Not the Messiah, Eric Idle's Comic Oratorio, to Have U.S. Premiere at Caramoor Festival

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Classic Arts News Not the Messiah, Eric Idle's Comic Oratorio, to Have U.S. Premiere at Caramoor Festival The Caramoor Festival will present the U.S. premiere of Not the Messiah (He's a Very Naughty Boy), a comic oratorio by Eric Idle and John Du Prez, the duo behind Spamalot.

By Vivien Schweitzer

April 10, 2007

The oratorio, inspired by the film Monty Python's Life of Brian, will have two performances in Caramoor's Venetian Theater on July 1 at 3:30 and 7:30 p.m., featuring Idle as both soloist and narrator. Peter Oundjian, Caramoor's artistic advisor and principal conductor (and Idle's first cousin), will lead the Orchestra of St. Luke's with the Collegiate Chorale and featured soloists.

Not the Messiah receives its world premiere in early June at the new Luminato festival in Toronto.

"As the Messiah was to the Bible, so Not the Messiah is to Life of Brian" said Idle. "It is shorter than Handel, funnier than Handel, but obviously not as good theologically."

The 2007 Caramoor festival opens on June 23 and runs through August 5 with performances of classical, jazz, opera, Latin American music and bluegrass.

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