London museum to show ‘queer’ drag-themed reinterpretation of Handel’s Messiah

A London museum is to present a drag-themed reinterpretation of Handel’s Messiah this December.

The Foundling Museum in Camden, London, will show “A Queer Georgian Yuletide: Handel’s Queer Messiah”, which is designed to retell the story so that it “better resonates” with a modern audience.

Les Bougiewill, the vocal and period-instrument ensemble performing the piece, describes the pastiche as an exploration of “what the concept of a saviour or ‘messiah’ means from a queer perspective: in secular, sacred, interpersonal, and intrapersonal senses.”

The group note that “your queer Georgian ‘messiah’ might differ from another’s Queer Georgian ‘messiah’”.

The ensemble also informs prospective attendees that, while the music will remain the same, the text—originally taken from the King James Bible and the Coverdale Psalter—will be “modified” to create “a more universal and inclusive story”. Audiences are encouraged to “expect an evening of intellectually-informed fun”.

The original text of Handel’s Messiah was compiled by Charles Jennens, an English scholar, librettist and devout Anglican, who crafted the libretto using passages from the King James Bible and the Book of Common Prayer, largely drawing on Old Testament prophecies about the coming of the Messiah as well as New Testament references to the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

He structured the text into three parts: The Prophecy and Birth of Christ, The Passion and Resurrection of Christ, and The Promise of Redemption and Final Victory over sin and death.

A number of Christian groups and individuals have voiced their disapproval, including the Christian Emergency Alliance, which asked, “Why is it okay to blaspheme Christ? Or insult Christians? Why should anti-Christian intolerance be tolerated in a historically Christian nation?”

Some have also pointed out the absurdity of making Christ’s death on the cross for all of humanity more “inclusive”.

Catholic theologian Dr. Gavin Ashenden, a former chaplain to Her late Majesty the Queen, commented: “They could write their own text and their own music, but perversity is never very creative, and in any case we now know that the great delight taken by the cultural revolution is in blaspheming and perverting beauty and holiness, so of course they would make a beeline for Handel‘s Messiah.

“The exquisite beauty of the music and the sacred resonance of the text are ideal material for blasphemy and perversion if that is your primary motivation. The careful cosmetic choice of words suggesting that the crusade for sexualised hedonism is more inclusive than the love of God for broken people is a triumph of propaganda over truth.

“Such language is used to try and deflate the voice of protest in the name of outraged Love. Those who love God and the beauty of His rescue mission, which Messiah so poignantly captures, should indeed protest, expressing pain, distress, and disgust at one more episode of degradation by a decadent culture.”

Despite this, the Foundling Museum asserts that “for Handel, Messiah can be seen as a fluid document intended to be adapted for different audiences.” They emphasise that they “do not intend this pastiche of Handel’s Messiah to insult any religious and/or non-religious individuals” but rather aim to “reposition the Messiah story so that it may better resonate with a 21st-century queer audience”. 

The event is intended to go ahead on Friday, December 6th. The Foundling Museum have been contacted for further comment.

(The chapel of London’s Foundling Hospital, the venue for regular charity performances of Messiah from 1750 | Wikipedia Commons)

The post London museum to show ‘queer’ drag-themed reinterpretation of Handel’s Messiah appeared first on Catholic Herald.