzig audience to new works of his own composition, such as his original version of the Magnificat, composed for the occasion, and the cantata Christen, ätzet diesen Tag BWV 63. But he combined them in keeping with the long tradition of Leipzig cantors, inserting these new works among the motets, chorales, and hymns that appeared in the Florilegium Portense collection, arranged and edited by Erhard Bodenschatz a century earlier, or in Gottfried Vopelius' Gesangbuch. And to close these vespers on the late afternoon of December 25, 1723, Gott sei uns gnädig und barmherzig was finally sung – this simple yet moving hymn, as an epilogue to the very first performance of the Magnificat, a masterpiece that still resonates today on all stages.
General information
Openings
Friday 12 December 2025 between 8 pm and 9.15 pm.
Fares
Full price: from 45 € (Category 1
€86 to €101
Category 2
€65 to €77
Category 3
€45 to €53
Prestige
€125 to €143
Prestige VIP
€166).