Elijah soars with the New Bedford Symphony

Mendelssohn’s Elijah was modeled after the great Baroque oratorios of Handel, Haydn and Bach and is a sublime work. It features four soloists, chorus and large orchestra augmented by an organ. Sunday’s performance by the New Bedford Symphony did it justice. The four soloists were uniformly excellent, with a special bow to baritone Philip Lima. As Elijah, he had the greatest share of time and was magnificent. Not only does Mr. Lima possess a glorious voice, but he had a great stage presence. He WAS an Old Testament prophet – at times commanding and others sorrowful. It would not have surprised me had he brought down hail and brimstone. The chorus, which was the Rhode Island College Concert Chorus augmented by members from the Sippican and Greater New Bedford Choral Societies, started off somewhat tentatively but gained in strength as the performance went on. Several members of the RICCC were called out to join the soloists in some sections and displayed excellent voices. The orchestra performed flawlessly, and the organ sections blended in perfectly without dominating. The English lyrics (the piece was first performed in Birmingham in its English edition) made it easier for the audience to follow the biblical tale. A sublime afternoon at the Z.