Haydn’s Creation Soars at the Sheldonian Theatre

By Alyssa | WhatsOn local events writer Alyssa picks out timely events, local favourites and useful places to eat, stay and explore.

Haydn: The Creation (Oxford Harmonic Choir) Oxford brings one of Western music’s most exhilarating choral monuments to life in the city’s grandest ceremonial hall. Composed in the late 1790s after Franz Joseph Haydn was inspired by Handel’s London oratorios, The Creation charts the genesis of the cosmos with blazing instrumental inventiveness, erupting from primeval darkness into a blinding burst of musical light. Paired with The Orchestra of Stowe Opera under the baton of conductor Robert Secret, the Oxford Harmonic Choir commands the tier upon tier of Sir Christopher Wren’s historic theatre to deliver an unmissable evening of symphonic drama, vocal grandeur, and midsummer celebration.

From Primordial Murk to Blazing Midsummer Light

Hearing The Creation in person is an entirely different beast from listening to a polished studio recording. The overture, famously titled 'The Representation of Chaos', begins in shadowy, unresolved dissonance: hushed strings murmur in the dark, woodwinds mourn through elusive minor chords, and the atmosphere feels suspended on a knife-edge. Then comes the choral detonation. At the choir’s climactic cry of 'And there was light!', the full force of the chorus, brass, and orchestra unleashes a brilliant C major chord that reverberates off the stone and wood of the auditorium with jaw-dropping physical impact. The Sheldonian’s tight, D-shaped amphitheatre gives the sound nowhere to hide, turning Haydn’s brilliant scene-painting into a tactile, immersive surge.

Beyond the famous opening, the piece bubbles over with infectious joy and mischievous musical wit. Haydn famously delighted in painting portraits of the natural world: listener ears will catch deep double bassoons rolling to mimic great whales in the depths, skipping flutes portraying nightingales, skittering violins sketching swarms of insects, and roaring brass heralding heavy beasts of the earth. In the final movements, the tone softens into pastoral rapture as Adam and Eve sing tender, lyric duets celebrating the fresh perfection of the newly made world. For classical purists, it is an absolute clinic in classical balance and choral counterpoint; for casual listeners, it is an intoxicating, vivid soundscape that flies by with theatrical vitality.

Voices Resonating Under Streater’s Canvas

What elevates this performance into something truly transportive is the historic stage itself. Above the choir rises Robert Streater’s monumental painted ceiling, installed in 1669 to depict the Triumph of Religion and the Arts over Envy and Ignorance. Sitting in the dark-stained wooden benches while Haydn’s soaring choruses wash upward toward the allegorical heavens produces a profound sense of continuity. Oxford Harmonic Choir brings together dedicated local singers who share an intimate musical rapport built over decades of performing together, giving their chorales a warm, unified texture that fills every corner of the gallery tiers.

The audience in the Sheldonian mirrors the cultural heartbeat of Oxford itself. You will find seasoned townspeople who have supported local choral music for decades sitting shoulder to shoulder with university researchers, visiting classical enthusiasts, and students soaking in one of the city’s quintessential summer traditions. In the interval, audiences spill out into the evening warmth of the courtyard, chatting beneath the weather-worn stone emperors’ heads guarding Broad Street while discussing the brass fanfares and the sheer energy of the orchestra’s playing.

Know Before You Go

• Plan to book tickets well in advance via the official Oxford Harmonic Choir concert box office, as reserved seating in the lower stalls and prime gallery positions sells out quickly for summer oratorios.
• Arrive at Broad Street by 19:00 to clear ticket checks, browse the printed programme notes, and settle into your tier before the 19:30 start time; latecomers are generally held outside until a suitable applause break.
• The historic wooden bench seating in the Sheldonian Theatre is notoriously firm, so consider bringing a compact, discrete foam seat cushion for added comfort throughout the two-hour performance.
• Do not attempt to drive or park on Broad Street; the historic centre is heavily restricted, so take advantage of Oxford’s frequent Park and Ride bus services from Pear Tree or Thornhill, which drop you within easy walking distance.
• Tiered gallery seats require climbing steep, narrow internal staircases, so visitors with limited mobility should select flat-access ground-floor stalls tickets when booking.

Make a Weekend of It

Attending a high-calibre choral concert in central Oxford offers the ideal excuse to turn a single evening into an inspiring weekend away. Before heading over to Broad Street for the performance, spend an unhurried afternoon wandering through the tranquil courtyards of the historic city centre. A short stroll brings you to the Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology, where you can lose track of time admiring Renaissance drawings and antiquities before heading upstairs to the glass-walled rooftop restaurant for coffee and views over the limestone rooftops.

When hunger strikes in the early evening, make your way over towards Friars Entry for relaxed dining at The White Rabbit, an independent local pub famous for its blistered, thin-crust Italian pizzas and friendly, laid-back buzz. If you prefer classic French cooking with a brisk, reliable pre-show service, settle into a leather banquette at Côte Brasserie on George Street for steak frites and chilled carafe wine, located just five minutes on foot from the theatre doors.

If you are planning to explore the city across Sunday morning, head north towards the towering Victorian neo-Gothic court of the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, where soaring cast-iron arches house dinosaur skeletons and geological treasures beneath a sunlit glass roof. For those looking to extend their arts itinerary into other performance disciplines, check out the touring drama and comedy lineups at Oxford Playhouse or the large-scale musicals hosted around the corner at the New Theatre Oxford.

To round off your cultural getaway in comfort, reserve a bedroom at The Randolph Hotel Oxford, a Graduate by Hilton on Beaumont Street, an iconic Victorian Gothic landmark blending collegiate grandeur with stylish modern hospitality. Alternatively, retreat to the refined, art-filled rooms at Old Bank Hotel on the High Street, positioning you perfectly for a peaceful Sunday stroll along the meadows after a night of world-class music.

Catch me in the stalls when the brass hits that unforgettable first burst of light—it remains one of the absolute finest musical thrills Oxford has to offer, from Alyssa at What's On Oxford.