The drama is rewritten every year, and the Messiah music is selected to accompany the drama. Musicians and singers are volunteers. All the soloists are regular choir members. They audition for the various solos every year. Two of the soloists this year are just in their mid-teens.
Some soloists sing their arias as actors on the stage or somewhere in the church.
The admission to the performance has always been free. People travel long distances to hear and see it, from all over Manitoba, from the surrounding provinces, and from the United States. About 10,000 people fill the church each year. I am singing in the chorus again this year, but for a while it looked as though I might have to miss this year's performances, because I fell seriously ill the day before the dress rehearsal. Thanks to the prayers of my friends, including my many cyber-friends, I made it through every one of the five performances.