The American Opera Theater, founded in 2002 by Peabody alumnus Timothy Nelson, has spiced up recent seasons with such novelties as a circus-themed version of Handel's Acis and Galatea, complete with a soprano singing an aria while slowly spinning upside down.

So it ought to be very interesting to see what this group does in what is billed as a "fully staged production" of Handel's oratorio Messiah. Nelson promises "an ecumenical portrait of human struggle and redemption in an abstract, dramatic style that is at once ritual and theater."

The production is at 8 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday at Baltimore Museum of Art, 10 Art Museum Drive. Tickets are $15-$30. Call 202-470-2608 or go to missiontix.com.