If your idea of the festive season involves fewer crowds at the mall and more Tchaikovsky, the Christmas concerts at the Esplanade this December are worth booking now. The Singapore Symphony Orchestra plays its annual Christmas Concert on 11 and 12 December from S$48, West End star Nathania Ong sings with the SSO on 17 and 18 December from S$28, and Japan’s Bach Collegium Japan makes its Singapore debut with Handel’s Messiah on 26 and 27 December.
All three are in the Esplanade Concert Hall, a short walk from Esplanade MRT (CC3) or City Hall MRT. Here is what each show offers, what the seats cost and which one suits whom.
Christmas concerts at the Esplanade: dates and prices at a glance
- SSO Christmas Concert: 11 and 12 December 2026, 7.30pm, standard tickets S$48 to S$228
- On My Own: Nathania Ong with the Singapore Symphony: 17 and 18 December 2026, 7.30pm, S$28 to S$148 before SISTIC fees
- Bach Collegium Japan: Handel’s Messiah: 26 December 2026 at 7.30pm and 27 December 2026 at 4pm, standard tickets S$88 to S$328
SSO Christmas Concert, 11 and 12 December
The SSO’s annual Christmas Concert pairs the snowy fairy tale of Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker with John Rutter’s Gloria. Associate Conductor Nathanaël Iselin leads the orchestra and the Singapore Symphony Choruses, and the night ends with the traditional Christmas medley singalong.
This is the most family-friendly of the three, with a minimum admission age of five. Standard prices on the Esplanade listing are:
- Cat 1: S$228
- Cat 2: S$168
- Cat 3: S$108
- Cat 4: S$88
- Cat 5: S$68
- Cat 6: S$48
Limited concession tickets are available for students, NSFs, seniors and persons with disabilities. The concert also accepts SG Culture Pass credits, so if you still have your S$100 sitting unused, here is a good place to spend it. Group and corporate bookings get 20% off.
On My Own: Nathania Ong with the SSO, 17 and 18 December
Not strictly a Christmas programme, but it is the year-end crowd-pleaser. Singaporean singer Nathania Ong, who made her name in London’s West End, joins the SSO and conductor Joshua Tan for an evening of musical theatre, Broadway and Disney songs, with fellow Singaporean vocalists Preston Lim and Vanessa Kee.
Expect the big numbers: I Dreamed A Dream and On My Own from Les Misérables, Defying Gravity and For Good from Wicked, Let It Go from Frozen, plus Reflection from Mulan and I See the Light from Tangled. The show runs about two hours, including a 20-minute interval.
Tickets and discounts
- Standard tickets: S$148, S$118, S$88, S$68, S$48 and S$28, before SISTIC booking fees of S$3 to S$6
- Family package: 20% off Cat 1 to 4 with a minimum of four tickets
- Seniors aged 55 and above, NSFs, persons with disabilities and full-time students: 25% off Cat 5 and 6
- Post-concert autograph session on 18 December only, with 50 wristbands issued from 6.45pm opposite the Concert Hall Information Counter on Level 1
The S$28 seats are about as cheap as an SSO evening gets, so they will not hang around. If you have kiasu Frozen fans at home, the family package is the better lobang.
Bach Collegium Japan: Handel’s Messiah, 26 and 27 December
For something more traditional over the long Christmas weekend, Bach Collegium Japan brings Handel’s Messiah to Singapore for the first time. The ensemble plays on period instruments, using techniques close to what Handel would have known, under principal conductor Masato Suzuki.
The soloists are soprano Miku Yasukawa, mezzo-soprano Roxana Constantinescu, tenor Seil Kim and bass-baritone Yasushi Hirano. The performance runs 2 hours 40 minutes with one 20-minute interval, and admission is for ages seven and above.
- Cat 1: S$328
- Cat 2: S$288
- Cat 3: S$238
- Cat 4: S$188
- Cat 5: S$138
- Cat 6: S$88
The Esplanade listing shows tickets from S$66, likely concession seats, so check the seat map for which tiers qualify. Groups of 20 or more save 10%.
Which one should you pick?
- Bringing young kids: the SSO Christmas Concert, with a singalong and an admission age of five
- Teens and musical fans: Nathania Ong with the SSO, especially the S$28 to S$68 seats
- Classical lovers: Messiah, a rare chance to hear a top period ensemble in Singapore
If you have been to the Concert Hall recently for Sumi Jo or the Attack on Titan orchestra concert, you will know that the cheaper categories sell first. Pair a concert night with a walk down Orchard Road after the Christmas light-up and you have a properly festive evening without fighting for a table at a Christmas market.
