All is in place for Handel's Messiah in Castlebar church this evening

THE final touches are being put to rehearsals for an historic performance of Handel's Messiah to take place in the Church of the Holy Rosary in Castlebar this evening (Sunday) at 7 p.m. as local choir group Vocalessence and Mayo Concert Orchestra work towards staging this not-to-be-missed musical masterpiece.

It's the first time a local orchestra is performing the musical masterpiece composed in 1741 by George Frideric Handel.

The oratorio was originally an Easter offering. It burst onto the stage of Musick Hall in Dublin on April 13, 1742.

The men and women in attendance sat mesmerized from the moment the tenor followed the mournful string overture with his piercing opening line: "Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God."

Now, of course, Messiah is a fixture of the Christmas season. For many amateur choirs, the work is the heart of their repertoire and the high point of the year. In most of Handel's oratorios, the soloists dominate and the choir sings only brief choruses.

The Castlebar concert will be headlined by the accomplished voices of soprano solistist Regina Nathan, mezzo solist Anna Louise Costello and tenor soloist Sean Tunney, while the compere is RTÉ newsreader Eileen Dunne.

Regina Nathan’s career in opera, concert and recital has taken her from her native Ireland across Europe and as far as Kuala Lumpur and New York’s Carnegie Hall. A devoted recitalist, Regina’s talents also embrace everything from classic Lieder to traditional Irish song.

She has enraptured audiences throughout Ireland, London’s Wigmore Hall and Purcell Room, the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris and famously with Placido Domingo in a sold-out audience at Dublin’s Point Theatre.

Her recordings include Britten, Complete Folk Song Arrangements (Hyperion), Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 (BMG), Donizetti’s Maria de Rudenz (Opera Rara) and of course Faith Of Our Fathers, alongside Frank Patterson

Regina divides her time between Dublin, Berlin, London and her home in Co. Clare.

Irish mezzo-soprano Anna Louise Costello is a graduate, with distinctions, of the DIT Conservatory of Music, Dublin, and the Royal Academy of Music, London.

Since launching her professional career in 2009, she has made a big name for herself in the world of classical and opera singing, performing at prestigious concerts in Hamburg, Berlin, London and Oslo.

Sean Tunney, in his early 20s, is starting out on his career. A native of Castlebar, he is a graduate of St. Gerald's College where he set a very high standard for musical excellence during his time there under the tuition of teacher, Ms. Jennifer Hiney. Now he is looking forward to his first major performance in his home town.

People are advised to get to the venue early to ensure prime seats and a very limited number of tickets (€20) will be available on the door.